John Boyne has written such a good, poignant book. This is a fascinating story that I recommend you pick up!

How do we get to live with who we are?

This is a kind of before and after book to Boyne’s Auschwitz set The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas. Here, is Hugo’s older sister, Gretel. Complicit, older than her younger brother, more influenced by fascism. Gretel is now in her 90’s, living in London, and has spent a life disguising her past. Now, things come back to haunt her, as a family living below her, with their own secrets, and a vulnerable child, begin to unravel memories she has spent a lifetime burying. This is a beautiful, lacerating book, both heartbreaking and redemptive

Boyne is a wonderful weaver of stories, narratives driven always by complex and believable characters

Highly recommended

Excellent book, very well written and once again a powerful and thought provoking story. This sequel to The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas tells the story of Bruno’s sister, Gretel and how her experiences of WW2 affected her life afterwards.

I didn’t know what to expect with this book. I wondered what a sequel would reveal and how Gretel’s story could be told. But, Boyne did an excellent job of capturing her perspective telling her journey from the end of the war to being 92 years old. In The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, Gretel’s character was not exactly likeable and one, in hindsight, I seemed to overlook. This story really got me thinking about that, and how many stories are, unfortunately, overlooked.

This is a story of guilt and grief, but one I would highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Doubleday AND John Boyne for this book and the opportunity to review (even though I am very late in leaving it!).

Such a complex book. An outstanding sequel to The Boy in Striped Pajamas. The prose that delivers into the complicated feelings of the characters is done so beautifully and the story is so thought provoking and compassionate.

The ending is a surprise but I would definitely recommend this read.

This is going to be a hard review to write because wow - what a book! It was emotional from start to finish, and it was impossible to stop reading. I stopped for short breaks because it was tough to read at times, but otherwise I didn’t want to put it down! I really liked Gretel as a character, although I did struggle with her at times. However I think that’s the point of this book. It gives us a different point of view for some of the events that occurred in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and it really helps you to understand Gretel as a character. This book was hard and upsetting to read at times, but I’m glad that I read it. An absolutely fantastic book, and I can’t wait to read more from John Boyne.

I've tried so often to read John Boyne's adult novels and always found it difficult. This, a sort of sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, was no different. Intellectually, I know that All the Broken Places is an excellent piece of writing but I just couldn't connect with it. All I can conclude is that he and I just are not on the same wavelength. I'm giving it a neutral response as I know that for many people it will be one of the best books they read this year. It really is more about me than John Boyne.

Gretel is Ninety-One years old, Widowed living in London where she has lived for most over Seventy years. She fled Germany with her Mother in the aftermath of WW2 to France, and from there she went to Australia, until a chance meeting with an old acquaintance sent her travelling again, where she settled in the UK.

Having lived with the guilt of her family’s past since she was 12 years old, she has fought hard to live a normal life. At times this has been almost impossible. As the truth of the Nazi regime came to light, and the appetite to punish those involved grows stronger, there are moments when she fears for her life.

There are other moments when her own thoughts become so troubled that she no longer wishes to live.

When a young boy moves into Gretel's apartment block with his family, Gretel is transported back in time. Not only does he bear more than a passing resemblance to her deceased brother, it is apparent that he is suffering and she cannot do anything to help him.

Or can she?

Gretel must decide this time whether it would be better to intervene in something that she thinks is none of her business, or face the consequences if something terrible were to happen.

Is she trying to make up for the past, or just looking to secure the boys future?

If you haven’t read the boy in the striped pajamas it isn’t a necessity. However I would recommend it - although it is very different in writing style to this.

Loved this book. A hard look into human behaviour at its best and worst. Deals with the shocking events of the first book and how what happened all those years ago is still having an effect on the people involved so many years later. Sometimes you just can’t escape your past.

One of John Boyne’s most popular and intensely moving stories was The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and he has taken the step after all these years to tell the sequel, All the Broken Places. It must have weighed on his mind if he could maintain the legacy of such an admired and deeply profound story. Holocaust stories, especially fiction, have a responsibility to pay respect to the emotionality of characters and delicately navigate a story that never reduces the impact of the horrendous crimes committed.

