My rating: 5 / 5
Set in Nazi Germany set in the 1930s and 40s, and narrated by Death himself, this makes for an interesting story. It’s about life, love, and growing up.
“I traveled the globe as always, handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity.”
I wouldn’t have picked this out on my own, but some of my friends have read and rated it highly on goodreads.com. It was very highly regarded by my book club as well. Turns out it will be made into a movie next year, and since I have a habit of always reading the book first, I decided to read it now, before the movie comes out.
This is definitely not a happy-ending story, nor is it truly a love story. There’s heartbreak and tragedy. How could any novel feature a Jew as a main character in Germany during WWII and have it not be tragic, at least in some way? The story walks a fine line between sadness and complete misery. Don’t let this stop you from reading it! It really is an amazing story.
“I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.”
With Death as our omniscient narrator, we are allowed to see in the past, present and future of our main characters. Liesel’s story is framed by books, primarily books that she has stolen, hence her title of “book thief.”
Our story starts when Liesel is removed from her family, and taken to a foster family in a small town outside of Munich. Alone and afraid, she turns to books, despite the fact that she cannot read. With the help of her foster-father, she learns to read and write. As the story progresses, Liesel collects both books and peculiar friends.
Without giving away the plot, let’s just say that Liesel is not your typical young girl living in Germany in the 1930s. Neither is her foster family, and despite a rough start, it seems that the family truly does love her and wants nothing but the best for her. I can’t imagine the bravery, the courage, and the conviction of belief that these people had to have had to do the things they did.
“It’s much easier, she realized, to be on the verge of something than to actually be it.”
Above all else, I loved the writing in this novel. Scattered throughout are some wonderfully descriptive and poignant quotes. Zusak’s prose almost literally leaps off the page and into being.
“Burning words were torn from their sentences.”
I really enjoyed this. I am very excited to see the movie when it comes out, and I highly recommend this book. I feel like I gained insight into what it felt like to be German and not sympathetic to the Nazis during WWII. Most everything else has been more focused on the Jewish perspective or the war aspects, and this was a unique view for me. It must have been tough for everyone in those times, and it’s really heartbreaking that anyone had to live through these things.
Looks like a good read!
Do I see a book club nomination in the future?
They read it last year before I joined. That’s how I heard about it. But I do have some other books to nominate! 🙂