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.

Wow! What a wonderful and profound novel! I was so excited to read the follow-up to the boy in the striped pyjamas, and I certainly was not disappointed. It was Interesting to see events from Greta’s point of view, I really felt like I was living her life.

An excellent and thought provoking novel, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is one of my favourite books and this ‘sequel’ didn’t disappoint. It was well thought out and the different eras were excellently described. Recommended.

A bittersweet and tragic tale from acclaimed author John Boyne.
A strong, stunning writer whose use of language is always easy to be lost in

Wow this book took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I really enjoyed how lots of things linked together (I don't want to say too much about this because spoilers!) The ending was just.. I have no words. It gave me goose bumps.
This book focuses on guilt and the complexities surrounding it and I feel John Boyne did a brilliant job in writing about this. This is a book that I think will stay with me for a long time.

John Boynes writing is like no one else that I’ve read before and this book is no exception. The sequel to the beautiful Boy in the Striped Pyjamas finds Gretel Fernsby in her nineties living a life of solitude in London. Having fled Poland with her mother in 1946 to Paris they changed their identities but couldn’t leave behind the shame and fear of their true identities being found out.
Gretel lives alone and keeps herself to herself never bothering with friends or neighbours. Until 9 year old Henry moves into her apartment building. Henrys father is a cruel abusive man and Gretel cannot stop herself from trying to help Henry and his mother but the truth about her own past may not remain hidden much longer.
I had worried that this book could never live up to its predecessor, but I could not have been more wrong. This book broke my heart and gave me joy in equal measures. An absolutely stunning read.

This is a sequel to the much-loved “Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” which brought a fresh approach to the horrors of the Holocaust by viewing it through the innocent and uncomprehending eyes of Bruno, the young son of the Nazi commander in charge of running Auschwitz. He has not learned to hate and so strikes up a friendship with Shmuel, a Jewish boy imprisoned in the camp, which inevitably ends in tragedy, and is incredibly effective as the reader ( especially if adult) understands what Bruno does not about what is happening. This novel takes up the story of Gretel, Bruno’s older sister, from after the end of the war, when her father has been executed and she flees with her mother to France, then later by herself to Australia and ultimately London. Her early hopes of making a new life are soon dashed as the past keeps coming back to haunt her and she must keep her guilt and shame hidden. The question that dominates the book is how much she and those like her really knew what was going on but denied it even to themselves, and chose to look away rather than to give up their comfortable lifestyles and expose themselves to risk. I felt Gretel was very hard on herself, as she was a young teenager at the time and her knowledge of the camp was restricted, but she pays the price repeatedly over the years, and only as an old lady does she get the chance to make amends and this time not look away from a troubling situation. A thoughtful book which will make you reflect about accountability, blame and forgiveness, and whether children can be held responsible for the sins of their fathers. My only concern is that the original book is widely read by children and teenagers, but this is a much more adult book which includes fairly explicit physical and sexual violence.

This sequel to ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ centres on Gretel, Bruno’s elder sister, who is now a 91 year old widow living in Mayfair.
The story switches between her past life and present day events, particularly her involvement with her new neighbours and their young son.
The events of the Holocaust, which are sensitively handled by the author, follow her throughout her life, particularly her experiences in France and Australia, although Gretel hearing the man who used to be her father’s personal aide speaking in a pub in Australia and what happens after I thought was implausible.
Gretel is well portrayed as a complex character who struggles throughout her life with guilt about her culpability and knowledge of the terrible things that took place in Auschwitz as well as guilt about her brother’s death and having to be constantly on guard. All this affects her relationship with her son.
The author states he didn’t intend Gretel to be a sympathetic character, but rather someone flawed (like the rest of us) who was faced with difficult choices. Even bearing that in mind I found her a rather unpleasant woman who I couldn’t warm to. Partial redemption from her guilt about Bruno comes when she makes a decision which she knows will come at a huge cost to herself.
She shows a softer side with the relationship she has with her neighbour Heidi and latterly her son and his fiancée.
There is a plot twist at the end which doesn’t really come as a surprise however the book is well written with lots of interesting characters.
I loved ‘The Heart’s Invisible Furies’ and ‘A Ladder to the Sky’ but didn’t enjoy this one as much as it didn’t hold my attention and I couldn’t feel any engagement with the main character.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an ARC

I’ve never read the boy in the striped pyjamas, but felt i knew enough not to worry about that. Turned out that wasn’t strictly true, but all the information you need is here in the book and I suspect made some Developments more of a surprise for me than would have been the case otherwise!
Great novel, rich with detail and real moral ambiguities - necessary when exploring those who have been involved in the darker side of humanity. I’ve seen some nonsense about being unable to tell such a story, and that feels like the worst possible response - it’s vital to understand how people can do the worst acts and then attempt to move on. Few people are completely evil, and this book understands the inherent contradictions in how someone can lie both others and themselves about their past.

