The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME • A NEW YORK TIMES READER TOP 100 PICK FOR BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

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, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
 
“The kind of book that can be life-changing.” —The New York Times
 
“Deserves a place on the same shelf with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.” —USA Today

DON’T MISS BRIDGE OF CLAY, MARKUS ZUSAK’S FIRST NOVEL SINCE THE BOOK THIEF.

• ISBN10: 0385754728
• ISBN13: 9780385754729
• Publish Date: 15 October 2013 (first published 14 March 2006)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Edition: Media tie-in
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 592
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780385754729

Reviews

[adastra]

What an unusual book:
- It tells the story of a German family in World War II (which at one point houses a Jew in their basement). This is unusual because the majority of fiction I encountered on WWII so far focused on the Jewish experience.
- Its narrative is very unconventional. It is narrated by Death himself (or as I as a Sandman-fan like to think, herself).
- The narrative is not exactly chronological.
- It has A LOT of chapters, some of which are incredibly short.
- It uses idiosyncratic language and makes heavy use of odd metaphors.
- It uses interesting stylistic methods.
- It's a book about Germany written by an Australian author in English with Bavarian embellishments.

So what did I like about the book?
- It is an incredibly easy read. A book of over 500 pages seemed a bit daunting, especially in the middle of the semester. But I soon discovered that its lightweight writing style captivated my attention easily, and I kept on reading. It's doesn't happen very often that I read such a big book in such a short amount of time.
- Despite its occasional naivete, it can be emotionally touching. The story reminded me of some of the things my ancestors experienced in the war.

...and what I didn't like:
- The aforementioned naivete seems a bit weird at times for me as a German. Early on, Nazis aren't explicitly attributed as evil immediately. That just doesn't feel right as a German, because Nazis must always be evil, otherwise we feel guilty. Throughout the book, however, it becomes quite obvious that they are very evil (duh). I do realize that we're meant to see Nazi Germany through the eyes of the Germans at the time, which is a very complicated matter.
- The book has some passages which are mildly uninteresting and where nothing of importance to the plot seems to happen.
- The main characters don't seem particularly intelligent. Learning to read can't be that hard, especially for someone who eventually reads so much.
- The ending was a bit anti-climatic. And the whole romantic aspect of it was totally unnecessary, the book could have done without it.

In summary, I think it's a book very well worth reading, as it captures the atmosphere of everyday life in Germany in the early 1940s nicely (or rather, gruesomely).

[Linda]

The Book Thief is a beautiful, hear-wrenching story, poetically written and so well executed!

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[tweetybugshouse]

This is a book that was published a while back and I had no knowledge tell i found out a movie was being made of it. I love reading books that movies are based off of. So i purchased it and missed seeing the movie at the theater so i put off reading it and reviewing it. Now it coming to netflix soon and all my friends are wanting to see it to. So we all read it now we are waiting for the movie to arrive.

My thoughts on this book i loved it as much as i enjoy reading Diary of Anne Frank i love how both books give you a glimpse into this very interesting piece of our history. I was not alive back then but i am curious as to how things happen and what the Jews felt like having to hide and being persecuted as they were. It took me a while to read it but that mostly cause you absorbing a lot of great information and you get caught up in what is happening. It a very clever story and i thoroughly enjoy it and i hope i love the movie just as much.

[pamela]

Both harrowing and heartfelt, Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is a brilliantly written book and one that I could easily place within my top 100.

The story is narrated by Death and tells the tale of a young girl who steals a book from the gravesite of her younger brother. Placed with a foster family in a Bavarian country town she goes through the hardships of poverty and war while experiencing the joys of friendship and family.

I must admit I generally shy away from Holocaust literature simply because I find it such an over-used plot device. I know it seems insensitive to call it a plot device, however, more often than not it is used as just that. It seems that anyone who wants to make their literary mark feels they need to write about the Second World War in an attempt to prove they are capable of tackling ‘the big subjects’. Some writers succeed, others fail, but due to the delicate subject matter, it is often hard for reviewers to give negative comments for fear of causing offence, not only to the author but to an entire culture who have undergone such tragedy. One need only look at the Darville/Demidenko fiasco to realise this truth. That so many people lauded The Hand That Signed the Paper when it was thought to portray the real-life tragedy of a Ukranian war criminal and his family, only to eventually shun it and its author when it was discovered she had lied about her heritage, shows us how volatile the critics can be where these subjects are concerned.

