The Book Thief

A young girl, Liesel, in Nazi Germany, with stolen books as her prized possessions. Her foster family, secretly, illegally sheltering a Jew. Life, Death, and the power of words meet in The Book Thief, a novel by author Markus Zusak.

I picked up a copy of the film based on this book, but I didn't want to watch it without reading the original story first. So I read it.

I stopped reading for a while, toward the middle of it. Stopped, sighed, and wept after reading about Liesel reading one of her books, one she didn't steal. I guess the rest of my weeping during a number of other scenes was just more of a deep, inward groan.

There were also parts that made me smile, and times when I had to pause and shake my head at some of the brilliant turns show more of phrase that fill this novel: ironic, ominous, and beautiful turns by turns.

Having already caught snatches of praise in the wind about this book, I did my best not to hear too much more before I read it, since a book's wide acclaim doesn't guarantee that I'll personally love it. And, honestly, it'd be one thing for an author to use tragic themes from World War II and the Holocaust and to merely write a grim, sad novel, as grimness and sadness alone aren't enough to make a novel resonate with me.

But to tell a raw, nuanced, layered, crushing, bittersweet, and haunting story that affirms life even in the midst of death... That's something else. That resonates.

A singular work, this is. show less

During World War II a young Liesel Meminger is sent to live with foster parents in Molching, just outside of Munich. Settling into life with the big-hearted battle axe Rosa and gentle, perceptive Hans, Liesel is able to deal with the grief of losing her family. When Hans teaches Liesel to read she discovers a love of books and words that opens up her world.

But Liesel’s life, and her understanding of her foster parents, is again turned upside down when they begin sheltering Max, a Jewish man, in their basement.

From the first page Zusak’s deceptively simple but poetic style draws readers in. I loved Death’s perspective on life, this narration is unique and thought provoking with unexpected truths scattered throughout.

Zusak’s show more structure plays with our expectations, there is no foreshadowing, instead he ‘spoils’ his own plot because, for his narrator Death, death is inevitable. The interesting things are human foibles, the quirks of fate, the story of what people do with their lives and how they get to their end. This lack of emphasis on these major events, and the understated prose with which Zusak tells of horrific moments is completely disarming, but the story loses none of its power, instead the subtle writing and the knowledge of the fates of certain characters increases the poignancy of the moments in between.

This is a story that will stay with me for quite some time. show less

Situating a novel in Nazi Germany is difficult because even from the start, everything is turned up to 11. It's hard to do anything subtle at that volume. And as if that's not hard enough, have the narrator be Death. I mean, I get it. You want to pull the camera way back so all the horribleness can be tolerable, and from the cosmic standpoint of death (the fate of all humans, not the narrator) 11 is pushed back down to something manageable so we have something to work with.

The thing is, now you're stuck with this personification, which may work in some poems but just ends up looking silly in this novel. Luckily, Mr. Death keeps out of the way for long stretches at a time so you can forget about that silliness and relate to the story, show more which is touching. People love this book because there are so many affecting passages. To answer the question often asked about this book, yes, I teared up several times reading this.

Depicting the German people as not all evil but themselves victims creates a paradoxical tension. How do we root for the Allies winning the war by destroying the lives of the characters we have been identifying with? The same tension exists as well in having Liesel's step mother be both abusive and loving.

And we readers understand the power of words to save us from the everyday cruelties of simply being alive, so we're happy to celebrate Liesel's experiences both being protected by words and using words to protect others. We know firsthand how "the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.”

I know I should overlook this book's flaws and just swim in the emotions, but it's often overwritten and sentimental and, yes, silly, so with all it has going for it, I can't give it more than three stars and change. show less

The author of this book provides a very creative approach to a horrific period in history. I appreciated the portrayal of a number of Germans during World War II who did not buy in to the Nazi propaganda. The characters were well-crafted and the story was powerful. As could be expected due to the subject matter, it contained some extremely sad events, but this makes it true to the era. For me, it had a deeper meaning buried within the story, including many evocative metaphors. I particularly liked the way the author points out how words and books can be used for both good and evil purposes, the human need to find a way to live in the midst of oppressive circumstances, and how relationships are forged through actions as opposed to words.

10 stars: An Exceptionally Good Book

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The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times.

When Death has a story to tell, you listen.

