All the Broken Places: A Novel

The author said of "All the Broken Places" that he always had a fascination with and even a fear of the effects of the Holocaust—the evil result and enduring stain of Hitler’s autocratic rule, and its influence on the struggle for good. Boyne says that this book, “a sequel to his earlier work, "Striped Pajamas," is about guilt, complicity and grief and examines how culpable a young person might be, given the historical event unfolding around her and whether such a person can ever cleanse themselves of crimes committed by people she loved.” This book begins with a quote from Voltaire, an 18th century historian and philosopher, who wrote Candide, a satire on optimism in an evil world: “If everyman is guilty of the good he did not do, then I have spent an entire lifetime convincing myself that I am innocent of all the bad.” Gretel is the protagonist who struggles with guilt due to her own acts of commission and omission, acts of helpless association with others, guilt’s assuagement based on excuses, lies, self-preservation and, finally, redemption. She also struggles with the complexity and valence of evil not reserved to the horrors of a concentration camp. The craft of this historical novel covers 77 years of Gretel’s 92 years of life: 1945-2022, from the time she was a girl of 15 living with her loving family in the commandant’s quarters at Auschwitz in Poland until her imprisonment at age 92 in London. The 30 or so chapters are rapid-fire vignettes of past, present, past, present…, each of which demands the reader’s attention and memory, insisting along a common thread that past and present are one and the same because the familiar struggles with life keep re-emerging in different contexts—wherever you go, there you are. A strictly linear story-line would be less surprising, perhaps less interesting. The point of the book is the ubiquity of the mystery of evil cohabiting with good, the determination and drift of free will, the pressure points of contexts, the imposition of history, the relationships chosen among credible characters. Good historical novels, such as this one, showcase what real life in charged moments like post-Nazi Europe feels like on the street, in a home, with or without a family, and, above all, in the minds and decisions of credible, relatable characters. There is power in this book and a few surprises.

EXCELLENT story. The ending caught me by surprise and I loved it. Would highly recommend, particularly if you read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas first.

To the great plethora of books about the devastation of Nazi Germany is added "All the Broken Places" by Irish writer John Boyne. While well-written and compulsively readable, the plot of this novel hinges on a falsehood -- that the children of Nazi war criminals could be persecuted for the crimes of their parents. Having watched the excellent documentary "Hitler's Children" when it came out about ten years ago, I immediately questioned this premise. I did some more research and found that I was right. The wives of Nazi elite could be brought in for questioning, to be sure, by the Nuremberg tribunal, but even they weren't charged with crimes. The children were treated as children, innocent bystanders. So, without this reality, much of the motivation for the actions of the main character, Gretel Fernsby, is dubious. Her personal guilt for what happened to her brother makes more sense. But even this triggered something in my brain, for I knew I had heard this particular plot before. And, indeed, I read the author's biography and found that he was the author of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas". I'd watched the movie years before. The plot of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is also part of this book. The book moves along quite smartly, flipping between 2022 and the post-WW2 period and even mid twentieth-century, and I didn't find this narrative technique hard to follow. There is no doubt that Boyne can spin a tale. The problem becomes the believability of the plot. There is also a lot of very unpleasant narrative about wife and child abuse that I found upsetting. Necessary to the plot, but just hard to read. Still, I found I couldn't put it down because I kept wanting to know what was going to happen. So, all in all, a good read, but certainly not destined to be a classic.

I absolutely LOVE this book! The story and main character, Gretel is phenomenal! I have always loved this time period in history, but never read a story about the Holocaust from the German side of it. The story is well written, with characters that come to life on the pages and has many surprises. It is very emotional and the ending had me in tears. I highly recommend it!

I just finished All The Broken Places by John Boyne. If a book can be disturbing and riveting all at the same time, it would describe this piece of historical fiction perfectly. This novel is the continuation of the story, The Boy in The Striped Pajamas. However, it primarily centers on Bruno's sister Gretel, and gives details of what happened to her and her family after the war. Like other historical fiction novels, this too alternated between past and present, a clever way to entice the reader to keep turning pages. I don't want to give too much away in regards to the plot, but what I will say is I had great difficulty liking the main character Gretel, a sign she was well written. At times I had to walk away from the novel because Gretel made me angry and my head spun. She was often self-absorbed and in great denial of the horrors the Nazi Party had created, and then just as quickly would be overcome with guilt and fear of others finding out about her, or her family's past. As the years go by, Gretel matures and appears to accept her family's guilt, while attempting to put the past behind her. But all dark secrets have a way of catching up as she will find in the most unpleasant way. All The Broken Places is very well written, as all John Boyne books tend to be. There are twists and turns in the story that I never anticipated and the ending was a bit of a shock, although I should have seen it coming. This novel was a great way to both continue and end the story of The Boy in The Striped Pajamas.

Amazing!! Finished in 12 hours between flights. Could not put it down. The ending is shocking!

This is my first book by John Boyne. I did not read the prequel “The Boy in Striped Pajamas”which was a bestseller for a long time. Now o feel that I know that story too and will not bother reading it. I sort of like the plot of this historical novel but I cannot connect with the heroine. There are several places in this book that Boyne gets motherhood and being a witness to abuse completely wrong. Mother does not love her brother more than her own child. If witnessing abuse, the best action is to report to authorities, not hiding behind one’s own fears.

Another heart-rending post-Holocaust story that will take your breath away! Beautifully written and tender story about that horrific period of our collective history that weaves current day atrocities with historical ones.