The Book Thief

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Product Reviews

(5 stars) - Humorous and heart-breaking; a unique story of Nazi Germany

This was another one of those books where I wasn't sure what to expect. I am super glad I read it though! It was a thoroughly entertaining, amusing, and heartbreaking read.

Death is the narrator of this novel in the most literal sense. He follows the story of a young girl Liesel. Liesel is a young girl following a tough road. Her mother, brother and her flee to a small town near Munich. When they get there her brother dies, and her mother takes her to be put into a foster home. Liesel finds a decent home with her foster parents and eventually befriends a young boy named Rudy. This book follows both Liesel's journey and the journey of those around her as they struggle through trying to make a living in Nazi Germany.

This was a fabulous book. Death as a narrator is genius. He is portrayed as a guy who does his job, but doesn't relish in it. He does what needs to be done and survives by looking at things with a dark wit and sardonic nature. Much of the narrative is darkly humorous and witty coming from Death's perspective. Occasionally Death bemoans the fact that Nazi Germany kept him extremely busy and wore him to the bone. Death occasionally gets off topic and rambles about what death a certain side character met, or a time when one of the characters narrowly avoided him. The narrative of Death is not all humor though; he is touched by compassion for humanity and sometimes struggles with the trials he sees humans put through.

Liesel is another fascinating character in what is a vast array of fascinating characters. She starts stealing books before she can even read them. In the end it is her book stealing (and reading) skills that help put the town at ease in a time of trial; in the end it is her book reading that saves her. It was fascinating to watch how Liesel and her friends struggle with being proper Germans in a Nazi Germany. You always here a lot about the races the Nazi's oppressed, but you don't often read about how oppressed the normal German people were under Hilter's thumb. Rudy is, of course, very interesting in his own right as is, Max, the Jew Liesel's family helps hide.

I was really impressed by how much depth and history all of the characters, even minor ones, bring to the story. All of the characters seem so real and you feel for them all. You even feel sorry for Death. Yet at the same time most of the characters look at their lives with a type of dark humor that makes life bearable.

This is a long book and not a quick read; but every page was worth it. The story always has some urgency as things get worse and worse for the townspeople, the Jews, and Germany in general. Towards the end I found myself cringing as I got closer and closer to what I knew wasn't going to be a very happy ending. Keep in mind this is about Nazi Germany, not much ended happy in that time for anyone. At times this book will make you laugh, at times it makes you angry, and at times it will make you cry. It is wonderful for a book to be able to evoke all those emotions, and to be honest the book took a couple days to process after I read it.

I think everyone should read this book. I think everyone's kids should read this book. People need to remember and know what happened in Nazi Germany and this perspective, from a common German girl's viewpoint, is a great way to get a relatively unbiased viewpoint. I will definitely read anything else that Zusak writes; this book is a keeper.

(5 stars) - not just a young adult book
theoretically a young adult fiction; but i can't see why it's not an amazing book for adults also. set in nazi germany, it's the story of an orphan girl, into a family who hides a jew in their basement. part coming-of-age story, part adoption story, part holocaust history. oh, and it's narrated by death. seriously.

(5 stars) - Book Nerds Review
I have a horrible memory, so one of the most redeeming qualities for me, for a book, is when I can remember it. When it touches me so much that I remember scenes and lines, and images the author created months after having read it. There are a few books I can do that for and The Book Thief is no exception. I read this book in December of 08, and I can still remember most of the plot, some of the things the characters said, and overall my incredible love for Liesel. At such a young age she's already learning so much about life and death, things that a nine year old should not have to deal with. The Book Thief is a good lesson about the Holocaust, even the people who seemed to have it good, or better than others, still had it horrible.

Liesel is followed by the narrator from the time when her brother dies and she steals her first book, until the end of the story. And her story is by far heart-wrenching, but also shows the power that kids have: of imagination and the ability to think for themselves. She's a strong girl, with a strong heart, and the ability to know right from wrong even when the entire world around her is denying anything is wrong. My absolute favourite memory of Liesel is actually when she sees the library in the Mayor's house for the first time. I have grown up around libraries and book stores my entire life - My mom used to have closets full of books - I have never been deprived of reading. And yet the Mayor's library is like a treasure trove for Liesel, and through Zusak's writing I honestly felt as if - reading that revelation for Liesel - I had never seen so many books before. I felt her excitement, her amazement at the rows and rows of books. I was in awe right along with her.

Other than Liesel, my favourite part of this book, is the writing. I have read so many books in my life, but honestly, never before have I read such a hauntingly beautiful story as I did in The Book Thief. There are so many passages in the book that take ordinary things that we see everyday and put completely new meaning to them.

"Summer came. For the book thief, everything was going nicely. For me, the sky was the color of Jews."
Excerpt pg. 340, The Book Thief

This paragraph reminds me of the saying `If walls could talk' - and changing it to `If the sky could talk' - it has definitely seen a lot more then the inside of a house. And Zusak does an amazing job at illustrating that.

My absolute favourite part of the entire book, is something you either love or you hate about it: the narrator. If you read any review on this book you will notice that they always mention the narrator. Being of course, Death, himself. Most people love this, some do hate it though. I am one of the former, but even being one of the later you have to admit that this is something unique. As a designer, I often find myself saying that `There are no original ideas, just new takes on old ones', and often times that applies to books as well. This is something that I have never seen done before, a story from the point of view of Death? Especially in such a place experiencing death in such an excruciating way. The Book Thief gives a whole new meaning to the past, and to having sympathy for the Devil... or well Death, at least.

(5 stars) - Incredible writing and unforgettable characters
"Because I could not stop for Death --
He kindly stopped for me --
The Carriage held but just Ourselves --
And Immortality." ~Emily Dickinson

I was somewhat reluctant to read this book. I have read quite a few books about WW2 recently and I find this period to be fascinating but also very depressing. I have to take these books in small doses; however, all the rave reviews finally compelled me to pick it up and boy am I glad I did. This book was without a doubt the best book I have read in a long time. It grabbed me and didn't let me go.

This book is told from a different point of view than what I have read in the past - the struggle of good ordinary people living in Nazi Germany who are helpless to the tragic events that are changing and ruining their lives. The characters in the book are simply unforgettable and what makes this book so powerful. In an interview, Zusak said that this is the first time he has ever missed his characters. I think anyone that reads this book will also miss Liesel, Rudy, Hans, Rosa, and Max.

The writing style of Zusak is quite different in that the narrator is Death. Some reviewers found it off putting but I found it to be unique and enjoyable. The author has a real way with words and figurative language. His use of imagery is powerful. In one interview he was asked about his writing style and he said, "I like the idea that every page in every book can have a gem on it. It's probably what I love most about writing - that words can be used in a way that's like a child playing in a sandpit, rearranging things, swapping them around." His response to that question explains why I enjoyed this book so much because I think he succeeded. The amazing thing to me is this book was published when he was just 30. That is incredible to me. I look forward to reading his other books and any other books he writes in the future. He has set the bar very high for me.

(5 stars) - Painfully Beautiful, Masterfully Written
An Epic piece of literature. So rare does a book capture a tragic time in history from such a unique perspective and in such a poetic way. Should be read by everyone. I kept marking the pages where the phrasing was so lyrical and well written - so I could go back and re-read it - ended up marking numerous pages. Definately goes on my Top Shelf where only a select few of my all time favorites are. Seems like the author was born to write this piece of art to share with and move the world.

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