I was afraid to read a poor sequel to the incredible Boy in the Striped Pyjama, and this book did not disappoint. Accurate title, All the Broken Places retraces the steps of Gretel (sister to Bruno, main protagonist of the first book) fleeing Germany after the war.
As she desperately tries to rebuild herself, her past and guilt always seem to catch up with her.
The book was easy to read, historically accurate on many counts (always important!), and went through quite a few interesting topics: living with trauma, and how it impacts others, survivor’s guilt, mental health disorders, dementia, but also ageing and fighting off retirement-home-flyer-wielding family members.

All the Broken Places - John Boyne

3🌟

Thanks a mil to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Its been years since I've read the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (it was a secondary school book read) and I know I've also seen the movie years ago - both of which I enjoyed so when I spotted the sequel 'All the Broken Places' on Netgalley I requested it to see if the story developed any further following the events at the end of TBITSP.

The story follows Gretal, Brunos sister at the age of 91 yet to atone for the sins of her Family - mainly her father but herself to a lesser degree (though she was only 12 years old during the time of the War) - her Nazi childhood and upbringing and her guilt as a result of that. The book can be read as a standalone, but I defo think it would be worthwhile to have also read TBITSP first. The story begs the question. How culpable are you of a parents crimes when you're a child?? And/or how much guilt should you carry forward with you as a result of that??

We've all heard of the Holocaust and the atrocities suffered, I didnt like how this book just glossed over them and as a result of this I never fully got into the story completely and just wasnt invested in Gretal as a character or her story.

The story is told from Gretals perspective throughout and moves between different timelines from the end of the war and her fleeing to France with her mother up to the present day and her life now as an old woman. She is a very complex character and Boyne has developed her well though I just didnt really like her. I didnt think she was a very appealing character and her struggles with guilt and responsibilty were a bit lacking. I feel the book was more sympathetic to the perpetrators than the victims and this is where I struggled with the past aspects of the book.

I much preferred the contemporary plotline - that dealt with domestic violence and the choices Gretal makes for the family involved.

Overall, I didnt love or I didnt hate the book. I have mixed feelings towards it.

I've only read one other John Boyne Book 'The Hearts Invisable Furies' and I loved that one so I'll defo give some more of the authors reads a go but this one wasnt one that will stand out for me.

3🌟

What a powerful story of guilt, survival and menace this is, it left me speechless but I would love to discuss it with others. Are monsters the product of circumstances or would they find their own reasons to destroy anyway. And what of families, children, is it right to hold them culpable. Gretel is a wonderful character, so flawed, so guilt-ridden, so damaged that her life fascinates and our emotions are torn. A wonderful, very adult, follow on to The boy in the striped pyjamas that will make you think a lot.

A good read. I really enjoyed this book. A good storyline that stays with you even after the book has finished.

John Boyne's novels can always be relied upon to be thought provoking and moving, and when you're about to settle down and read the sequel to the heart wrenching "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" you know you're in for an emotional ride.
First of all, this is such a brave and profound novel to write. Gretel Frensby is a 91 year old widower, living comfortably in London and hiding from her past. Her Father was the Commandant of a holocaust camp, where her brother, Bruno was murdered in the gas chambers. The novel travels back in time and focuses on the modern day, describing how Gretel and her mother tried to relocate in Paris after the war, Gretel's escape to Sydney and how she finally settled in London, forever dealing with her part in the greatest horror of modern history. She does all she can to avoid young boys, but when a family moves in downstairs with a 9 year old son, Henry, Gretel needs to finally face her past in order to save Henry.
This is a beautiful piece of writing. Gretel is a wonderfully and sensitively rendered character. Despite her years, she's still sharp as an axe, with a delicious dry sense of humour and sarcasm. As a reader, you can't help but be drawn to her, and yet she is deeply flawed. Her whole life is shaped by the events of her youth and her guilt about what happened and her families involvement. This is deeply emotive novel about culpability and raises questions about those who merely standby and watch evil without ever doing anything about it.
I'm huge fan of Boyne, The Hearts invisible Furies will always be one of my favourite novels. I loved this novel. It's definitely has a very different feel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, but is a brilliant sequel.
I can't thank the publishers and Netgalley enough for providing me with an E-Arc in return for an honest review.

Such a powerfully emotional book. The sequel to the boy in the striped pyjamas (even thinking about rereading this book makes me want to cry). The story follows Greta (Bruno's sister) after the war. It shows that not only the real guilty people suffer but their own familys carry the guilt through the generations. A wonderfully moving book.

