Borrowed a book from R the other day: "The boy in the striped pyjamas" (or "The boy in the striped pajamas" if you are American), by John Boyne, an Irish writer. A very moving story about a German boy and his life during the second world war, and the friendship he develops with a boy who lives on the other side of a barbed wire fence. Apparently the book has been criticized for not being historically correct (e.g. an eight-year-old boy would not have been allowed to live in Auschwitz), but I actually don't think that matters in this case. The story is incredibly well written (and I especially liked some clever play with words - for instance the young boy calls Hitler 'the Fury', and Auschwitz 'Out with', and I wish I knew how translators have solved it in the different versions), and very, very emotional. I also liked the fact that there is no violence, or any other horrors outspoken in the book. Everything you read into it, you do because you already know what happened and what it is that the writer refers to. Very clever. If you haven't read it - do!
PS. I have since discovered that the movie (which came out in 2008) can be seen online, on google video. I have watched bits of it, but it is not very good. All the subtle things get lost, and there's no room for your own interpretations and the story from the little boy's perspective is also lost. Read the book - it only took me 2,5 hours.
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