Q
This story follows Gretel, the elder sister from The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. It was an interesting read and you are largely sympathetic to Gretel though there are several points when your sympathy is tested. I felt that some of the scenes were slightly unrealistic, particularly a scene of confrontation in Australia. At some points it felt as if it was purely written for a film adaptation. Overall it kept me engaged throughout.

This is the story of the surviving sister to the Boy in the striped pyjamas and looks at her life as she grows up .unlike the prequel it is an book for adults there are themes here which are not suitable for child readers
It’s not often a novel is set in the period immediately after world war 2 and this book looks at this period up to the present day
We are in the last few years when an extremely elderly person would have potentially been alive to see the effects of the Holocaust.The author cleverly has the narrator as a woman in her 90s living independently in London .we meet her and a selection of her neighbours and gradually get to know more about what happened to her in the time since the last book
The issue of culpability of children for what their parents do is difficult and throughout the novel we see the young girl mostly as a victim of circumstance,it is only later in the book when exactly what she was aware of the runnings of the concentration camp are revealed.I found that I was generally sympathetic through most of the book to the narrator .So much more shocking then when we are eventually told what she did know about and was involved in
The author describes character so well that all the people in the book are totally real with real flaws .even those characters which appear only briefly are described so that you can picture them
The author has a clear flowing prose style that is a real pleasure to read ,I was disappointed when the book finished and read it in one sitting
The author covers really huge topics such as the Holocaust and marital abuse of women in a sensitive nuanced way allowing you to identify with the characters as people to whom a story happens and I found I quickly cared about what was going to happen next
I will be strongly recommending this book as the adult partner to The boy with the Striped Pyjamas .,it is in every way it’s equal
I read an early copy on NetGalley Uk the book is published by Random House Uk Transworld Publishers on 15th September 2022

A very slow start told over a couple of timelines as Gretel's story is revealed following her flight from Germany at the end of WW2. Gretel is not an engaging character as she struggles with her guilt from her father's atrocities, her knowledge of what was occurring and her treatment of her late younger brother. One opportunity for redemption comes during her time in Australia which she fails to take but then another comes in the present day when an abused 9-year-old boy moves in downstairs.

I enjoyed the present day story far more than the past although the ending was unexpected and didn't really lead to the retribution which she felt she deserved.

All the Broken Pieces is a stunning and thought provoking sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and we meet Gretel again as an adult. It is beautifully written and incredibly moving. This book will stay with me for a long time. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book will stay with me for a long time. A beautifully written sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, this book felt far more grown up. I really enjoyed how Gretel's life was told through the major events in her life all of which shaped her personality.

All The Broken Pieces is a sequel to The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas and what a sequel it is.

Gretel has lived in the same London flat for the majority of her life. She doesn't talk about her past, she is content with life until new neighbours move into the building - a husband (filmmaker) wife (ex actress) and their young son.
Gretel's story begins to come to life when she forms a friendship with the young boy Henry and subsequently his mother. Unbeknownst the occupants of the London building - Greta is hiding a huge secret - she is the daughter of a German commandant and lived on the border of a concentration camp - her father was responsible for murdering thousands of jews.
Throughout the story, Greta reflects and remembers her past - from when she was a young girl who lost her brother, to her romantic relationships and then back through to the present where she is involved in a domestic violence case relating to her new neighbours.

The book is incredibly moving and thought provoking.

John Boyne writes beautifully and All The Broken Places is the perfect follow up to the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. This book is unpredictable, and offers a unique perspective on war memory.

John Boyne is one of my favourite authors but strangely enough the I was one of the very few people who wasn’t completely blown away by his novel ‘The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas’. I did enjoy it but not as much as the wonderful ‘The Hearts invisible Furies’ or ‘Ladder to the Sky’ which were both masterpieces. ‘All the Broken Places’ is a sequel to ‘The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas’ and I was completely absorbed from the very start.

Gretel Fernsby is ninety one and has lived in the same mansion block in London for decades. She does not seek attention and lives a quiet yet comfortable life despite her dark and disturbing past. Seventy years ago she escaped from Germany but keeps that stage in her life a secret from everyone. Her father was the commandant of one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps and now she guards that secret with all her life.

A young family moves into the apartment below her and against her usual judgement ends up building a friendship with Henry, a young boy who reminds her of memories she would rather forget.

When Gretel witnesses a violent argument between Henry’s mother and his domineering father, she is faced with a chance to make amends for her guilt, grief and remorse and act to save a young boy. But by doing this she would be forced to reveal her true identity to the world and could cost her dearly.

John Boyne is a master storyteller and he never ceases to amaze me with his novels. Great characters and beautifully written. An emotional story told with perfection.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Random House UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I'm really sorry my kobo won't support the format that has downloaded.

I'd be happy to read and review this title in a mobi or epub version.

Please feel free to send a copy to my email address - justbringbooks@gmail.com