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, show more award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

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[1942 - narrated by Death] THere were certainly some rounds to be made that year, from Poland to Russia to Africa and back again. You might argue that I make the rounds no matter what year it is, but sometimes the human race likes to crank things up a little. They increase the production of bodies and their escaping souls. A few bombs usually do the trick. Or some gas chambers or the chit chat of faraway guns. ... They often come after me as I wander through the streets of molested cities. They beg me to take them with me, not realizing I'm too busy as it is.

In all honesty, I was still getting over Stalin in Russia. The so called "second revolution" - the murder of his own people.
Then came Hitler.
They say that war is Death's best friend, but I must offer you a different point of view on that one. To me, war is like the new boss who expects the impossible. He stands over your shoulder repeating one thing, incessantly. "Get it done, Get it done." So you work harder. You get the job done. The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more.

So many people chased after me in that time, calling my name, asking me to take them with me. Then there was a small percentage who called me casually over and whispered with their tightened voices.
"Have me" they said, and there was no stopping them. They were frightened, no question, but they were not afraid of me. It was a fear of messing up and having to face themselves again, and facing the world, and the likes of you.

I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I'm constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race - that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.

*** A LAST NOTE FROM YOUR NARRATOR**
I am Haunted by Humans show less

All I can say is WOW.

Ok, maybe I can say more than that, but honestly this book has it all and does it all well. Simultaneously original, engaging, moving, descriptive, this book is arguably a masterpiece. Then, to top it all off, it has BIG themes to boot. The icing on the cake is that one of the themes is the power of words and language . . .something any reader will love. Books figure prominently throughout the story.

There's really nothing about the plot that I can say that will do this book justice, but in a nutshell, it is the story of a young German girl during WWII and the trials and tribulations she faces growing up in a foster family under a Nazi regime. The plot is great, but it really isn't the thing that makes this book so show more magical.

Zusak's characters are just soooo well developed - - both flawed and wonderful at the same time. He develops his story through wonderful anecdotes, and his use of description is so well done. The story never drags, yet the language is so evocative.

One of the characters in the story is Death, and Death is actually the narrator of the entire book. In less skilled hands, this could have seemed contrived or distracted the reader from the story at hand. Zusak's use of Death is brilliant and creative - - just another layer in an already delicious cake.

The only flaw I could find in the whole book was also one of it's strengths. Zusak likes to use foreshadowing. A lot. The great news about this is that it totally raises the suspense level. I really read this book so quickly because it truly was hard to stop reading it. The bad news is that I felt the emotional impact was ever so slightly lessened as I was able to "steel myself" for some of the more dramatic moments. I must say this really didn't impact my enjoyment of the book much at all.

Ok, so I said more than "WOW". And now I'll just say, if you haven't read this one, read it. It lives up to the hype. show less

A book about a young German girl during WWII, narrated by Death, wherein everything from dust to tears to thoughts to books to breathing is personified--that is, in a sense, given life. Savor the delicious irony in that for a moment. In the midst of the contrast of the emerging eugenics of the Germans and the fabricated mythology of the Jewish race, and the story of Hans, Rosa, Liesel, and Max, the entire emotional spectrum shines like the different colors of sky presented throughout the book.

Markus Zusak proves himself not only a more than competent storyteller--he also happens to be quite an artistically-minded fellow and a prose stylist. His Death character perfectly pulls the reader's strings from the devastating truth of war--"I've show more seen many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They're running at me [Death]" (174-175)--to a keen sense of humor--"Their plan was perfect but for one thing: They had no idea where to start" (284) and--my favorite tongue-in-cheek comment--"It kills me sometimes, how people die" (464). And through use of figurative language and personification, Death employs lustrous images such as:

There were no people on the street anymore. They were rumors carrying bags (383).

and:

Her hand was sore by page three. Words are so heavy, she thought... (383).

And within The Book Thief proper, there is an absolutely brilliant piece of illustrated prose. Max Vandenburg writes and leaves behind a "small collection of thoughts" called The Word Shaker. We get treated to 6 pages of this remarkable (though fictitious) little compendium of Max's reflections, and in my opinion this has to be up for an award for best fiction within a fiction.

To be honest, I didn't want to read this book. First, it's marketed as YA fiction. Second, it was massively popular. These two attributes do not describe my typical fare. Plus, it had to do with WWII, which is always depressing and I feel as though I've had all I can handle on that front. But I must admit that Zusak has my attention. This was a wonderful book with a great story, great characters, and a creative imagination on full display. show less