A story that explores the many facets of human nature that encompasses both the worst and best of mankind. A protagonist who has lived a long life struggling with her conscience that will not allow her to erase past events: a secret that has weighed down every thought, every action and every relationship for 75 years. The arrival of new neighbours in the downstairs flat , and subsequent events facilitate a chain of events that reopen old wounds, not that they had ever closed. This results in us the reader reliving a life of trauma, hardship, cruelty and regret compounded by guilt for a catastrophic period in history where no one would emerge unscathed. Every chapter of this book is weighted down with an ambience of menace waiting to envelop those in the sphere of Gretel, who can never forget or move on from the grief and pain of her past and present. The finely drawn characters demonstrate an acute awareness of all aspects of human nature. A breathtaking journey told by a truly gifted writer related to the Holocaust written in blood and pain that demonstrates a sensitivity that escapes definition. A conclusion that defies probability and possibility with a writers gift to explore and engage with all aspects of human nature and resilience under intimidation and duress. This book will become a definitive classic of its genre for many years into the future. I have been hugely privileged and deeply moved when reading this ARC therefore indebted to author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity.

This book is the sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas.
This is the story of Gretel and her mother after they escape from Germany at the end of the Second World War.
They live in fear of being recognised and hide under new identities.
I really enjoyed this book, Gretel was a great character and the ending gave me goosebumps.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleased to receive a e-ARC of this title from Netgalley and the publishers as I enjoy John Boyne's books. Having only seen the film of, and never read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas I rectified that several weeks before I read this one.

Gretel is an unlikeable character and I wasn't sure why the author felt the need to tell her story. That's explained in the Author's Notes at the end of the book. It's a book that made this reader feel very uncomfortable, multiple times and I not sure whether that is because of the sympathy shown to Gretel and her mother or because of her own attitude to life and death. The plot is full of coincidences which help cover her backstory - which is told in alternate chapters with the current day taking up the in-betweens. It's not a book I would recommend but I am sure it will sell in millions on the back of its predecessor.

WOW what a fantastic sequel the The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. This story follows Bruno’s sister Gretel from the time she flees with her mother to current day Gretel. The story is told in a remarkable way full of love and emotion which is enthralling and keeps you engrossed in the story from first to last page. You can read this as a stand alone book but I think you will get more from Gretel’s story if you read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas first. You certainly won’t be disappointed.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review. It was an absolute pleasure.

This is yet another brilliant book from John Boyne. I found it involving, very moving and an engrossing read. It is a sort of sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, but although reference is made to events in that book, this works fine as a stand-alone.

All The Broken Places is at heart a study of guilt – which makes it sound worthy and turgid, but I found it nothing of the sort, but an involving, page-turning read. We meet Gretel Fernsby, now a respectable 93-year-old widow living in Mayfair but who was the daughter of a concentration camp Kommandant and in whom the guilt of her supposed complicity in her father’s monstrous crimes still burns. The arrival of a new set of neighbours involuntarily takes her back to that time and she is eventually presented with the possibility of atonement, but at great personal cost.

The narrative, in Gretel’s first-person voice, switches between the present and past events in places she has lived – escaped to, in reality. Boyne judges it to perfection, so that her stories emerge naturally and those things which made the woman she is now come together completely plausibly. All this is in excellent, readable prose which just carried me along throughout.

The blurb makes much of the question of how guilty Gretel really is, but the book is more subtle than that. Boyne understands that whether or not the guilt is justified, it exists in the minds of others and in Gretel’s own mind, and it is this that keeps her always having to lie and evade – and possibly face danger or flight. Whatever her past, I found Gretel a rather sympathetic character, which is quite some achievement given that members of my family died in the camps. It is also worth saying that Boyne treats the subject of the Holocaust with respect and thoughtfulness but without the excessive reverence many writers feel it requires, and is a world away from the exploitative use of the Holocaust by some writers to lend spurious gravitas to otherwise mediocre books. I think it’s perfectly judged.

All The Broken Places can be emotionally bruising at times, but it’s never a difficult read and I was gripped throughout. I can recommend it very warmly.

This is a terrific sequel to John Boyne's novel 'the boy in the striped pyjamas', telling the story of Bruno's surviving sister Gretel. I absolutely devoured it.

