Written in a childish style, the language resonates with the innocence within us all... Until your adult self steps in and realises what's going on. And it's then that your heart will break.

The story is simple: Bruno is a nine year old boy, who has moved from his home to a new house. It's small, cold, unfamiliar and on the outskirts of a Nazi concentration camp. The people over the fence wear striped pyjamas and always look sad. There's hundreds of kids, but no one to play with. Bruno is lonely, bored and curious. His house is filled with soldiers who wear impressive uniforms, click their heels together and raise their right arms in salute. One day whilst exploring, Bruno encounters another nine year old boy, who wears strange, striped pyjamas. It's a friendship born from loneliness, a desire to break away from tedium and simply a desire for a friend.

The characters each play their part with purpose. You may know where the next turn leads, but your heart begs it not to be true. Galloping through the narrative, you're swept from a childlike innocence to the climaxing, heartbreaking final scene.

The novel is only 200 pages long, easy enough to read in a day but will stay with you for many more. Bruno doesn't meet Shmuel until halfway through the novel, enough time to enable you to live in his world, experience his boredom and loneliness, living each day without direction. My knowledge of the Holocaust is fairly limited, but research tells me the circumstances may have some truth. My child self revelled in the wonder, the curiosity, the essence of innocence. Yet, my adult self quickly realised what was happening and was sickened. Still, I couldn't turn away.

Best novel I've read in a long time.