The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

"It's just a small story, really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery ..." Narrated in the all-knowing matter-of-fact voice of Death, witnessing the story of the citizens of Himmel Street: When nine-year-old Liesel arrives outside the boxlike house of her new foster parents, she refuses to get out of the car. Liesel has been separated from her parents - 'Kommunists' - for ever, and at the burial of her little brother, she steals a gravedigger's instruction manual which she can't read. It is the beginning of her illustrious career. In the care of the Hubermans, Liesel befriends blond-haired Rudy Steiner, her neighbour obsessed with Jesse Owens. She also befriends the mayor's wife, who hides from despair in her library. Together Liesel and Rudy steal books - from Nazi book burning piles, from the mayor's library, from the richer people of Molching. In time, the family hide a Jewish boxer, Max, who reads with Liesel in the basement. By 1943, the Allied bombs are falling, and the sirens begin to wail. Liesel shares out her books in the air-raid shelters.
But one day in the life of Himmel street, the wail of the sirens comes too late ...A life-changing tale of the cruel twists of fate and the coincidences on which all our lives hinge, this is also a joyous look at the power of book to nourish the soul. Its uplifting ending will make all readers weep.

Reviewed by Nessa Luna on

5 of 5 stars

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I saw this book on Tumblr and Goodreads a lot of times, being recommended by a lot of people, so I decided to buy it a couple of weeks ago. And I was blown away by how amazing this book is. I have always been interested in books about the second world war, both fiction and non-fiction (though I am so not a fan of non-fiction books), and I have read a lot of books about it. But this book has got to be my favourite until now. Basically, this book is about Liesel Meminger, but she is not the narrator. No, the narrator of this story is Death. And that is one of the things that makes this book so good.

I liked the way it was written, I liked the story, because this is actually the first World War II story that I’ve read that happens in Germany. Most of the books I’ve read happened in the Netherlands. I also liked the fact that the writer used some German words in his sentences (and he always put the translation of those words in the same sentence, which is handy for people who can’t speak German).

There was one thing about this book that I did not like, and that was that somewhere near the end of the book. At that point, the ending of the book is already being told. Death tells it’s so it might ‘soften the blow’ for later, but it actually made me feel a bit.. irritated, because I really do not like spoilers, though it is in the book itself so it’s not really a spoiler. But I still didn’t like it. When I read the actual thing, of how it actually happened, I did sob. A lot. So no, Death, it did most definitely NOT soften the blow.

Other than that, this book is perfect. I heard it was going to be made into a movie, so I am really looking forward to that!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 4 July, 2013: Finished reading
  • 4 July, 2013: Reviewed