Markus Zusak's novel, The Book Thief, paints a
picture unlike any other. It is a picture of love, life, death, family, and
Nazi Germany.
Our narrator
for this story is rather unusual. (And rather brilliant on Zusak's part.) Death
narrates The Book Thief.
Yes, that's right, Death. Skeleton body, black-hooded cloak, scythe and all.
Later in the novel he describes himself this way: "I
am all bluster—I am not violent. I am not malicious. I
am a result." When I say he, I am not assuming that Death is a man.
Because I feel like Zusak makes it clear that Death is a "thing" in
this novel. I am only assigning Death a gender so it is easier to talk and
write about him.
Death tells us
about The Book Thief and how he had stolen a book that belonged to her long
ago. This is how the story begins, Death tells us about the life of Liesel
Meminger. She and her brother are being taken away to foster parents, and while
they are on the train with their mother, Liesel's brother falls ill and dies.
This is mostly due to the poverty Liesel and her family had been living in. Her
brother was malnourished and therefore more susceptible to illness. Before she
can meet her new family, Liesel attends her brother's funeral. When the
gravediggers are burying her brother, a book falls out of one of
their pockets, and Liesel steals it without even looking at the title. Not that
it would matter much considering she can't read.
When Liesel
meets her new family on Himmel Street, she is very shy. Her foster mother,
Rosa Hubermann, is angry Liesel's brother died and she doesn't have a boy
and girl to foster. Her foster father, Hans, is a very tall, sturdy man whose
looks are rather deceiving. Because when Liesel is having nightmares about her
brother's death, Hans takes it upon himself to cheer her up by reading her the
book she swiped from the funeral: The
Gravedigger's Handbook. And when he learns that Liesel does not know how to
read, he makes it his goal to teach her how to read and write.
Liesel's next
door neighbor and classmate, Rudy Steiner, is in love with Liesel and keeps
badgering her for a kiss. A kiss she always refuses to deliver, but does so
good-naturedly. Rudy is a dear friend of Liesel's and the only person, other
than the Hubermann's that she shares a big secret with. Han's dead friend's son
is staying the Hubermann's basement. He is Jewish and running away from the
Nazis.
His name is Max, and he helps Liesel
with her reading and writing once Hans' education exhausts itself. They
become fast friends, but Max feels very guilty about putting the Hubermann's in
this situation. After a risky stunt is pulled by Hans, Max takes it upon
himself to leave the Hubermann residence and find a new place to hide out.
After this, the book moves pretty quickly. Hans and Rudy's father are put into
the military after they disobey the law, Liesel is stealing books from the
mayor's house, and one night forever changes the lives of those on Himmel
Street.
The Book Thief is such a superb novel. Zusak
really did his Homework on Nazi Germany before writing this one out. It's as historically accurate as a book can be, and fans of any type of historical fiction will love it. It explores the inner workings of the war, and how it was seen through a young person's eye. Because, let me remind you, kids don't have prejudices. Prejudice is a learned trait. So, to them, Hitler hating all Jews just doesn't make sense. In fact, it's silly. Not in the "haha" way, but in the lacking-common-sense way.
I honestly cannot say enough great things about this novel. I myself have read it several times, and it never gets old. This is because it is genuine, extraordinary, hard-hitting, and has a lot of heart. Zusak should be proud of the work he has done in this novel, as it is almost infallible. If you pick up this book, please don't be afraid of its large size. It can be read cover to cover in one day, I promise you that! Also, yes, there is a movie version, and I have to say that it stays very true to the novel. The only thing left out is a Death, and while he is an integral part of the story, I still feel that the movie does the book justice.
I give The Book Thief 5/5 stars.
Photo #02 Credit: http://geniusquotes.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/The-Book-Thief-hd.jpg
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ReplyDeleteGreat review! I read this back in high school, and although it wasn't my favorite, I still loved it. I wonder if I'd appreciate it more now. Most books about the Holocaust feature a Jewish main character; it's interesting to see a different perspective.
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