(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)I listened to this book, and it was pretty good, and now I see that there is a film slated to be released for it! I don't know the actor playing the main kid (9-year old Bruno, played by 8-year old Asa Butterfield) and the secondary kid (9-year old Shmuel played by Jack Scanlon).
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)It's slated for release on 20 June 2008 in UK and 31 July 2008 in Australia.
A pretty good link to an interview with the author about the movie is here:
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Summary of the movie/book (from the wikipedia entry):
This book is a story about a nine year old boy trying to understand what is happening around him in (Out-With) Auschwitz during World War II.
The main character, a nine year-old boy called Bruno, is the son of strict commander of a Nazi concentration camp. He has a strong headed sister, Gretel (the Hopeless Case). They live in a five story mansion, but are one day suddenly moved to a place called Out-With (Auschwitz).[4] Bruno, outraged by his father's decision to move to Out-With, and desperate to go home, spends his time in his room with no friends. He is also annoyed by the fact that they live in a three story house instead of their old five-story mansion, and with such a small space, there isn't any room for exploration (a hobby of Bruno's) to be done. He also misses sliding down the banister in their old house.
From his bedroom window, Bruno spots a fence with people in striped pjamas behind it. These are the Jews, and they are in a concentration camp. One day his parents come to an agreement that both Bruno and Gretel (his sister) need a tutor for their education so they hire Herr Liszt. To Bruno, Herr Liszt is the most boring teacher one could ever have - because he teaches science (such as geography and history), instead of the arts, which Bruno prefers. So, in boredom and confusion he wonders what is going on at Out-With and why people are always dressed in striped pyjamas there. One afternoon he goes exploring. What he finds is a boy, a Jewish boy called Shmuel, a name Bruno has never heard of before but apparently is quite common among Shmuel's own people. He soon becomes Bruno's friend and Bruno goes to see him every afternoon and they talk. Bruno is told by his sister that the people in the striped pyjamas on the other side of the fence are Jews and that he and his family are "the opposite". Shortly after this, Bruno and Gretel get a bad case of lice and Bruno has to have his head shaved. This makes him look a lot more like his friend Shmuel and he finds himself thinking that it is as if "they weren't all that different, really."
The story ends with Bruno about to leave Out-With and return to his previous home with his mother and sister. As a final adventure, he agrees to dress in a set of striped pyjamas and climb under a loose wire in the fence to help Shmuel find his father, who has gone missing in the camp. They do not accomplish this task, and just as it starts to rain and Bruno decides he would like to go home, the people in the area of the camp which the boys are in must go on a 'march'. Neither boy knows where this march will lead. However, they are crowded into a gas chamber, where chaos ensues, yet they discover the bonds of their friendship are very tight.
The book ends with the effects of Bruno's disappearance on his family, and his father discovering his clothes outside of the fence.