Almost eighty years after the second world war, Gretel Fernsby (sister to Bruno) is living in an exclusive apartment in Mayfair London. New neighbours are moving in, and Gretel, as always worries about anyone discovering her past and the family connection to the horror capital of the world – Auschwitz. Her father was a commandant there and at the end of the war, she and her mother fled Poland to France and the life of cover-up, disguise, and constant moving in Europe and Australia began.

The novel is told in the current time with her interactions between her friends and neighbours. New neighbours play a crucial role in how her current life unfolds. In a separate timeline, Gretel also reflects on the years following the war and the events and course of action her mother took to hide their past – sometimes unsuccessfully.

Gretel is a wonderfully complex character, and John Boyne does an incredible job of challenging us to like or dislike Gretel. She is a woman who can show incredible generosity yet show dislikeable traits. She rises to action driven by concern yet can deliver harsh reactions. The fantastic aspect of Gretel’s story is deciding how culpable she was at fifteen to the inhumane compassionless environment of Auschwitz and the gnawing guilt that has been her constant companion for eighty years.

“If every man is guilty of all the good he did not do, as Voltaire suggested, then I have spent a lifetime convincing myself that I am innocent of all the bad.”

If she was innocent, why was she living under an assumed name? Why had she kept her past hidden from everyone, including her son?

The last few books from John I felt lacked a little of his brilliant storytelling capacity. I still enjoyed them as he is a master of prose and creating fascinating characters. This one is superb at all levels, as he’s back to telling a profound and captivating story. I can’t recommend this book highly enough, and if you enjoyed The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, then All the Broken Places is guaranteed to please you no end, especially as it’s more of an adult context. I want to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for providing a free ARC in return for an honest review.

The adult sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, it focuses on the sister Gretl, now 91 and a widow living a gentrified life in London. Stark but emotional, the narrative deals with guilt and complicity.

I loved the boy in the striped pyjamas so I was excited to read this one! John Boyle yet again tackles a difficult subject.
We meet Gretna, now in her nineties, living on her own but enjoying a luxurious life in London. She has buried her past, that is until a new neighbour arrives and triggers some memories for Gretna.
This is a thought provoking read that deals with guilt, complicity and grief. It’s a sad but sweet, well written book and one I’d definitely recommend,

Despite having read The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas I didn't link this book to it until getting to a certain place- my Netgalley proof missing the distinctive cover. Please note that this is not a book for a younger audience.

Gretel is an elderly lady living comfortably in an expensive apartment block in London. When a new family moves in she must confront her past in order to deal with a difficult situation.

Boyne's books often have themes of guilt and responsibility. Here Gretel's past is explored in relation to her present situation. Is she morally and ethically motivated or has her past made this impossible? Can she "atone" for the past with her present behaviour.

Nuanced and complex this is an excellent book

Boyne is an old-fashioned storyteller - and that's a grand thing. In other hands, the story of All The Broken Places would be over-complicated or weighed down in an attempt to make it a serious piece of "literary fiction".

In this novel we have so many serious themes - loss, grief, guilt, responsibility, duty, love, family, war, persecution...and all from a variety of angles - yet it is so easy to read. The pace is beautifully judged and the reader is never left behind or in confusion even though the book jumps between several decades. Instead of battling with the prose, we can save our energies and intellect for considering the story and its cast of very different characters - and how the past shape us and our future actions.

It is by no means perfect; a couple of characters could have been fleshed out a little more. However, it is a worthy follow-up to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

I have read and enjoyed almost all of John Boyne’s books. I believe he is one of the most amazing story tellers out there. However his last two novels massively missed the mark for me, so it was with trepidation that I started All The Broken Places. I am delighted to say that this is Boyne back at his best. The story is that of Gretel. The sister from his best selling novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. It is a dual timeline of just after the war and today. It is a story of survival, guilt, strength and bravery. It is upsetting at times, funny also but Gretel’s character is wonderfully written. Complex, likeable, unlikeable, weak, strong… a perfect depiction of a complicated, flawed human. This is an excellent read. I thoroughly recommend to all.

What an amazing emotional read. I never read the boy in the striped pajamas but I did see the film so I knew the background to the book. The story follows Gretel, the older sister from the moment she leaves Germany and into her adult life.
Heartbreaking at time yet also heartwarming, the author had me feeling 101 different emotions and captured the story beautifully. This has definitely becoming my favorite read of 2022.

