All the Broken Places: A Novel

Wow! A difficult topic to be sure - the atrocities of the German concentration camps and the aftermath. But, I loved the way the story was written flipping back and forth between then and now. I really liked that the back and forth was every few pages- too fast to loose track. Well written, lots of emotion and different perspectives and a few unexpected twists. I thought a great book!

We close this book for our book club. This book had lots of twists and turns. It was very entertaining with a few twists and turn that I didn't see until I read further.It would make an entertaining movie.

The sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is captivating, moving and as expected, quite sad. This is the exploration of Gretel's life, her guilt and her atonement. I could hardly put this down, even toward the end (which was shocking, but rushed). No regrets reading this one...if you've read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, then you really SHOULD read this.

An incredible tale that reads like a movie. I did not want it to end, and the questions its left me asking about myself, it has not.

This story caught my attention right away. The story itself was very interesting but it flowed easily from chapter to chapter. Even though each chapter moved from one time period to another, it was easy to stay focused. It was suspenseful so it forced me to keep reading. Great book, I highly recommend for book clubs.

I was hooked immediately and couldn’t put this book down. Very well written and captivating. A must read!

Although the changes in place, age, and location were a bit disconcerting overall this was an excellent book with a satisfying ending! I liked it so much that now I have to read “The Boy In the Striped Pajamas”.

After reading many novels about WWII and the Holocaust, I stayed clear from reading books about that time period. My friends and I are avid readers of historical fiction, but it seemed we burnt out on that topic. However, All the Broken Places was well written, fast paced, and suspenseful. John Boyne created such a deep character, who you loved and loathed. He enlightened my awareness of the struggles/guilt of POSTwar Germans who were part of the Nazi regime, not by choice and the young “innocent “ Germans. I highly recommend this book with a different twist and perspective. I’m looking forward to reading another Boyne novel.

You cannot put it down, great storytelling, mixing past and present in a seamless way. This is a must read

This is by no means a book for young people as the original was. It is sophisticated, clever, twisted, dark and startling. As with so many John Boyne novels, it is the wonderful arc of the narrative and the complexity of the characters which drives the book. This is brilliant. I don't know why I put off reading it for so long. Thank you for a deeply satisfying read.

Ich kann das Buch sehr empfehlen. Ich habe bereits den Vorgänger verschlungen und auch dieses Buch ist nicht leicht aus der Hand zu legen. Gretel betrachtet die Welt anders als Bruno, steht ihm aber um nichts nach. Sehen wir die Welt im vorigen Buch durch die Augen eines Kindes, so nehmen wir dieses Mal die Sicht der Erwachsenen Gretel in ihren unterschiedlichen Lebenslagen wahr. Sie ist sich ihrer Verantwortung bewusst, scheut aber die Auseinandersetzung mit der Vergangenheit. Die vielen Stränge ergeben am Ende ein in sich geschlossenes Bild und man versteht wie aus der 12-jährigen Gretel die Frau wurde, die sie mit 91 schließlich ist.

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Brilliantly written book about a subject that is not explored much, the war from the perspective of those who were children then. The writing style is very engrossing and it’s a difficult book to put down.