The novel has a simple structure, recounting Gretel's past and present life in alternating chapters, which is in stark contrast to the complexity and deceptions of her reality. As a character she is so well-drawn as she deals with her grief and complicity.

There are times when the narrative voice slightly jarred for me, as if the author wasn't sure of the audience he was writing for - there is a distinct YA tone to TBITSP - although of course adults still read and enjoy it - but this tone slips in and out of All the Broken Places, making me feel that the writer wasn't always sure who he was writing for. It is most present in the depictions of the family in flat 1, and this did hit a couple of bum notes for me - Alex in particularly seeming to be a slightly simplistic character.

Boyne is a wonderful writer here though, as always, and this is a gripping novel.

My favourite book of the year so far the sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas tells the story of Greta, Bruno’s sister, from the end of the war when she and her mother flee to Paris to the present day when Greta is living in London at the age of 91. Told in two time lines of alternating chapters Greta’s story and her compulsive need to hide her identity and past is addictive. It deals with the sins of your fathers, guilt and the possibility of redemption. Decisions have to be made as to how far she will go to protect herself and her family in the face of another’s suffering and present day evil. Best read as a sequel rather than a stand alone as characters reappear from the previous novel ( sorry no spoilers !) A powerful novel which will stay with me for a long time and which I fully recommend. Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the wonderful John Boyne for the opportunity of reading this novel in return for an honest review.

This sequel picks up the story of Gretel, the sister from ‘the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ in alternating chapters following her life just after the war ended and in current day as a 91 year old. I loved this read exploring how she continued her life after the war and also in dealing with new events surrounding her in the current day. A must read for any historical fiction fans although no harm to refresh your memory of the first book’s characters first. Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC.

All the Broken Places is a sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (TBITSP), and picks up the story of Bruno’s sister Gretel at the end of the war, after she and her mother fled to France.

The novel moves between different timelines in four separate sections - Paris and Rouen in 1946, Australia in 1950 and London in 1953 - and in each section the past is interleaved with the present day setting of London which runs through them all as a constant.

The present-day Gretel is a spry, wealthy 91 year-old widow, who never talks about her past, and who lives in a Mayfair apartment building. When a new family moves into the flat below hers, their nine-year-old son Henry brings back memories she would rather forget, and when she witnesses a violent argument between Henry's mother and his domineering father, events ultimately threaten her hard-won, self-contained existence.

The story is told from Gretel’s perspective throughout, and we see how her self-containment is born of an all-consuming fear that her real identity and personal history will be discovered and exposed. On top of the terror, she has inner mental struggles which run on a permanent loop in her head.

Gretel is a very complex, multi-layered character. Boyne has drawn and developed her so well. She is no saint, she is very much human, with all the attending virtues, contradictions and flaws. She is capable of both kindness and cruelty, selflessness and selfishness, insight and ignorance, naivety and wisdom.

All the nuances of Gretel’s past history and actions are explored as the story unfolds. She has travelled the world looking for answers to questions which she cannot resolve and sometimes barely even formulate: how much have the events of her Nazi childhood and upbringing influenced her subsequent life; what is the true extent of her guilt and complicity in relation to what went on in Auschwitz under her father’s command and her cowardice at doing nothing about it, either then or since; why can’t she accept and acknowledge the truth not only of her involvement, but of the absolute trauma, destruction, pain and death visited upon Jews in Europe by the Reich; what was the extent of her onetime fascination with power and her idolisation of Hitler; how much is she to blame for Bruno’s death. Such deep and dreadful questions.

Over the course of the novel she works through all of these questions to reach a point where she can honestly confront the past and acknowledge the truth of all of it, finally accept responsibility, and attempt to find some degree of absolution in one final brave and selfless act of atonement for the sake of another 9 year old boy.

This is a beautifully written immersive novel from a master story-teller, that keeps you turning the pages to discover what will happen, and there are some very surprising and unexpected twists along the way. Whilst it could feasibly be read as a stand-alone I think the reader will get far more from it and pick up on more of the nuances if they have already read TBITSP. The intended audience for this sequel is clearly adults rather than the top junior/YA audience for TBITSP and the tone and feel is quite different. Whilst it does not have the same absolute gut-punch of an ending as TBITSP, it is still a satisfying and “just” one.

It is an extremely powerful, emotional and moving story about power, guilt, complicity, culpability, forgiveness and atonement. It explores really fundamental questions about human nature and morality - if you do nothing to prevent evil acts and just look away, are you just as bad as the people committing them? Can you ever atone for these evil acts, especially if you are closely associated with the perpetrators through the close ties of family, love and loyalty? How tainted are you by these association?

