The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne is a poignant historical novel that explores innocence, friendship and the devastating consequences of prejudice and war. The story follows nine-year-old Bruno, who moves with his family to a remote area during the Second World War and forms an unlikely friendship with Shmuel, a Jewish boy living on the other side of a barbed-wire fence. Through Bruno’s innocent perspective, the novel offers a powerful exploration of friendship, loss, the Holocaust and the human cost of intolerance.