This book was gripping and is harrowing in parts but is a page turner. There were too many story lines going on for me though.

For those of you who read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas you will be equally as moved by this book which in loose terms is a sequel. Gretel, now in her 90's, living alone, is eager to meet the new family living in an adjacent flat. She has a turbulent past, and escaped from Nazi Germany as a child. Her father had been commandent of Auschwitz a fact she wishes to keep to herself, but when the young boy now living next door is subject to abuse she wonders if she should interfere and perhaps undo the terrible horror that happened to her younger brother many, many years ago, and for which she carries a terrible guilt. This is heart-wrenching story telling, a story that will stay with you for a very long time, and once again showcases the talent that is the amazing Mr Boyne. Highly, highly, recommended. Many thanks to netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.

If you read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and loved it, you will love this too. This book was as beautifully written and equally as touching.

Would recommend to everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC.

All the Broken Places is the sequel to The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne and it’s another masterpiece.
In this book we follow 91 year old Gretel Fernsby’s past and present incredible, secretive life and it’s consequences!
What a story! It’s an extremely multi layered powerful read which I couldn’t put down and which I won’t forget…it’s very clever the way John has connected the two books too! Also, the way John has captured the tension and guilt of Gretel’s life under the shadow of her haunting past which she could never escape is a masterful piece of storytelling, although it’s hard reading at times!
Responding to John’s question at the end of his author’s note, I too believe Gretel’s story is worth telling and can totally appreciate the burden of responsibility of exploring emotional truths and human experiences during the very real actions of inhumanity during the holocaust.
All the Broken Places is one of my top reads this year and such a good title for the book.
Big thanks to John Boyne, Random House UK and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

Colby Mills once felt destined for a musical career, but tragedy grounded his dreams. Now the dust has settled, he spontaneously takes a gig playing at a bar in Florida, seeking a rare break from his duties at home.

I adored this book, the same way I adored the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

Beautifully written and touching, I will be recommending to everyone I know!

Wow.
Just amazing.
What an incredibly well written book, featuring Gretel who was the German sister in the boy in the stripped pyjamas. She is now in her 90s and her story is told past and present. Def def recommend

I must caveat this review by saying that after reading The Heart's Invisible Furies I am pretty sure that I could read this author's shopping list and be blown away! John Boyne's writing is incredible and All the Broken Places is no exception. The long-awaited follow on to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is just as mesmerising and heartbreaking. We follow Gretel, who is now in her 90s and living in London. We learn about the years after the Second World War and the path that her life followed. There were moments in her story when I was confused about how I felt - Boyne makes it easy for the reader to sympathise with his protagonist but I didn't know if that is how I wanted to feel towards her. There is no doubt that Gretel is strong-willed and forthright but has she ever really faced up to her history and the impact of her father's actions? This is a book that posed may questions for me and I was totally immersed in the story. I have always read about the Second World War and the Holocaust in particular so I really appreciated the author's note as Boyne helped me to realise that I have been looking for answers where perhaps there are none. All the Broken Places gave me the same experience as I searched for answers for Gretel's responsibility and realisation that she had been complicit in the Nazi movement and the Final Solution. Another absolute masterpiece from Boyne. I need to read more of his writing.

John Boyne has written such a good, poignant book. This is a fascinating story that I recommend you pick up!

How do we get to live with who we are?

This is a kind of before and after book to Boyne’s Auschwitz set The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas. Here, is Hugo’s older sister, Gretel. Complicit, older than her younger brother, more influenced by fascism. Gretel is now in her 90’s, living in London, and has spent a life disguising her past. Now, things come back to haunt her, as a family living below her, with their own secrets, and a vulnerable child, begin to unravel memories she has spent a lifetime burying. This is a beautiful, lacerating book, both heartbreaking and redemptive

Boyne is a wonderful weaver of stories, narratives driven always by complex and believable characters

Highly recommended

Excellent book, very well written and once again a powerful and thought provoking story. This sequel to The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas tells the story of Bruno’s sister, Gretel and how her experiences of WW2 affected her life afterwards.

I didn’t know what to expect with this book. I wondered what a sequel would reveal and how Gretel’s story could be told. But, Boyne did an excellent job of capturing her perspective telling her journey from the end of the war to being 92 years old. In The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, Gretel’s character was not exactly likeable and one, in hindsight, I seemed to overlook. This story really got me thinking about that, and how many stories are, unfortunately, overlooked.

This is a story of guilt and grief, but one I would highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Doubleday AND John Boyne for this book and the opportunity to review (even though I am very late in leaving it!).

Such a complex book. An outstanding sequel to The Boy in Striped Pajamas. The prose that delivers into the complicated feelings of the characters is done so beautifully and the story is so thought provoking and compassionate.

The ending is a surprise but I would definitely recommend this read.

This is going to be a hard review to write because wow - what a book! It was emotional from start to finish, and it was impossible to stop reading. I stopped for short breaks because it was tough to read at times, but otherwise I didn’t want to put it down! I really liked Gretel as a character, although I did struggle with her at times. However I think that’s the point of this book. It gives us a different point of view for some of the events that occurred in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and it really helps you to understand Gretel as a character. This book was hard and upsetting to read at times, but I’m glad that I read it. An absolutely fantastic book, and I can’t wait to read more from John Boyne.