It leaves you with much to think about, and would be perfect for book groups and buddy reads. Highly recommended

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK for an ARC of this novel, in exchange for an independent and unbiased review. All the Broken Places is due to be published on 15th September 2022.

An extremely moving and deep continuation of the Boy in the Striped Pajamas. This novel focuses on the Nazi Camp Commandant's daughter instead of his son. At the age of 12 in 1946, Gretel and her mother fled Poland and hid their identities and their connection to the war crimes committed by her father. In the present day, Gretel is a 91 year old recluse. A new family moves into the flat above hers and she comes to realize that the young nine year old boy is being abused. She must decide whether to turn a blind eye and stick her head in the sand or whether to take a stand and do the right thing, taking the risk of placing herself into the spotlight and exposing her secrets and guilty.

1946 and a mother and daughter flee from Poland to Paris.
80 years later the daughter, Gretel, is living in London, widowed with one son. But who is she? Why is her past a secret?
She has a story to tell but not many people would want to hear it. But is she guilty or guilty by association?
Very powerful sequel to the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

A sequel to ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’? This better be good.

‘All the Broken Places’ follows Greta’s life in the aftermath of the war and into the present, where she is a 91-year-old living in an upscale apartment in London. She keeps to herself, still terrified that someone will recognise her as the daughter of the commandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp, or ‘that place’ as she calls it. Despite this, when a new family moves into the apartment under her she is drawn into their lives and caring for the nine-year-old boy who reminds her so much of her late brother. This involvement may lead to her real identity being revealed.

Guilt is the overarching theme throughout this novel, and it is explored so well. Is Greta responsible for her brother’s death? Is she responsible for the awful things her father has done? Could she have done something to stop what was happening? Did she ever fully grasp what was happening? Was she even old enough to have formed her own opinion or did she blindly follow those around her? And most of all, does she deserve to pay for all the suffering she was complicit in?

While I don’t think it will take the world by storm quiet as ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ did, I think it’s a great addition for adult fans of the TBITSP.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

All the Broken Places is the long awaited sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and follows Bruno's sister, Gretal.
We initially meet her in her 90's, widowed and living a peaceful life in a flat in London near Hyde Park. The story flicks between her life from where The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas left off. Her fathers position as one of the Fuhrer's high ranking officers has a life long impact on both Gretal and her mother and the question of guilt hangs over them always. We follow their next steps on their journey to freedom but the past is never too far away.
The next story is in the present when a new family move into the flat below Gretal and they cause disturbance to her quiet, sedate life.
I was really interested in the historical side of the story, how people could never move on from the devastation of the war and how German people often felt the need to hide their identity. Whether being an innocent child in the war made you guilty or not and how revenge could still be needed after many years. I liked the references to the striped pyjamas but felt certain characters like Schmuel could have been interwoven slightly more.
I struggled to link the head strong, fiesty Gretal of the past to the Gretal of the present and the story with the neighbours below felt slightly misplaced to me. It felt like a random story line that needed to be included as a filler with a twist at the end that perplexed me. Without giving it away, I was confused with Gretal's inner voice of guilt.
But as always, Boyne's writing was beautiful and the story did flow well and I did enjoy it overall.

The superb John Boyne does it again writhing a heartbreaking yet wonderful sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and it deserves more than the 5 stars I can give.
This is a truly astonishing read and brought out so many emotions and I really can’t give it the credit it deserves in my humble review but I will try.
I finished this book with tears rolling down my cheeks just like I did with the previous novel it was so heartbreaking but wonderful also. The story was written with such poignancy throughout and I must confess I was worried that it could never live up to the first book but it did.
Told by Gretel a 91 year old widow it’s has three timelines Paris 1946, Sydney Australia 1950s and London 1953 the story alternates between the three with flashbacks also and a reveal towards the end of the book that I never saw coming.
I feel I can’t say more about the story this is a book that should be read with no preconceived ideas and especially if you have read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which although it’s not necessary to be read please don’t miss that one also.
So this was everything I would ever have wished for in a sequel to one of my favourite books and although heartbreakingly sad it was also so so much more than that , Gretel I loved you and thank you Mr Boyne for such a compassionate, wonderful read, you made me cry again!
My thanks also to NetGalley and Random House UK Transworld Publishers, Doubleday for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.