Do you find The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to be sad?

I personally find the novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to be sad. I feel that any time an author juxtaposes childhood innocence against the extreme evils of humanity, the audience feels sorrow.In regards to Schmuel, picturing a child who suffers from malnutrition and is exposed to the horrors of a concentration camp evokes empathy and sadness. Childhood is a sacred time in a person's life where they should have no worries and...

I personally find the novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to be sad. I feel that any time an author juxtaposes childhood innocence against the extreme evils of humanity, the audience feels sorrow. In regards to Schmuel, picturing a child who suffers from malnutrition and is exposed to the horrors of a concentration camp evokes empathy and sadness. Childhood is a sacred time in a person's life where they should have no worries and experience happiness. Shmuel's childhood is full of brutality, fear, and anxiety. Viewing one of humanity's darkest moments through the eyes of a naive child is extremely sad. Bruno does not understand much of the inhumanity he is witnessing. Bruno lives in a world where Nazi soldiers treat Jews with contempt and brutality. Imaging Pavel and Shmuel being ruthlessly beaten by Lieutenant Kotler is sickening to read. When Bruno finally enters the concentration camp, he comments on how hopeless and depressing the environment is. The reader can only image the helpless feeling the two boys experience when they cannot find Shmuel's father. The novel ends tragically when Bruno and Shmuel die in a gas chamber. They are simply innocent victims whose lives were violently stripped from them at a young age. Understanding that Bruno and Shmuel's friendship and love surpasses the brutality of the concentration camp is the only positive effect the novel has on the reader. As a whole, I find The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to be a sad novel.