The Boy at the Top of the Mountain

I really hated this book but at the same time I literally could not put it down. From the very beginning I had a gut feeling it was going to make me sad. But it also made me angry. Experiencing those conflicting emotions simultaneously made me uncomfortable and I think that is, simply put, what makes Boyne's writing so compelling.He writes about the human condition with such audacity and incisiveness, yet its also clever and engrossing. In this case we have Pierrot, a boy of 7 with a French mother and a German father living in Paris in 1936. His father, dogged by his demons from WWI, has become an alcoholic and abusive. He (I believe) either committed suicide or was so inebriated that he fell in front of a train leaving Pierrot and his Maman to fend for themselves. Shortly thereafter she succumbs to tuberculosis orphaning Pierrot. This is in the blurb and not a spoiler.What's important to note here is Pierrot's characterization. His best friend is the deaf Jewish boy downstairs, Anshel, who writes stories and gives them to Pierrot to critique. Their bond is a palpable one and they even develop their own language. He is small for his age, is constantly ridiculed for it and the cherry on top was how Boyne ensnared me with how sweet, kind and tender-hearted he is which made all the suffering exponentially harder to stomach. After a brief time with Anshel's family he's sent to an orphanage where he was bullied before his long lost aunt sends for him.Beatrix is the housekeeper at the Berghof. *horrified face*Things rapidly deteriorated from there, as you can imagine. He grows up under the diabolical tutelage of the Führer in the heart of the Nazi regime from the ages of 7 to 16. Formative years, to be sure.What I found so riveting was this notion that Boyne's playing with of power and corruption and how easily, given a certain set of circumstances, they can alter a person. Beatrix in her desire to do right by her brother set in motion a chain of events that irrevocably changed people's lives, altering sweet little Pierrot in chilling ways and transforming him into loyal Pieter, Oberscharführer, who's unruly and capable of monstrous deeds. Which leads to the question of can reparations be made? And at what age are we to be held accountable for our actions?I'm certain everyone will have a different experience with this book. I lean towards optimism and perseverance, but regardless, anything that makes me think, examine and evaluate this much is worthy of 5 stars despite the fact that I still feel a bit sickened and in desperate need of some fluff.Nevertheless, Boyne's writing leaves an impression that's hard to ignore, so I will continue to read his words.

We all seek approval. What lengths will we go to get it though? No one can deny that Adolph Hitler had a powerful personality. What would happen to a boy under his influence, a boy seeking a father's approval and recognition. When Pierrot is orphaned, his aunt who lives and works as housekeeper for a remote house in the German mountains brings him to live with her. She is housekeeper to none other than the legendary, Adolph Hitler. To keep Pierrot safe, she forces him to leave his French identity behind and become a good German boy; after all, his father was a German soldier who died from emotional trauma inflicted upon him in the last war, so Pierrot, now Pieter, is also German. However, his aunt's efforts and the Fuher's acceptance of Pieter will not bring about the results that his aunt so dearly hoped for.The Boy at the Top of the Mountain is a cautionary tale of the power of influence in shaping a person's life. Pierrot doesn't realize the mistakes that he's been making until it is too late. Because the book is an honest portrayal of what could happen, it is a sad book to read but worthwhile. For preteens and teens, this book should be read and discussed. As a teacher, I can just imagine the great conversations that this book could catalyze in a history or a literature classroom. The possibilities are abundant.Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Children's Publishing for an electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Not one of John Boyne's best works, in my opinion. It's the story of a French child who loses his parents and winds up by chance in the hands of Adolph Hitler. The exposure to the Nazi leader results in the rapid and total loss of the child's unbiased view of people and life and brings the vilest betrayals and loss of loved ones.This is a dark, dark novel that I did not enjoy in the least. Author Boyne has a habit of exploring human betrayal and road back.. In this story though, redemption does not seem plausible. I wish that I had avoided the book.

John Boyne is a gifted and sensitive writer who knows how to construct a story to great effect. This book and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas use the background of the Holocaust to tell an immensely moving tragic story. His verbal inventiveness adds brilliant touches. The boys speak of "the fury" and "out-with" because they cannot pronounce "the Führer" and the name of the extermination camp Auschwitz. It's minor but effective device. I first became aware of these stories when I saw the film production of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Spoiler: I was moved to tears by the plot. One of the boys is Jewish, the other a Gentile. The twist is this: the Gentile boy is the beloved son of the Commandant of Auschwitz, and the boy innocently follows his Jewish friend into the gas chamber where they both perish. The implied grief of the Commandant and his wife is supreme irony in that they are compelled to share the grief of all the families whose loved ones were lost in Auschwitz. The Boy at the Top of the MountainThe Boy at the Top of the Mountain

I thought this book was rather boring. I really liked The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, but not this one as much.What I didn't like was that there wasn't a real climax; no sudden dawning that Hitler was evil. The language is overall pretty good. There is some violence. There is one scene in which Pierre tries to sexually assault a girl. There are scenes of murder and suicide. All of these, of course, are real parts of war.; however, I would only let upper grade (junior high and older) students read it.Overall, the book is pretty good--but just not anything exciting. Just a story.

