All The Broken Places

The Sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

By: John Boyne

Narrated by: Helen Lloyd, Kristin Atherton

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

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

I couldn't stop listening!

An amazing story and performance! One of the best auidobooks I've listened to! I loved the structure of the story and the interesting perspective! 10/10 from me!

Magnificent

“The boy in the striped pyjamas” is one of my top 10 favourite books and so I was delighted to see a continuation of the story. I was not disappointed. It was supberbly performed which makes any book better. Highly recommended.

Just buy it now…

Brilliant book. The simple story taught me so much about the war in a way I’ve never read or thought about it before. Brilliantly written and read so well too. The narrators made it come alive for me.

Great narration

Great story with a hard subject but also easy listening with amazing narration. Enjoyable and looking forward the next

Guilt

How you can be guilty of a terrible crime just by association. The surprising end gives a feeling of justification to the main character.