Alfie is a marvelous character. He’s curious, intelligent, a hard worker, resourceful and tenacious. Of course, although he’s been forced to take on more responsibility due to the war effort, he is only a child, and he doesn’t fully understand all that is happening. The fact that his mother tries to shield him from adult troubles leads him to draw his own conclusions, and, ultimately, to take action to fix the problem as he sees it. Because of Alfie, this gets 5 stars. This is the 3rd book by this author that I've read. I didn't love his 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'...it was only 3 stars for me. 'The Absolutist' got 4 stars. I love this author's writing. His prose is absolutely beautiful. So many times, I felt wowed. He has a gift with words. Then, while shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees his father's name - on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realises his father is in a hospital close by - a hospital treating soldiers with an unusual condition. a b Flood, Alison (7 January 2020). "The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas author defends work from criticism by Auschwitz memorial". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 27 February 2020. This looks like a great resource. Looking forward to using it with S2 (Scottish schools) next year. Thank you for the effort you put in to creating a thorough and exciting unit for this novel.

I'm sure a lot of readers today will relate to Alfie - there are still men, women and children dying in wars, there are still people who live in the fear of never seeing one of their friends or family again. As a history teacher I really think this book is a bit of a gem. I can see myself happily using it to suggest as extended reading for those eager students who want a bit more out of the World War One unit I currently teach but we haven't got the time for in class. Being aimed at a slightly younger audience also meant it wasn't nasty or graphic in the way war stories for teens can be meaning I can happily recommend it to younger or more sensitive students without worrying about them being traumatised by what they are reading.Tengo tantos sentimientos encontrados con Quédense en la trinchera y luego corran que no pude ponerle más de dos estrellas después de tratar de ordenarlos. Por una parte, siento que la historia que Boyne quiso contar es respetable. Por otro lado, siento que falló en la forma de hacerlo. No he leído otros libros del autor como para saber si algunas cosas que hallé aquí se repiten indefectiblemente en su narrativa o si sólo dio la casualidad de que empecé a leerlo por uno de los peores libros que escribió. Puede que sea la opción B y el cincuenta por ciento de la calificación sea mi culpa. Alfie's confusion and hope that his father will return home soon are at war with his growing certainty that his father is dead... until one day in King's Cross Station , while shining the shoes of a military doctor. Alfie discovered the first real clue about what had REALLY happened to Georgie, and this discovery made his heart soar and sent him on a truly wondrous mission of his own to find his father. Stay Where You Are and Then Leave is beautifully written and enjoyable, but it does not shy away from the harshness of wartime and the effect the war had on the entire country. Alfie is only nine years old, so he escapes battle, but what's most heartbreaking to me is that he has no idea that he'll be forced to experience exactly what Georgie has been through in 21 years time when World War II breaks out. Stay Where You Are and Then Leave is almost a crash course in World War I history, weaving an emotional story with the reality of war (we even get a little cameo from the Prime Minister at the time!) as well as an understanding of cultural attitudes. Stay Where You Are and Then Leave is a wonderful novel that shares a very important part of our history, tough to read at times but incredibly rewarding.

An interesting point was that each chapter was called, as I found out, a line from different songs that were popular at that time.The only things that the story could have done without were the occasional unnecessary descriptions, although I liked the way that the tale - well, the writing – seemed to be growing with Alfie. Pluma del autor súper sencilla y adictiva. Jamás deja que la historia caiga, es super atrapante. Otra cosa positiva que tiene es que no está cargada de descripciones y tiene bastantes diálogos.

Stay Where You Are And Then Leave

Four years later, Alfie doesn't know where his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission. John Boyne (born 30 April 1971) is an Irish novelist. [1] He is the author of fourteen novels for adults, six novels for younger readers, two novellas and one collection of short stories. His novels are published in over 50 languages. His 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was adapted into a 2008 film of the same name. I learnt a lot throughout this book, for example the meanings of 'conchie' and the 'white feather'. I was very touched and moved by the ending, and also horrified at what some of the soldiers had to go through. I think this is an important book, especially this year for the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, and if you are looking for a book to find out a bit more about the war and the people who had to live through it, then I strongly recommend this one.

Otra cosa que no me gustó: los personajes femeninos son pésimos. No porque sean malas personas y estén bien construidas, no. Según mi punto de vista, son horribles a propósito, porque cuando se las pone en la balanza con los personajes masculinos (comentario al pasar: todos dicen algo malo sobre las mujeres en algún momento) pierden. Las mujeres que se quedan en la casa no hacen más que quejarse (como Margie) o marcar de la cobardía ajena (como la abuela de Alfie). A pesar de que ambos géneros no puedan escapar de lo arquetípico que ya señalé, algunos indicios en la narración me llevan a pensar que está decidido de antemano a quién le tengo que ofrecer mi absoluta consideración y a quién no. Los personajes masculinos tienen tiempo para hablar de los traumas y de los padecimientos (me parece perfecto que se resalte esto, pero no "en detrimento de"), sean soldados o no, mientras que a los personajes femeninos les falta vida interior. Margie se desgasta por sostener el hogar, pero más allá de que ella misma cree que es una inútil, no sé nada de ella. Podría decir un par de cosas más pero me las reservo porque no es mi intención polemizar.After reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I was sold on John Boyne as well as the enjoyment of reading young adult novels. I'm fascinated by the effect of war on children, on how they respond to the bravery, cowardice, brutality and unexpected kindnesses that mark conflicts between nations. The Absolutist and Stay Where You Are And Then Leave form two parts of what I hope will one day be a trilogy of novels relating to the Great War; just as my next children's novel – which is currently on a second draft – will complete a trilogy of war stories, after The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas and Stay, featuring young people at their centre. But a trilogy is simply a convenient term to unify the spirit of these novels. There are many more than can be written, trilogies of trilogies, for at the heart of every conflict are a thousand stories that can be told and it is just as important that we write these stories with young readers in mind as adult audiences. After all, in war adults lose their lives but children lose their parents. And what greater fear does a child have than that? John Boyne: 'Only a fool or an incurable optimist would think you can solve the world's problems in 280 characters' ". Irish Independent. 13 August 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023 . Retrieved 27 August 2021. Boyne, John (22 February 2018). "John Boyne on Homosexuality and Changing Attitudes". WHSmith . Retrieved 1 February 2019. [...]not because I had any issue with being gay[...] Readers' impressions on this book will largely vary based on their feelings toward our main character, Alfie. While I admired his strength and determination, his character paled in comparison to Bruno's character from The Boy With The Striped Pajamas. I really wanted to fall for Alfie's character, but I felt like much of his story was intentionally written to pull on readers' heartstrings. His story felt a bit forced at times and I didn't realize feel a cavalcade of emotion like I felt I should've. I truly can't read a book and feel touched enough to cry when I feel like the author merely inserts sentimental moments just so readers will shed tears.