Nine years after he had published “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”, John Boyne has written a novel about another boy during the Holocaust period. Both books were written primarily for teenagers, though they have had quite a following among adults. I had severe misgivings about the earlier book (see my three-star Amazon review of 3 April 2007) which I felt arch in tone and unbelievable. So it was with some hesitation that I approached this one. It is more credible, showing how a young boy can be corrupted by being indoctrinated with Nazism, and is an improvement on the earlier book. I found it more readable, though slightly simplistic in treatment, directed, as it is, to a young readers who, however, require a little bit of background knowledge of the period to catch several of the allusions.The story begins in Paris in 1936. Pierrot is aged seven. He is already bilingual because his mother was French and his father German. But they have both died; and he is sent to an orphanage in Orléans, from which orphans are occasionally adopted. His father’s sister Beatrix, with whom his parents had not been in touch for many years, learns that Pierrot’s parents have died and adopts him. Pierrot is put on a train and on his journey through Germany has some very unpleasant experiences. Eventually he arrives at the Berghof, Hitler’s retreat just on the German side of the German-Austrian border, where Beatrix is the housekeeper.Pierrot soon learns, to his bewilderment, a number of things; for example, that he is expected to be German rather than French; that he is to be called Pieter instead of Pierrot, and is to dress like a little German boy in Lederhosen; and that he must never mention the Jewish name of his closest friend back in Paris, Anshel Bronstein. For a time the two boys write to each other using a code instead of their names.As Pierrot did everything he was told, Hitler took a fancy to him and presented him with the uniform of the Deutsche Jungvolk, the stage before the Hitler Youth. This made Pierrot feel proud and powerful. With time he became arrogant and domineering. Hitler spoke to him about his ambitions for Germany, and by the time Pierrot is about eleven, the war had broken out and France had fallen, he had absorbed these ideas and attitudes as his own. That included antisemitism, notwithstanding his old friendship with Anshel, whose last letter had indicated that he and his mother were preparing to be deported.His aunt, Hitler’s chauffeur Ernst, and several members of the staff are quietly critical of Hitler, but they are all terrified of appearing so. But Pierrot gives them away, and ghastly scenes follow.Boyne allows himself considerable liberties about the chauffeur – see the Wikipedia entry about Erich Kempka, said in the novel to have replaced Ernst. Many other real historical figures appear in the book, including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and Karl Bischoff who was in charge of the construction of Auschwitz. Pierrot, at Hitler’s command, takes notes at the meeting where Bischoff outlines his building plans to Hitler.When Germany’s defeat is inevitable, Pierrot begins to take in how compromised he has been; and this insight dominates the ending of the book, which, however, I felt was not properly worked out.

The best word I can use to describe this book is 'grand'. It was a good enough book, although a little ghastly and upsetting for my liking. It was intriguing nonetheless, however.I would first of all like to make it clear of two things:1. This book is NOT for children under 10. And the 10yr old would have to be a mature reader, so it's probably better, parents, if you read a sample amd decide for yourself. I read this when I was 10, but I have read gorier tales, and I am the ultimate bookworm, so this was OK.2. The reader should first know a little about the war, or else they will not understand some of the book. A book I would reccomend to read first, and then this, is 'The Diary of A Young Girl' by Anne Frank.However, all that said, it was a fantastic story, and the characters, though not very likeable (this is OK though, given the dark theme of the book), are very detailed and very realistic. Pierrot, the young boy who turns absolutely evil,ade me really want to punch Hitler in his big evil face! Ah well. Everybody hates Hitler! A good rush of different emotions were continuously speeding through me the whole way through. I did enjoy the book, a brilliant plot, fab characters, great.So 4 stars from me. A good book for anyody wanting to learn about world war 2. I do reccomend it!

Pierre Fischer 7yrs lived with his mother in Paris, his best friend Anshel Bronstein also lived with his mother, Anshel was deaf and they used sign language to talk to each other, Pierre's father had been German and Pierre spoke both languages, after his father had killed himself Pierre spent most days in the back of a restuarant where his mother worked, his mother died Tb and he lived with Anshel but soon after was moved to an orphanage in Orleans, Pierre hated the orphanagePierre's aunt Beatrix offered to take him, she worked in a house at the top of a mountain, he was warned to day he was German and answer to Pieter, one day the master arrived Adolf Hitler, Pierre was given a Hitler Youth uniform, Pierre becomes to know of many things talked about in the house and became a loyal Nazi, one day he turned in his own Aunt Beatrix and the car driver for plotting against Hitler, both were tortured and shot, he becomes drunk on his new found power, how will he cope with the end of the war approaching

I purposely didn't read the synopsis of this book before buying or reading it and I'm so glad, because I got such a shocking surprise. I bought this book after the emotional journey of reading The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and this did not disappoint. This was written in classic John Boyne style, from the unknown and innocent perspective of a young German boy in the mist of the Hitler rising. This was powerful and Boyne has a way of writing that makes you think and pulls at the heartstrings, possibly by using the perspective of looking through the eyes of an innocent child in the mist of something harrowing.This is a book I am planning on rereading and I think that knowing what I know now about the plot of the book, going into this a second time, it may make this a 5 star book.

This little gem by the critically acclaimed author of 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' is well worth a read. It is quite short, but is packed full of emotional turmoil, as he tells the story of a young boy corrupted by power and ambition. This is a novel that is simultaneously moving and horrifying, posing poignant questions of responsibility and accountability, in the context of the Hitler's rise to power and the Holocaust. Boyne's ending twist is masterful, demonstrating a heartwarming ability to shed light onto even the darkest of human stories, yet without underestimating humanity's capacity for extreme selfishness and cruelty. Whoever you are and whatever your interests, this is a tale that needs to be read.