Apr 28
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Book Thief was a beautiful story about a beautiful little girl with a beautiful heart.
Liesel is a young girl in Nazi Germany. Her mother sends her and her brother to live with a foster family in the town of Molching. On the way there, though, her brother dies. At the funeral, Liesel steals her first book, The Gravedigger’s Handbook. It is the first of several books that she steals in the course of her life.
Liesel’s new parents love her dearly, though they have different ways of expressing it. Her Mama is always complaining about her, but her Papa sits up with her when she has nightmares and teaches her to read. She develops the love of words that prompts her to steal more books.
When the Jewish son of one of Papa’s war buddies shows up on their doorstep, they take him in and hide him in their basement. Liesel and Max form a strong bond, and at its core is a shared love of words.
One thing that makes this book interesting is that it is told from the point of view of Death, who reluctantly collects souls all around the globe as people die. Death makes for an interesting narrator, and he’s always spoiling his own stories by telling you what’s going to happen before he gets around to that part of the story.
I bawled at least half a dozen times while reading The Book Thief. It was very good, but in a way that makes your heart heavy. I liked the portrayal of life for the common people in Nazi Germany. The ones who don’t really hate anyone, but are forced to say certain things and act a certain way out of fear. I’m glad i read it.
May 5th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Hmmmm…just based on this review, the books actually sounds delightful. I had thrown it out of my ‘want to read’ list, but I may have to put it back on…