Das war überraschend. Aber sehr gut. (Manchmal sollte man vielleicht doch den Klappentext lesen?! *lach) Allein schon die Erzählperspektive fand ich besonders. Und dann spielt das Buch zwar im Krieg und kommt auch nicht ohne aus, handelt aber eigentlich nicht davon. Das hat mir wirklich gut gefallen, und mir sind alle Figuren ans Herz gewachsen! Klare Leseempfehlung und 4,5 Sterne von mir dafür! ( )

Suggested because I asked for omniscient narrators on Reddit. This book was really good, really sad. The writing was original but sometimes too original and it got in the way of the story. ( )

Apparently I'm the only one who feels this way (which I don't mind really), but I consider this novel to be utter rubbish and it deserves no place in the literary canon. I felt almost as if I were reading a screenplay instead of a novel, or perhaps the first draft of a novel that was never revised, because there was so little feeling or atmosphere in this book, as if the author was expecting the reader to put in all the emotion that he was too lazy to put in. It is rare to find characters so dry and lifeless as the ones represented here, who maybe have one adjective used to describe each of them, cardboard cut-outs positioned in a typical "dark" setting as if to try and emulate Nazi Germany by that alone. In fact, it was more like Nazi Germany from a modern schoolboy's limited perspective, very mass-market, made for Hollywood kind of deal, something that everyone can feel good about. And the ending was so predictable, the classic "everyone dies at the end", but it is placed there randomly with no arc to a culmination like some reversed deus ex machina, when the author ran out of the little sketches he strewed throughout the book so just decided to put a stop to it.

And don't get me started on that reviewer who compared this book to Anne Frank's diary, who venerated the former as being as good as the latter. It is sacrilege to compare the two and an insult to Anne Frank's memory, to compare her real experiences to something as staggeringly fictional as The Book Thief. Say what you will about the novel's quality, but don't ever confuse fact with fiction, especially with something as devastating as the events of the Holocaust. ( )

Liesel Meminger, The Grave Digger's Handbook, Accordion playing dad teaches her to read, stealing books from Nazi bookburnings, family hiding Jewish man in basement. ( )

This book is Genius. Written from the perspective of Death, as a being, who walks with people, sees everything, and narrates the story. A truly unique take on WW2 as Death stalks Liesel, Papa, Mama, Max, and Rudy; one is a foster child who comes to love and be loved by new parents, one is a Jew in hiding and one is a best friend.

This book is moving in that it shows a side of the Germans not often seen in the depiction of WW2 stories; that they too struggled with the treatment of their fellow humans. That they too suffered great loss, heartache, and devastation.

The author is extremely descriptive, using colorful ways to explain ordinary events by painting vivid word pictures. Not an easy read as the author expects his reader to participate in the art of language, with all its nuances and trickery. Personally, I found that as enjoyable as the story.

I will admit this was the second time I picked up the book; the first time I was unsuccessful in finishing it. This time, I was sad that it was over. What changed? Perhaps my place in time.

I highly recommend this book, but read it with an open mind. Don’t expect it to flow over you like a gentle river; it is more like a class four whitewater ride. I loved it. ( )