John Boyne's All The Broken Places, the adult sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, is every bit as good as I'd hoped it would be!

We follow 91-year-old Greta as she deals with the introduction of a nine-year-old boy into her life. Moving between the past and present we slowly uncover the details of Greta's life following the death of her brother and the fall of Nazi Germany. Through Greta, Boyne explores a lifetime of guilt, the devastation of grief, and the question of whether a daughter could be considered complicit in, or even culpable for, a father's actions. It's a fascinating, thought-provoking work and I loved it. Did it hurt my heart? Yes - but I find that the best novels often do.

I recently listened to an audio version of Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas which is told from the perspective of a 8 year old boy naively experiencing the horrors of a German concentration camp from the safe side of the fence. I found it an extremely powerful tale - understated but shockingly sad. But I wasn’t sure what I would make of this, his follow-up book, told from the perspective of his elder sister (then 12 but now 91 years old) residing in modern day Mayfair, London. To start with, the sister, Gretel, has only a small role in the original tale, as a lovestruck young girl longing for the attention of a young officer at the camp. She was hardly a likeable figure but neither did I sense that she was in any way complicit in or guilty of anything attached to what went on there.

But time and perspective changes these things and it’s clear that Gretel now has a profound sense of guilt and after a protracted journey that’s taken her across Europe and also into the Southern Hemisphere she finds herself here, in the most expensive area of England’s capital city, in a flat worth millions of pounds. We are to learn her story in flashbacks alternating with the dramas playing out in her current everyday life.

This is a very different story, one that definitely feels pitched toward an older audience – no real surprise given Gretel’s advanced years, but the tone is definitely more grown up, more earthy. It’s a convoluted but easy to follow tale full of echoes from the past and yet with plenty of intrigue wrapped up in the present day element too. Boyne is a brilliant storyteller and here he manages to spin a yarn that grabbed me on an emotional level whilst also teasing me predict what might be an acceptable outcome to a challenging current conundrum.

The only quibble I have is that the author has chosen to stack the emotional deck by delving briefly back into the period covered in the first book, adding a scene that felt manipulative and slightly off to me. Yes it makes sense of where Gretel’s head is in the present day and perhaps it’s the glue that makes the whole story work, but I really wish he could have found a way of avoiding adding this element. But that aside I must admit that after a fairly slow start I became steadily more engrossed in events until I found it difficult to put the book down. The ending is typical Boyne and that’s all I’ll say. I really look forward to hearing what other readers make of it.

"All The Broken Places" by John Boyne is a great follow-on book from "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" but this one is definitely for adults. I really enjoyed Gretel's story despite her having a difficult past and the friendship she developed with Henry, the little boy who moved into the apartment below her, was a touching one. The ending was slightly unforeseen but "justified" in the sense that she (in her mind) had sat back and had been helpless for those in the concentration camp.

Oh wow!! Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this advanced copy. I discovered the author with The Heart's Invisible Furies earlier in the year and I absolutely loved it. I had to read his new novel, which is the sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (have not read that one yet, but have wept watching the movie!).
Boyne's writing is so captivating, you can't help feeling part of the story, like you know the characters, feel for them, love them or hate them.
I pulled an all nighter last night to finish it because I just needed to see how it ended, although now I feel empty cause the book it's finished.

I did have a theory on where the story was going, but some of the events and revelations truly shocked me.
Loved it!

Such a compelling read.
The sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is worth the wait. At the start we meet Gretel, an elderly lady living in Mayfair, then we go back to her earlier life.
WW2 has ended and the horrors of the concentration camps revealed. Retribution against those who ran them has commenced.
Gretel and her mother escape to Paris and a new identity, but life is far from easy. Distrust of anyone with a German heritage is widespread.
Back in the present day, Gretel has new neighbours - and all is not well. The wife s cowed by a domineering husband, and the son terrified of his father.
Can Gretel make amends for the sins of her childhood by saving the boy who reminds her so much of her brother?
I loved this book. It does not have the raw emotional impact of the previous novel, but is a sequel that was well worth the long wait.
An absolute must-read for anyone who enjoyed The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