Markus Zusak, rather than focusing on the negative aspects of hate, racism, and the human capacity for cruelty, places these elements in the background of a far more personal tale. Death and tragedy are all around his characters and yet, while not always rising above it, the novel still has an overwhelming sense of home; that even in the face of such tragedy a family is still able to build something beautiful.

Having Death as a narrator was a brilliant stroke. He sees the capacity of humans to kill and even though his job is to escort the dead he still places his emphasis on the lives of those he helps. That the life of one young girl is important enough for him to follow until the very end shows his, for want of a better word, humanity. He sympathises with each of the souls he takes and finds comfort in the smallest of kind actions. As a character, we don’t learn a great deal about him, but through the emotion of his narration, we learn so much about the book’s other protagonists.

Coming from a family of German heritage, with Grandparents who would have been exactly the same age as the children in The Book Thief it was interesting to read about the experiences they had. Having grown up in German culture myself, the way the novel was written and the phrasing of the German, as well as the descriptions of life in the Bavarian country town gave the entire work a ring of authenticity. Reading the novel I could almost picture my family living through the events described. The novel is so sympathetically written that an understanding of the characters has a depth I haven’t encountered in many books. We, as the readers, empathise with the situations and the childish innocence with which the events are portrayed, and it serves to show us how a world can be beautiful, even in the face of evil.

Essentially The Book Thief is about words and the power that they hold. Words are what keep people together or tear them apart; words are what gives or removes hope. Our lives revolve around words, both written and spoken. They shape our relationships. Markus Zusak is a master wordsmith, and he creates a universe that immerses us, horrifies us, makes us laugh, cry, smile, frown, while all the time showing us that even amidst tragedy a glimmer of hope and love will always exist.

[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

I read The Book Thief earlier last year and I don't think I made a full recovery. In fact, I think Death has visited me several times. Judith and Tatum had warned me about it, and I went into the book knowing it was going to tear out my soul, but that still wasn't enough preparation. The Book Thief is one of the best heart-wrenching books I have ever read.

I won't go into just how much I love history (in summary, I love it a lot) but I have been a bit worn out with WWII history over the past few years. It's pretty much all we study in school history classes from Year 6 (age eleven) onwards, so I rarely seek out WWII fiction. That's not to say I don't enjoy it, because I do. I love it a whole lot. It's just not my go-to if I want an historical novel. But The Book Thief gives a whole different take on WWII. It's about a German girl who lives in Nazi Germany, whose family and friends are part of the doctrine, either willingly or not.

A lot of people, especially those in the UK, write off books about Germans during WWII because they seem to think that the authors are Nazi sympathisers. I want to smack those people on the head with a book because that is not the case at all. In the case of The Book Thief, for example, it is a pretty good depiction of what the average person went through when living in Nazi Germany. The fact of the matter is, most people didn't get a choice in the matter. They had to support the Nazis and Hitler's regime or they and their families would be punished for it. Many people in the UK don't seem to realise that. And it saddens me when people refuse to read novels because they think the authors are trying to brainwash the reader or whatever.

Anyway, mild rant over. The Book Thief is a slow burn novel. Nothing much happens in terms of action, but the major events that do happen are heart breaking. Death narrates the story and he follows Liesel through the early years of her childhood after she is taken in by a new family during the war. Through Death's eyes, and also Liesel's by default, we get to see what life was like for children in Nazi Germany.

The ending is the most painful thing I have read in a while, and we even know that it's coming because Death bloody warns the reader before it happens. I almost didn't want to continue, but I was already hooked by that point so I had to stick with it until the end. I completely broke down while reading. It's a good thing I love emotional breakdowns when books are involved.

I would highly recommend The Book Thief to those few people who haven't already read it. It's a beautiful story of friendship that will stab you in the heart a couple of times and leave you lying in the street. Doesn't that sound appealing?