All The Broken Places by John Boyne is a sequel to The Boy in The Stripped Pyjamas. This book is a sequel that does not require you to read the prequel. References are made only for the purpose of shedding light on Gretel Fernsby's obsession to protect her identity.
All the Broken Places tells the story of Gretel Fernsby, a 91-year-old German-born resident of present-day London. I have read the prequel to this novel and enjoyed it. When the opportunity to read All The Broken Places was presented, I had high expectations. I have to say that I am not disappointed.
John Boyne's vivid description of the events in the prequel through the eyes of a nine-year-old is skillfully repeated here through the eyes of a ninety-one-year-old. I have to consciously remind myself that this is a work of fiction albeit, historical fiction. All the characters mentioned in the book add credibility to the story.
The book begins with Gretel Fernsby meditating on a quote by the psychologist - Voltaire "if everyman is guilty of all the good he did not do". This sets the tone for the story.
We are taken on a journey with Gretel Fernsby over a period of eighty years. Her escape from Poland through Paris, to Australia, and her final destination of London. These places are revisited in the book as events or words trigger Gretel's memory. They feature are flashbacks as Gretel's life story unravels and done brilliantly in a manner that explains Gretel's emotional state.
Whilst The boy in the Stripped Pyjamas tells the story of the holocaust from a child's perspective, All The Broken Places is a thought-provoking adult read that deals with guilt, complicity, and grief.
This book is highly engaging and well-written and truly deserves a five-star rating.

I enjoyed, if that’s the right word, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas therefore was delighted to be sent the follow up book. Again John Boyle tackles a difficult subject and although I really didn’t like young Greta, the older Greta became tolerable. There is good writing and some strong characters in this book but because I didn’t empathise at all with Greta, I have found it hard to love this book.

I read The Hearts Invisible Furies this year and was completely blown away by the beauty of Boyne’s writing, the perfection of his story telling ..and decided to read everything he has written. I had not realised that this was the sequel to Boy in the Striped Pyjamas when I requested it ..so I read Boy immediately before reading this.
Reading the books in sequence was a rather unique and illuminating experience and probably coloured my opinion. At the beginning of Broken Places I felt a resistance to to the need for a sequel…the ending of Boy seemed so desperately final. This novel seemed to have jumped me into a completely different world and I was initially unsettled by the characters and their appearance. The characters were not only several years older but the setting so different from the house beside the camp..Whilst this is described as the adult sequel to Boy; Boy was deemed Young Adult so there is definitely some adjustment in style as well…

Much of the story is post war and it is difficult to describe the plot without giving anything away to readers of Boy. It is entirely possible to read both on their own but you would miss so much; the links between the two are so wonderfully, remarkably entwined. The timeline switches around. In the ‘present’ Greta is living in a well appointed flat in Mayfair; she has a grown up son; is closely attached to her neighbour Heidi who is experiencing dementia. A young couple have moved into the building with their young son. Things don’t seem happy and Greta is uneasy about the situation and about the emergence of memories of her brother Bruno. Trying to unwrap their story inevitably unravels her own…

Another timeline focuses on Greta and her Mother building a post war life together in France. Greta’s Mother is moving on to forge a new relationship; they have both kept their past secret..

And threaded between these timelines the story switches back to that house in Germany..

Once I had made the transition between the two novels I was totally overwhelmed by the incredible story writing and the emerging themes. This is definitely an adult novel which poses questions about culpability, retribution, forgiveness, guilt..I found myself debating with myself about the issues raised..about Greta’s age, about her culpability and about whether you can ever find, or deserve to find peace. And as events unfolded in the present I wondered how Greta could ever free herself of her past.

Another tour de force from John Boyne and I cannot wait to read more.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Random House for a digital copy of this amazing book.

Gretel, now in her nineties, lives a luxurious life in London. She has hidden from her past as it is too shocking to reveal When a new neighbour moves in with her young son, horrors from the past are awakened in Gretel. A truly great sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

Sweet and sad follow on to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, this is the story of Bruno's sister.

Forever touched by her past, Gretel is now an elderly lady living alone in a city flat. Her story since her traumatic childhood is gradually completed for the reader. She's brave, independent and full of love for those who need it - including Henry, the young boy who lives downstairs in a world of domestic violence.

Beautifully and carefully written.