All the Broken Places by John Boyne
This book is the wonderful and extremely moving sequel to John Boyne’s most popular novel Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. It is set over different time periods and in different places - Paris in 1946, Australia in 1953, London in 1956 and 2022. The focus of the novel is Gretel now aged 91, Bruno’s sister from the previous novel. It is a novel about guilt, complicity and how we deal with the terrible events of our past. Is it possible to move on from the events of our past or do they inevitably define us?
In order to insulate herself from her past Gretel lives in an exclusive flat by Hyde Park and mixes with very few people. Her only friend is her neighbour, Heidi, who is beginning to suffer from dementia. Her other visitor is her 61 year old son Caden, who would be quite pleased if she downsized and let him have his inheritance. When a new tenant is going to moving into the flat below Gretel feels her comfortable life threatened. She really does not want to have to get used to greeting someone else in the hallway. Surprisingly she finds herself embroiled in the life of the family below and it is this relationship which throws her whole life into chaos.
In alternate chapters we uncover Gretel’s past; her escape with her mother to Paris after the end of the war; her flight to Australia upon her mother’s death where she hopes to distance herself from her terrible past and her arrival I London in 1956 where she encounters two friends who will have a huge impact on her life.
I was completely absorbed by this beautifully written, sympathetic and fascinating novel. I was surprised but satisfied by its startling conclusion. It is the story of a life appallingly damaged by the terrible events of her childhood but Gretel’s life showed that redemption is sometimes possible. Her story is told with compassion, and I found it utterly gripping. I highly recommend this novel and will be suggesting it to all of my book groups.
Many thanks to John Boyne, the publishers and to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this novel in return for an honest review.

There is a reason that John Boyne is my favourite author ever - he writes books like this. Books that make me laugh, cry, and think. This is the story of Gretyl, sister of Bruno (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas), post-WW2 and fleeing Poland with her mother to Paris following the hanging of her father, the Commandant who oversaw the running of Auschwitz. It flits between now and then, telling the life story of Gretyl, and her life now in 2022 at the age of 91, sprightly, sharp as a tack and taking no nonsense from anyone!

This is a fantastic sequel, worthy of a movie script in its own right, that tells of guilt, grief, blame, redemption, complicity, who is responsible for the sins of the fathers and other issues. Loved loved loved it. 5 stars all the way.

Thank you to Random House, NetGalley and John Boyne for giving me the chance to read this extraordinary book. I had read "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" many years ago and also watched the acclaimed film of the same name but neither really prepared me for this extremely haunting and emotional novel. At 91, Gretel's story is told between present day and various times in her past. John Boyne has captured the guilt and complicity that has surrounded Gretel and written a book that at times made me gasp out loud and in turn rendered me speechless. I highly recommend this book. It is one of the best books I have read this year and definitely worthy of each of the five stars I have given it.

An outstanding follow up.
Decades later we remeet Gretyl as an elderly woman who lives a quiet and simple life away from her past until she meets her new neighbour- Henry- and is drawn out of her shell and into his world.
Stuck in an impossible situation she is faced with her past truths and actions all the while trying to save Henrywher she could not save her brother.
Touching only lightly on the plot and characters from The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas the story focusses on the life Gretyl has made and lived in the shadow of her extraordinary and awful childhood.
The book is thought provoking and moving on almost every page- a must read.

Oh my goodness, what a book about complex feelings and how Gretel survived throughout her life since the ending of the war. I've not read the boy in the striped pyjamas however was aware of the story and rest assured you do not need to have read this to enjoy this book.

The writing is very engaging and flowed beautifully and made reading this such a joy despite the subject matter.

I read this the other week and am still thinking about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 great stars.

Another cracker from John Boyne - all his books are 4 or 5 stars. He can write young, old, male, female, with such depth and detail that you feel you know all the characters.

Gretel is a great character; she has a sense of humour and a darkness that really shapes who she is. I was torn about which story I preferred- the flashbacks or the present day.

There were just a couple of weaknesses for me, hence dropping that last star - the odd relationship with Henry and his parents; something seemed a little far fetched or exaggerated with this.

But overall highly recommended.

"All the Broken Places" is a sequel to "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" but it can be read as a standalone novel.

Gretel is in her late eighties and living alone in a first-floor mansion flat in London. Her neighbour across the hallway is a woman in her late sixties with dementia and the two keep each other company. The catalyst for change is the death of the tenant of the ground floor flat and the appearance of new downstairs neighbours. The story is told with flashbacks to earlier times in Gretel's life.

The book is about the horrors of war and it's aftermath. In particular there is the question of whether a 12 year old girl can be complicit in the crimes of her father; should she have denounced everyone responsible for the happenings in "the other place" to ease her conscience and make her life a little easier, while providing some sort of retribution for the surviving relatives?

A wonderfully poignant and well-written story. My sympathy for Gretel increased as her tale unfolded.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

This new novel by John Boyne will send your emotions on a journey you won't forget. Based on 91 year old Gretel who now lives in London but whos father was a commandant in one of the concentration camps in the war. Back in present day she befriends a young boy who has troubles with a violent father. Can she overcome her fears and memories to help?
Excellent. One we should all read.

