--- product_id: 584757538 title: "All the Broken Places: A Novel" price: "10885 Ft" currency: HUF in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.hu/products/584757538-all-the-broken-places-a-novel store_origin: HU region: Hungary --- # All the Broken Places: A Novel **Price:** 10885 Ft **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** All the Broken Places: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** 10885 Ft with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hu](https://www.desertcart.hu/products/584757538-all-the-broken-places-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description “You can’t prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel.” —John Irving From the New York Times bestselling author John Boyne, a stunning tour de force about a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for bravery Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She lives a quiet, comfortable life, despite her deeply disturbing, dark past. She doesn’t talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age twelve. She doesn’t talk about the grim postwar years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn’t talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich’s most notorious extermination camps. Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can’t help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry’s beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel’s hard-won, self-contained existence. Immersive, chilling, unputdownable, All the Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel’s girlhood in Germany and present-day London. Here, Gretel is at a similar crossroads to the one she encountered long ago. Then, she denied her own complicity, but now, faced with a chance to interrogate her guilt, grief, and remorse, she can choose to save a young boy. If she does, she will be forced to reveal the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting. This time, she can make a different choice than before—whatever the cost to herself. Review: A struggle for Good - The author said of "All the Broken Places" that he always had a fascination with and even a fear of the effects of the Holocaust—the evil result and enduring stain of Hitler’s autocratic rule, and its influence on the struggle for good. Boyne says that this book, “a sequel to his earlier work, "Striped Pajamas," is about guilt, complicity and grief and examines how culpable a young person might be, given the historical event unfolding around her and whether such a person can ever cleanse themselves of crimes committed by people she loved.” This book begins with a quote from Voltaire, an 18th century historian and philosopher, who wrote Candide, a satire on optimism in an evil world: “If everyman is guilty of the good he did not do, then I have spent an entire lifetime convincing myself that I am innocent of all the bad.” Gretel is the protagonist who struggles with guilt due to her own acts of commission and omission, acts of helpless association with others, guilt’s assuagement based on excuses, lies, self-preservation and, finally, redemption. She also struggles with the complexity and valence of evil not reserved to the horrors of a concentration camp. The craft of this historical novel covers 77 years of Gretel’s 92 years of life: 1945-2022, from the time she was a girl of 15 living with her loving family in the commandant’s quarters at Auschwitz in Poland until her imprisonment at age 92 in London. The 30 or so chapters are rapid-fire vignettes of past, present, past, present…, each of which demands the reader’s attention and memory, insisting along a common thread that past and present are one and the same because the familiar struggles with life keep re-emerging in different contexts—wherever you go, there you are. A strictly linear story-line would be less surprising, perhaps less interesting. The point of the book is the ubiquity of the mystery of evil cohabiting with good, the determination and drift of free will, the pressure points of contexts, the imposition of history, the relationships chosen among credible characters. Good historical novels, such as this one, showcase what real life in charged moments like post-Nazi Europe feels like on the street, in a home, with or without a family, and, above all, in the minds and decisions of credible, relatable characters. There is power in this book and a few surprises. Review: Excellent, a must read! - Wow. I could not put this book down. Such a riveting (and disturbing) story that holds your attention from the first page to the last. Beautifully written. This book will stay with you long after you finish. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #4,490 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #11 in Historical World War II & Holocaust Fiction #19 in World War II Historical Fiction #225 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 35,085 Reviews | ## Images ![All the Broken Places: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81eXS0KA5yL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A struggle for Good *by R***I on December 8, 2025* The author said of "All the Broken Places" that he always had a fascination with and even a fear of the effects of the Holocaust—the evil result and enduring stain of Hitler’s autocratic rule, and its influence on the struggle for good. Boyne says that this book, “a sequel to his earlier work, "Striped Pajamas," is about guilt, complicity and grief and examines how culpable a young person might be, given the historical event unfolding around her and whether such a person can ever cleanse themselves of crimes committed by people she loved.” This book begins with a quote from Voltaire, an 18th century historian and philosopher, who wrote Candide, a satire on optimism in an evil world: “If everyman is guilty of the good he did not do, then I have spent an entire lifetime convincing myself that I am innocent of all the bad.” Gretel is the protagonist who struggles with guilt due to her own acts of commission and omission, acts of helpless association with others, guilt’s assuagement based on excuses, lies, self-preservation and, finally, redemption. She also struggles with the complexity and valence of evil not reserved to the horrors of a concentration camp. The craft of this historical novel covers 77 years of Gretel’s 92 years of life: 1945-2022, from the time she was a girl of 15 living with her loving family in the commandant’s quarters at Auschwitz in Poland until her imprisonment at age 92 in London. The 30 or so chapters are rapid-fire vignettes of past, present, past, present…, each of which demands the reader’s attention and memory, insisting along a common thread that past and present are one and the same because the familiar struggles with life keep re-emerging in different contexts—wherever you go, there you are. A strictly linear story-line would be less surprising, perhaps less interesting. The point of the book is the ubiquity of the mystery of evil cohabiting with good, the determination and drift of free will, the pressure points of contexts, the imposition of history, the relationships chosen among credible characters. Good historical novels, such as this one, showcase what real life in charged moments like post-Nazi Europe feels like on the street, in a home, with or without a family, and, above all, in the minds and decisions of credible, relatable characters. There is power in this book and a few surprises. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent, a must read! *by T***I on April 5, 2026* Wow. I could not put this book down. Such a riveting (and disturbing) story that holds your attention from the first page to the last. Beautifully written. This book will stay with you long after you finish. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Suspend logic *by L***L on March 25, 2024* I thought this book to be an interesting read. I enjoy historical fiction, so this novel reads well in that regard. But it stretches the imagination to think that Gretel’s mother, a German trying to hide her German nationality, would go to Paris with her 15 year old daughter after the war. It’s not logical! Perhaps, if they had gone to Switzerland or Sweden or another country that had been neutral during that period it might make sense. But really, you have to suspend belief to think she would have gone to Paris. Then, I find it hard to believe that Gretel had so much guilt. She was a child/teen when the events happened. She lived in a controlling environment and had been essentially brainwashed from an early age. It was like being in a cult. She knew right from wrong in the context of which she had grown up. This is not to absolve her of all actions, but really the guilt seems overdone considering the lack of control she had over anything. A psychologist could best speak to this, but we do know that a persons brain is often not fully developed until their late to mid- twenties. The heavy guilt about the war did not ring true. Maybe she would have some about her brother, but the rest just seemed a contrived story line. Perhaps if she had been in her late teens this overwhelming guilt trip might make sense. Also, the fact that Gretel did not realize that David was so obviously Jewish given his surname and her background does not ring true. Again, have to suspend belief and go with the storyline I have not read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, so perhaps that would have given greater context to this novel. I found the storyline regarding Heidi and her concern for Henry much more believable and realistic. Although, in some ways I question how likely it was that she and her husband would ended up living in the same building as her daughter that she had given up at birth. Overall, an enjoyable story as long as you don’t think logically about certain aspects of the novel. ## Frequently Bought Together - All the Broken Places: A Novel - The Frozen River: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel - The Lost Bookshop: The most charming and uplifting novel for 2025 and the perfect gift for book lovers! --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hu/products/584757538-all-the-broken-places-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.hu/products/584757538-all-the-broken-places-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Hungary* *Store origin: HU* *Last updated: 2026-05-12*