I've tried so often to read John Boyne's adult novels and always found it difficult. This, a sort of sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, was no different. Intellectually, I know that All the Broken Places is an excellent piece of writing but I just couldn't connect with it. All I can conclude is that he and I just are not on the same wavelength. I'm giving it a neutral response as I know that for many people it will be one of the best books they read this year. It really is more about me than John Boyne.

Gretel is Ninety-One years old, Widowed living in London where she has lived for most over Seventy years. She fled Germany with her Mother in the aftermath of WW2 to France, and from there she went to Australia, until a chance meeting with an old acquaintance sent her travelling again, where she settled in the UK.

Having lived with the guilt of her family’s past since she was 12 years old, she has fought hard to live a normal life. At times this has been almost impossible. As the truth of the Nazi regime came to light, and the appetite to punish those involved grows stronger, there are moments when she fears for her life.

There are other moments when her own thoughts become so troubled that she no longer wishes to live.

When a young boy moves into Gretel's apartment block with his family, Gretel is transported back in time. Not only does he bear more than a passing resemblance to her deceased brother, it is apparent that he is suffering and she cannot do anything to help him.

Or can she?

Gretel must decide this time whether it would be better to intervene in something that she thinks is none of her business, or face the consequences if something terrible were to happen.

Is she trying to make up for the past, or just looking to secure the boys future?

If you haven’t read the boy in the striped pajamas it isn’t a necessity. However I would recommend it - although it is very different in writing style to this.

Loved this book. A hard look into human behaviour at its best and worst. Deals with the shocking events of the first book and how what happened all those years ago is still having an effect on the people involved so many years later. Sometimes you just can’t escape your past.

One of John Boyne’s most popular and intensely moving stories was The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and he has taken the step after all these years to tell the sequel, All the Broken Places. It must have weighed on his mind if he could maintain the legacy of such an admired and deeply profound story. Holocaust stories, especially fiction, have a responsibility to pay respect to the emotionality of characters and delicately navigate a story that never reduces the impact of the horrendous crimes committed.

Almost eighty years after the second world war, Gretel Fernsby (sister to Bruno) is living in an exclusive apartment in Mayfair London. New neighbours are moving in, and Gretel, as always worries about anyone discovering her past and the family connection to the horror capital of the world – Auschwitz. Her father was a commandant there and at the end of the war, she and her mother fled Poland to France and the life of cover-up, disguise, and constant moving in Europe and Australia began.

The novel is told in the current time with her interactions between her friends and neighbours. New neighbours play a crucial role in how her current life unfolds. In a separate timeline, Gretel also reflects on the years following the war and the events and course of action her mother took to hide their past – sometimes unsuccessfully.

Gretel is a wonderfully complex character, and John Boyne does an incredible job of challenging us to like or dislike Gretel. She is a woman who can show incredible generosity yet show dislikeable traits. She rises to action driven by concern yet can deliver harsh reactions. The fantastic aspect of Gretel’s story is deciding how culpable she was at fifteen to the inhumane compassionless environment of Auschwitz and the gnawing guilt that has been her constant companion for eighty years.

“If every man is guilty of all the good he did not do, as Voltaire suggested, then I have spent a lifetime convincing myself that I am innocent of all the bad.”

If she was innocent, why was she living under an assumed name? Why had she kept her past hidden from everyone, including her son?

The last few books from John I felt lacked a little of his brilliant storytelling capacity. I still enjoyed them as he is a master of prose and creating fascinating characters. This one is superb at all levels, as he’s back to telling a profound and captivating story. I can’t recommend this book highly enough, and if you enjoyed The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, then All the Broken Places is guaranteed to please you no end, especially as it’s more of an adult context. I want to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for providing a free ARC in return for an honest review.

The adult sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, it focuses on the sister Gretl, now 91 and a widow living a gentrified life in London. Stark but emotional, the narrative deals with guilt and complicity.

I loved the boy in the striped pyjamas so I was excited to read this one! John Boyle yet again tackles a difficult subject.
We meet Gretna, now in her nineties, living on her own but enjoying a luxurious life in London. She has buried her past, that is until a new neighbour arrives and triggers some memories for Gretna.
This is a thought provoking read that deals with guilt, complicity and grief. It’s a sad but sweet, well written book and one I’d definitely recommend,

Despite having read The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas I didn't link this book to it until getting to a certain place- my Netgalley proof missing the distinctive cover. Please note that this is not a book for a younger audience.

Gretel is an elderly lady living comfortably in an expensive apartment block in London. When a new family moves in she must confront her past in order to deal with a difficult situation.

Boyne's books often have themes of guilt and responsibility. Here Gretel's past is explored in relation to her present situation. Is she morally and ethically motivated or has her past made this impossible? Can she "atone" for the past with her present behaviour.

Nuanced and complex this is an excellent book