The boy on the mountaintop

Boyne makes us reflect, through the eyes of a child, on the fragility of youth, the attraction of power, and guilt.

Son of a German father and a French mother, Pierrot has had a childhood not very different from that of any child of his time. However, we are in Paris, the year is 1935, and the approaching war will disrupt the destiny of millions of people. After the untimely death of his parents, Pierrot must separate from his close friend Anshel and leave France to live with his aunt Beatrix, who works as a housekeeper in an imposing mansion built on top of a mountain. But it is not just any house; it is none other than the Berghof, the enormous residence that Adolf Hitler owns in the Bavarian Alps.

Thus, at the age of seven, involuntarily housed in the intimate environment of the all-powerful Führer, Pierrot will be immersed in a world as strangely seductive as it is dangerous. There is no room for innocence, and when at the end of the war he is captured by the Allies, Pieter - as he is now called - will carry an unbearable weight on his conscience. Upon his return to Paris, overwhelmed by guilt, a key aspect of the story will emerge as a lifeline, and the unexpected outcome will be another example of the unfathomable dimension of forgiveness and friendship.

Critics have said...
«Comparisons with The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas are inevitable, though appropriate, for we are faced with a new fable about a child in wartime, which invites us to reflect on the best and worst of human nature.»
The Irish Times

«A most remarkable achievement [...]. Boyne has written a stunning account of the attraction of power, the fragility of youth and the terrible pain of a life marked by regret.»
The Guardian

«The epilogue, of only ten pages, culminates in a discovery as simple as it is unexpected, which will remain in the reader's mind for a long time. And isn't that what is expected of a good ending?»
The Independent