The Book Thief

Eleven-year-old Liesel Meminger is a foster child who has recently arrived in a small town outside Munich, Germany during WWII. Liesel has been sent to live with Hans and Rosa Huberman, presumably for the small stipend theyll receive. Liesel is still suffering from the loss of her little brother and the difficult and somewhat mysterious separation from her mother. She takes an immediate like to Hans, who is kind and thoughtful, but takes much longer to warm up to the abrasive Rosa. Liesel makes friends with next-door neighbor Rudy and establishes herself as a self-proclaimed book thief. Becoming unlikely friends with the Mayors wife Ilsa affords Liesel the opportunity to read the books in the Mayors massive library. Along the way, Liesel is witness to the atrocities of war, heartbreaking events, love, loss and other life-changing events. I saw the movie The Book Thief several years ago and loved it. When I decided it was time to read the book I was absolutely captivated. Although the book is 550 pages long, I read it in just two days it was THAT good. The book is different in several ways, ways in which I wont go into in my review. Suffice it to say that Im glad I saw the movie first and then read the book. I think I might have been disappointed with the movie version if it had happened in opposite order. This just goes to show how well the author has written this important piece of fictionalized history. The time period, location, mood, characters, etc. come to life as the story unfolds. I was surprised at some of the other reviews, stating that the book was just plain depressing. Im not at all sure how a book that deals with the systematic extinction of a race of people can be written about in an uplifting, happy way. Yet, the book is so much more than a story about a German girl who is living in Nazi Germany during WWII. There are many lovely, tender elements to be found in The Book Thief. The additional anniversary edition footnotes written by the author (at the end of the book) provide wonderful insight. I think its extremely important that all generations read books like The Book Thief. This is part of history and, as poet and philosopher George Santayana said, \”Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.\” This is a book that is emotionally draining, but very much worth the read!

I waited way too long to read this book. I don\’t even really know why I waited so long, other than Courtney and I started this blog around the same time that I actually bought the book and it took me a while to get to the point where I started reading some of the books that I wanted to read instead of just books that we received requests for. If you follow my blog at all, you know that I love WWII era historical fiction. What I loved about this book is that it showed the lives of average Germans during the war. That\’s not a perspective I\’ve seen a lot (or ever that I can think of off the top of my head). But Liesel\’s foster family wasn\’t exactly average either because they held unfavorable opinions about Jewish people, at least unfavorable by German standards during the war. Another highlight of this story was that it was told from the perspective of Death. It was a bit odd to get used to at first because he jumped around a bit, as Death is wont to do in the course of his work, but once I got used to it, it was a fun way to see things. While death isn\’t exactly omniscient, he does have access to information that a human narrator wouldn\’t have. I realize that I\’m late enough to this party that you\’ve probably already made up your mind about whether you want to read this book or not, but if you\’re still on the fence about it, you should absolutely not wait any longer. You\’re likely to regret it if you do, like I did. Overall I give The Book Thief 5.05 stars.

Agree with all the others giving one or two stars: who in hell thought this was a good book? the style is exasperating and there is no much meat or story. Some say that is because it was intended to young people, but I wonder how young you have to be to enjoy that kind of writing. Tried to come to terms and finish it but I could not waste more time on this.

With a heart full to overflowing and eyes quite moist, I finish this novel of a young waif of a girl in Hitlers Germany whose body, soul, and spirit ought never have survived her furnace of affliction. Yet survive she does, grittily and even poetically, with the aid of a good friend, a tender father, a Jewish refugee in the basement, a mother whose harshness runs only skin keep, and a traumatized mayors wife who loves to have her books stolen. As the old proverbold but still true for all its rusty yearswould tell us, The book is far better than the movie. This has never been more true than with Markus Zusaks phenomenal achievement. The book is narrated by Death, the Grim Reaper. Yet he is not an evil presence, indeed his tender observations are endearing. In the end, the circumstances of 1940s Europe keep him far busier than hed prefer. Yet he cannot take his eyes off these dismal, glorious humans. They haunt him, these human beings do. He sees such majesty in them, and such cruelty. The circumstances that call him into hard labors allow him to peer into the human condition at its best and, simultaneously, at its best. He cannot look away from them, these horrible, beautiful, haunting beings. This reader revels in the deeply biblical substratum of this compelling novel, whether intended by its author or not. The best book Ive read in a year. And Im hardly alone, for this work has virtually nailed itself to the top rung of the New York Times Bestsellers List. As another old proverb might have it, 50,000,000 Elvis fans cant be wrong. Buy it, read it, remember it when you least expect.

A story centred around a story of a tree grown from a seed in a forest of cruel words; a story of hope in a world of power crazed madness and greed; a story of love. This beautiful book, surprisingly (and cleverly) narrated by \’death\’, provides an interesting and poignant perspective on the power of friendship, hope and love, set against the horrific backdrop of the atrocious Nazi regime in Germany from 1939 to 1945. You cannot help but come to admire \’death\’ for his or her pragmatic and objective yet sympathetic and inherently wise attitude towards human life through the myriad circumstances that lead up to a person\’s demise, and how it is prepared for and dealt with (or not as the case may be). I love the way Markus has captured the idea of \’death\’ recovering souls and taking them gently to the place they are meant to be, and the way he defines the embodiment of a young soul as being unaware of his presence, or, as with more wise and accepting souls, as sitting up to greet him knowingly when their time has come. This is a very powerful and popular book which comes with high praise for good reason. Written with such pathos, gentle humour and a deep understanding of human capabilities, flaws and potential, the words will not fail to move you, and lead you to spare a thought for the suffering, hardship and loss experienced in times of war, and the colossal power of every small kindness when it comes to human survival, endurance and faith. The central story of Liesel – the Book Thief – who is fostered following the heartbreaking loss of her mother and sudden death of her little brother at the start of the war, follows her delightful friendship with her new \’papa\’, a kind, humble and musically gifted former German soldier who is there for her at every turn; her stowaway friend, Max, who writes the aforementioned story of a tree grown from a seed in a forest of cruel words – for her; her step mother, Rosa, whose kindness shines through a battery of sharp-tongued, often abrasive words; and her friends who help her through. The book is set out in short but powerful chapters, each headed brilliantly with the key themes covered on those pages. A wonderful, compelling and thought-provoking read, and highly recommended.

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