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All The Broken Places

The Sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

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All The Broken Places

By: John Boyne
Narrated by: Helen Lloyd, Kristin Atherton
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

1946. Three years after a cataclysmic event which tore their lives apart, a mother and daughter flee Poland for Paris, shame, and fear at their heels, not knowing how hard it is to escape your past.

Nearly eighty years later, Gretel Fernsby lives a life that is a far cry from her traumatic childhood. When a couple moves into the flat below her in her London mansion block, it should be nothing more than a momentary inconvenience. However, the appearance of their nine-year-old son Henry brings back memories she would rather forget.

Faced with a choice between her own safety and his, Gretel is taken back to a similar crossroads she encountered long ago. Back then, her complicity dishonoured her life, but to interfere now could risk revealing the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting.


All the Broken Places is John Boyne's masterful sequel to his classic bestseller, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, taking a character from that novel on a journey to a place she never goes - the past. Through her story, he explores the aftermath of the war and the effects of a lifetime of guilt.

© John Boyne 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

 20th Century Family Life Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War

Critic Reviews

Gripping and well-honed...consummately constructed, humming with tension... a defence of literature's need to shine a light on the darkest aspects of human nature and it does so with a novelist's skill, precision and power
'What an incredible feat of storytelling. All the Broken Places is a stark confrontation of evil, an examination of guilt and deflection, and an old-fashioned page-turner. John treads the finest of narrative lines with skill and grace and proves himself yet again to be among the world's greatest storytellers. '
An eloquent meditation on guilt, complicity and redemption.. a remarkable novel, with humanity at its core
Beautifully told and gripping from first page to last
This novel, this exceptional, layered and compelling story, is built on modern history and all of us people who live it. The protagonist, the elderly, forthright and mysterious Mrs. Fernsby, is more than memorable and every one of Boyne's characters, and every scene, dark or light, is limned in truth and insight. This book moves like a freight train,with force and consequence for the reader.
'When is a monster's child culpable? Guilt and complicity are multifaceted. John Boyne is a maestro of historical fiction. You can't prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel'
John Boyne is a master storyteller
John Boyne is not just one of Ireland's best living novelists but also one of the best novelists of Ireland
Compulsively readable
Boyne offers writing of insight and beauty
All stars
Most relevant
I hesitated about writing a review however reading comments from some stirred me into responding…I respect the writer’s inexplicable commitment to this time in life….as is and has been mine to a less detailed expression. I was engrossed chapter by chapter and was critical of the Australian segment until I realised that I was in judgement about an experience I wanted to believe I would have handled quite differently. In hindsight I realised we do what we do because of all the misplaced emotions that at the time seemed so important and overwhelming. It was a thoughtful story, and that is what I look for - because of the writer’s ability to cause me to reflect and respect this tenuous time of my life.

All the broken places

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Just buy this audio and be transported to a world of grief, guilt and hope. What a follow up book. Clever, menacing and yet totally nuanced.

When a Sequel is Brilliant

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I could not stop listening to this audiobook. It brought up so many mixed emotions as many of the characters are unlikeable. They are however, fully developed and nuanced and we begin to understand the complexity of life and human nature.

Compelling

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This is fourth book I have read by this author - and been amazed and engrossed by each story, for different reasons.
For me, the author's summation at the end of the book, voiced very eloquently how I felt: each emotion resonating, but at the same time the question of, what may I have done in a similar situation. Well worth the read!

Both engaging and challenging.

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Once again John Boyne kept me listening to his story.
His books never fail to grab me and I highly recommend All the Broken Places. I was unable to stop listening. I just had to know how Gretel’s story ended.

A great listen

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