What details about the setting help make the characters times and lifestyles seem real?

Boyne's
novel is an excellent piece of historical , and his detailed setting contributes to the
authenticity of the story, making Bruno's unique experience seem genuine and realistic. Boyne
includes specific details regarding Bruno's life in Berlin during WWII when the Allied forces
were bombing Germany. Bruno mentions that he hated turning off all the lights every night, which
is a detail that contributes to the story's historical authenticity. Regulated blackouts were
common in Berlin to prevent enemy aircraft from accurately dropping bombs on specific
targets.

Boyne's description of the Auschwitz concentration camp is also
accurate, as he depicts the Nazi camp as a desolate, forlorn place in the middle of nowhere.
Bruno initially hates "Out-With" and describes it as a cold, ominous area. The massive
barbed-wire fence surrounding the camp, the small huts inside, and the forebodingare details
that Boyne includes that contribute to the story's authenticity. Once Bruno enters the camp,
Boyne accurately describes the horrific conditions inside a Nazi concentration camp, where
Jewish prisoners were abused and herded into gas chambers. Bruno's frightening experience inside
the concentration camp contributes to the historical accuracy of the
story.