I must say, this was a nice book to read. It is different from what we have read so far. I am sure the rotating theme in this novel is whether or not lying is okay if it for the benefit of others. Jacob was sent to the guard station and heard on the radio that the Russians were coming closer, so he went back to his block to share the good news. However, no one believed him because radios are not allowed in the camps. In order to validate his information, he lied and said he snuck in a radio. At that point, Jacob was considered the bearer of hope by supplying false information to the other prisoners. His white lie began to snowball on him because prisoners constantly asked for information on the outside world to the point were Jacob eventually told the truth, and it costed him the life of his friend. In a way, I understand why he lied about the radio, so prisoners could have hope. However, if he had fully explained himself and said that he heard a radio in the guards’ station would the other prisoners still doubt him?
In the end, I thought it was strange to have two endings. The first ending, they are placed into transport cars and sent to another camp. In the second ending, Jacob is shot and killed trying to escape under the wired fence. The second ending could have a better underlying meaning. Possibly, Jacob was so fed up with having to lie about the information he was giving that he decided to go find some real information to tell everyone – for his sake and the others. Unfortunately, he died trying to get to the outside world. However, the first ending is probably the most realistic despite that this is a fiction novel and anything could happen.