[brokentune]

Review first posted on BookLikes: http://brokentune.booklikes.com/post/771971/the-book-thief

The Book Thief will be coming to the cinemas next month. I am eagerly waiting to see it. I am an admirer of both Geoffrey Rush and Roger Allam and maybe, just maybe, they can salvage the story for me.

It’s not that it is a particularly bad story: It begins with the heroine, Liesel and her brother, being sent to live with foster parents during the second world war and describes her life in a small town near Munich, how she grows fond of books, how she adapts to her new family and friends, and how Hitler’s regime marks the lives of the people around her. The premise of the book is promising.

However, the problems I have with the book are so manifold that they outweigh any of the potential I might have seen in Zusak’s work within the first 30 pages. In fact, the first half of the book annoyed me so much that I needed to vent to a friend and ask for some reassurance that there are any good points to the story at all.

So, despite its flaws, I struggled on to finish the book - only to form a clearer picture of why the book was so underwhelming:

The Narrator: I dig the idea of Death being the narrator of the story, I really do. It’s not novel but it does give the story a potentially interesting vantage point. You know with Death being the great leveller – unbiased, somewhat detached from the bickering of mortals, etc. Except, Death’s narration is so inconsistent that apart from the odd interjections of pointing out that the story is narrated by Death, it is not clear whether the story is told by death or by a child. But it is clear that Death is not a child, if that makes sense, because the narration – especially in the forst half of the book changes from between childlike and all-knowing and patronizing. That inconsistency really irked me.

Max Vandenburg: I like the character of Max. What I didn’t get was that his character was so anxious and feeling undeserving of the help he receives from the Hubermanns. I mean, Max was a fist fighter, and yet for much of his introduction to the family he is totally without fight or any sense of self-worth. This could have done with some more background in order to make the character work. But as it was, Max’ role in the book was not much more than a cliché.

Atmosphere: Was there any? The story says it is set in a small town near Munich, and yet it does not feel like it. I didn’t get any sense of where the story was set. It could have been anywhere, any time. There was a distinct lack of detail and description of anything. Even though, by nature of the setting – Bavarian small town – there would have been a lot to write about which could have transferred a sense of setting to the reader. Trust me, if you find yourself in Bavaria you will know about it.

Authenticity: This is of course closely related to the missing sense of atmosphere, but what really, really irked me was the incessant use of the Hubermann’s favourite terms of endearment: “Saumensch” and “Saukerl”. Not that they are particularly harsh but they do seem a peculiar choice when looking at the plethora of Bavarian expressions.

Language: Maybe it was just the Kindle edition but the book really could have done with some proofreading – come on either go for the German street names or the English but mixing both throughout just was another inconsistency that did my head in. As for the general language used – was there a point to all the clichés, metaphors, oxymorons and other linguistic devices? Was it a bet of how many Zusak could fit in? Or was it just the author’s intention to come across as pretentious?

Lastly, I just simply have no idea what the book’s intention is. Or for that matter, who it is written for. Is it meant to be read by young adults or adults? Is it about the holocaust? Is it about a childhood story? I don’t know. Zusak touches on both but doesn’t follow through with either. Could he not make up his mind? Was he just too ambitious?
Or did he actually intend to write a story that to me reads as no more than insincere twaddle. Kitsch at best.

So, Geoffrey and Roger, there is quite a task upon you. Please make up for the book’s faults and make it work on screen.

[bumblingbookworm]

This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Bookworm

I stumbled across this book when I was in the US last year in September. Books are cheaper over there than back home, so I was looking for a few books in particular when I came across this one. I vaguely remembered hearing about it beforehand, particularly that it was being made into a movie, and when I read the synopsis it sounded pretty interesting to me. Once I found out that the author was an Aussie and the book was already on my Goodreads TBR list, I was sold! That being said, I still didn't read the book until recently, as I hadn't been in the mood for anything too heavy. The recent release of the movie in Australia prompted me to finally read The Book Thief, as I had this notion in my head about not seeing the movie until I'd read the book (gladly so, but more about that later...). And what a book it was!

