John Boyne
Penguin Random House
Otago Daily Times, December 2022
John Boyne’s latest novel, a clever and confronting adult sequel to The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, is the story of Bruno’s sister, Gretel. It is a nuanced exploration of how fear, shame and grief over her father’s role at Auschwitz and her own responsibility for what occurred there have shaped her life.
The novel opens with the arrival of new tenants in the apartment below Gretel’s. Although initially wary, the formidable nonagenarian eventually befriends the family’s 9-year-old son, Henry, whose presence brings back long-buried memories. When she discovers Henry’s father is physically and psychologically abusing his wife and son, Gretel is confronted by a hauntingly familiar choice: intervene and risk exposure to save them or protect herself and walk away.
Events in present-day London alternate with scenes from the past, showing the ongoing damage caused by the secrets Gretel carries. Her character is simultaneously sympathetic and selfish, and although the story is told through her eyes, the emotional tone is deliberately neutral, leaving us to make our own judgements about the morality of her actions. All The Broken Places is a complex examination of guilt and redemption, with a twist that hits just as hard as its antecedent.
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