Confession, I haven’t read “The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas”, which this book is a sequel to, but I had no trouble whatsoever immersing myself into this fabulous book.

German born Gretel Fernsby tells the incredible journey of her life through the chapters. Moving to and fro, from a young girl, taking her to a grand elderly age.
Starting in 1946 it portrays her life from World War Two, right to the present day.
An extremely wealthy lady, she lives a very private, secretive and reclusive life, and has ample time to ponder her life choices.
Did she make the correct ones?
Who does she identify as?

I found this a very compelling and extremely readable book, emotionally charged and thought provoking.
I choose my words carefully as I have read a few books and watched television programmes about the atrocities that were carried out during World War Two.
Following Gretel’s story made me think on an entirely different level, of how it must have been to have grown up in her shoes. Thankfully I was never born into a life like that. It was extremely thought provoking to say the least, and does make you question, what would I have done in her shoes?
It is a book about complicity, love, loss, grief and guilt. Regrets, secrecy and evil, and family shame, a dark family history, it’s all there.
Dark in places, but covered with sensitivity.
Actions have consequences in life, and these kind of books should be read, and I am very grateful to have read this book by John Boyne. All of the terrible atrocities that happened during that time, should never have been allowed to happen, but because they did history should never let it be forgotten.
The conclusion was a twist I did not see coming,

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions are my own.

Once again a difficult book to read so worth it not an easy subject ever bt the author does it extremely well a beautiful book.

What an unusual book, so well written and captivating. This story gives a different perspective into understanding what some native germans went through following the second world war. the story is complex and goes between the war and the current day. It starts with a 91 year old lady and goes backwards and forwards through her life. You have to read it to the very end!

I was captivated by this fascinating story. A tale about secrets, complicity, loss and guilt.

All the broken pieces follows Gretel the sister of Bruno from the book “The boy in the stripped pyjamas”. Her and her mother left Germany at the end of the war and escaped with new identities, to France. Now she is in her 90’s living on her own in London.

Gretel has struggled throughout her life with enormous guilt about the terrible things that took place in Auschwitz and her father’s role in them. When she witnesses a violent argument between her new neighbours, she is faced with a chance to make amends for her guilt. However, by doing so she would be forced to reveal her true identity to the world.

I have no doubt that this is a story that will stick with me for some time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for this emotional roller coaster of an arc.

I started reading this book not liking particularly the main character Gretel or enjoying the story as kept thinking it isn't as good as The Boy in the Striped pyjamas. However, as the story progressed I grew to like and also empathise with Gretel. I truly enjoyed the story by the time I got to the end.

This new book is a companion piece to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and tells the story of Bruno’s sister, Gretel, and how she fared after the war.
The core story is set in the present, where widowed, elderly Gretel is concerned about her new neighbours, especially their nine year old son.
There are diversions to France in 1946, and Australia and London in 1953.
The story addresses some very large issues in a sympathetic and accessible way,
At what age are we responsible for our actions, and those of others? How can, or should, one live a life that atones for the bad done by others. Are we allowed joy in our lives when such awful things have happened?
I enjoyed Gretel’s story and the way it addressed these issues, and feel that it will give a younger audience much food for thought.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a sequel to John Boyne's previous book “Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” which tells the story of Bruno, son of the Nazi commander in charge of running Ausschwitz.. 'All The Broken Places' takes up the tale when Gretel, Bruno's older sister and her mother leave Germany at the end of the war and escape to France.
Each section of the book is told through a dual timeline, one in the past and one in the current time as Gretel is 91 years old and approaching the end of her life. Through the book Gretel's hopes of building a new life for herself are squashed as the past comes back to haunt her. The first disappointment comes in Paris, then in Australia and then again in London as Gretel tries to hide her past and her shame.
The question that is asked of Gretel by several people is how much did she know of what was going on and why did she choose to look away rather than doing something about it. Quite what she might have done at the age of twelve and facing the might of the Nazi organisation is another matter. Only if the last few. years of her life when she faces exposure again, does Gretel manage to make some amends and take action to right a troubling situation.
This is an interesting book, well researched, and which will make the reader reflect on accountability, guilt and forgiveness.
As a great fan of Boyne's other works such as A Ladder to the Sky and The Heart's Invisible Furies I was delighted to get the chance to read an arc copy of All The Broken Places. I very much enjoyed it but I didn't engage enough with Gretel as the main character to really love it. She remains, even from the reader, rather aloof and cold, a barrier erected to stop people getting too close to her and learning her secrets perhaps. This meant I did not engage quite as much with the whole books as I have with Boyne's previous novels, but it is still an excellent read.
With thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review.