Check out the rest of my review here!

[ladygrey]

If I were anybody else this would be a 5 star review. Because it's so uniquely written. And a very good story with well developed characters. So interesting and peculiar in a really beautiful way.

I liked the unorthodox way in which the story's told. I like the characters and how real they are, even when I didn't like them. There was an unconventional poetry to so much of the story.

I don't understand why it's classified as YA at all. The protagonist is a young girl who grows into adolescence but there was nothing about the story or the writing or anything that fit with a YA book. So, not sure how it won the Printz, even though it deserves lots of awards.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I just can't bring myself to. I'm so particular about my ratings and while it's a good book that I enjoyed, it's not something I would reread again and again and again. And I need a deep love for a book for it to be 5 stars, not just serious respect or solid like.

[boghunden]

Jeg vidste ikke, før jeg så traileren til filmen, at den her bog foregik under anden verdenskrig. Alligevel gjorde den mig nysgerrig på bogen. Og sikke dog en oplevelse. Op og ned.

“Not many men are lucky enough to cheat me twice.”
Side 193.

Faktisk kedede jeg mig ret meget i de første dele af bogen, omkring de første 100 sider. Det føltes som meget, meget længere. Jeg følte, historien var for langsom og detaljerne for mange. Dette ændrede sig heldigvis jo længere jeg kom i bogen, og især efter side 150 var jeg fanget. Jeg begyndte at holde af historien, men samtidig hadede jeg den også for det, den fik mig til at føle. Faktisk er det virkelig svært for mig, at sætte ord på oplevelsen; alt imens jeg begyndte at synes rigtig godt om bogen, så kedede den mig fortsat. Det er en temmelig ambivalent følelse.

“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 don, get it done.’ So you work harder. You get the job done. The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more.”
Side 331.

Forfatteren kan sit kram; jeg var helt vild med måden, hvorpå hans sprog udfoldede sig. Jeg ved, mange har nævnt, at det irriterer dem med staccato-agtige sætninger, men for mig var det klart en af bogens styrker. Det fungerede. Det var det, der i starten gjorde, at jeg fortsatte med bogen og ikke bare opgav den. Jeg er for nyligt begyndt at sætte post-its i mine bøger, når jeg falder over et godt citat, som jeg gerne vil have mulighed for hurtigt at finde igen og nyde. I denne bog har jeg sat hele seks. Plus en enkelt ved et helt kapitel; til de der kender bogen kan jeg fortælle, at det drejer sig om kapitlet med titlen The Ageless Brother som er at finde på side 502 i min udgave. Hele dette (korte) kapitel er fyldt med skønne citater, så det var simpelthen lettest på denne måde.

“Silence was not quiet or calm, and it was not peace.”
Side 425.

Bogen fortæller en lille piges historie under anden verdenskrig, og den bliver fortalt gennem dødens øjne. Det er en speciel oplevelse, som stadig sidder i mig her flere dage efter jeg færdiggjorde bogen. Den bragte mig ikke til tårer, men det var godt nok tæt på; flere gange skulle jeg ikke sige noget, for så ville de begynde at pible frem. Det var råt for usødet og det var faktisk ganske okay. Det blev på intet tidspunkt sådan, at jeg sad og følte mig presset til at have medlidenhed med Liesel, hovedpersonen. Sådan var det slet ikke. Jeg forstod, hvor hun ville hen med tingene. Faktisk havde jeg det godt med så godt som alle karakterer i bogen (i hvert fald de, det er meningen man skal have det godt med…).

Absolut en læseværdig oplevelse, også selvom det er en rigtig tung bog, både handlingsmæssigt såvel som sprogligt. Samtiig skal man have in mente, at det er en bog der tager tid, og det er helt okay, for det er absolut det værd.

This book made me cry and I found it to be just beautiful, but it took me a while to get pulled in. I continued reading it because I heard so many people rave about it and I'm so glad I did. I loved that it was narrated by death because I loved his perspective of humankind. It's a long book and the backdrop of Nazi Germany isn't my normal cup of tea but it was such a beautiful story of the war through the eyes of a young girl during WWII Germany.