The Book Thief

 
4.8 (3)
 
4.7 (32)
976 0

Editor reviews

Overall rating
 
4.8
 
5.0(3)
 
5.0(2)
Back to Listing
3 results - showing 1 - 3
Ordering
Devestatingly Unforgettable
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
Expertly written historical fiction. A gutting, wrenching, reverberating work of heart.

The subject matter made this reader hesitate initially to take it on, but enough endorsement finally pushed me over the edge. I’m glad it did. (And I owe thanks to everyone who warned me not to let the slowness of the beginning dissuade me.) Once the story finally does pick up, it sucks you in with dread hopefulness and rending empathy.

When a book is narrated by Death itself, one doesn’t proceed with the expectation of sunshine and happiness. This presentation choice could easily have gone the way of overdone trope, but instead it’s used in sparing measure—with a reverent balance of gallows humor and haunting profundity. The chapter names sometimes act as clever foreshadowing, and in some cases, a wry form of misleading. The result is certain unpredictability to an otherwise fixed historical timeline.

"It kills me sometimes how people die." --Death

This is not simply another book about the holocaust.

Yes, it inextricably involves the terrible imprint of Nazi Germany. But it presents the event from an original and altogether sympathetic angle—through the story of an orphaned German girl who’s foster parents make the decision to hide a Jew in their basement. This book is about loss and compassion, pain and pity, fear and courage. It’s a look at the gradual indoctrination and downfall of a country through its effect on some of its most innocent and entrapped citizens. It’s a story about the many horrors of war, and of the ways humans cope with seemingly insurmountable stresses.

Zusak’s style reminded me of Neil Gaiman on more than one occasion—and I mean that in the best way possible. He has a way with muddling through utter darkness and still illuminating whatever redemptive bits of beauty might be worth finding. His prose is at times both soul-warming and heart-splintering in its rawness of candor. It evokes cinematic detailing, as well as profound emotional resonance.

This reader personally sees tremendous value in this book—particularly to a Young Adult audience now so far removed from the shadowy blight of the holocaust. For some, this could potentially bring the events to life in a way few other works could manage. True, the language usage is sometimes coarse to the point of excessive. But in the context of the time, the culture, and the characters, it becomes a sort of droning background noise—easily ignored.

Favorite quote:

“I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. 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.”
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
A Truly Beautiful Thing
(Updated: March 01, 2013)
Overall rating
 
5.0
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
THE BOOK THIEF is the kind of book that’ll make you cry; bawl your eyes out in the middle of the night because you can’t sleep until you finish it. Then it turns right around and makes you alternately laugh and sit in awed silence until you have to cry again.

It is a WWII story, but is singular in the way it is about a young German girl who never sets foot in a concentration camp or has to spend her days in hiding. That is not to say Liesel, the main character, has an easy time of it. She steals apples for something to eat while being gently haunted by her dead little brother. She sends dozens of letters to a mother who will never reply. Her adoptive father tries to join the Nazi party to protect his family from suspicion all the while hiding a Jew in his basement.

Life is not easy.

Narrated by Death, THE BOOK THIEF is littered with dark humor and scraps of shockingly beautiful imagery. Zusak has a way of painting a picture or thought that makes you stop and just sit there for a moment thinking.

Although she lives in a completely different world, Leisel is ultimately relatable. You care about her, from her every day trials to major crisis’s. Life during the Second World War is laid before you, clear and harsh, all centered around a girl who struggles to collect books while those around her burn them.

THE BOOK THIEF will break your heart and then slowly weld it back together again.

The tentative mini-romance existing between Liesel and her best friend Rudy is a burst of sweet innocence in a world consumed by turmoil. This is not a book that tries to say something or a have a moral. This is the story of a kid forced to live in a world that we couldn’t imagine. Yet, along the way it manages to give you a thousand little messages you’ll never forget. This is a book that creeps its way into your mind and unpacks its socks.

All of the supporting characters have depth and a purpose of some sort, although it may not always be immediately apparent. They seem real and alive even if just mentioned in passing. You feel for a woman that solely exists in one paragraph and have no idea why afterwards.

This is a story of regret and triumph, sorrows and joys, but above all it is a story of life.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 4 1
Death Tells an Unforgettable Story
Overall rating
 
5.0
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
N/A
Writing Style
 
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
From Nazi Germany, Death narrates the story of young Liesel who loses her family, landing in a foster home with the tyrannical Mama and warm Papa. Papa helps Liesel learn to read, as she steals books starting with a grave-digger's handbook.

One day as she is delivering laundry for Mama, Liesel discovers something astounding: the most unlikely treasure watched over by an unthinkable guard . . .a person who has witnessed Liesel's thievery. Meanwhile, Liesel's new family must honor a long-ago promise. In doing so, they teeter on the edge of a terrifying precipice.

A big, meaty read, THE BOOK THIEF has won many awards, including a Printz Honor Award. The story celebrates the triumph of the human spirit through books and reading during the worst of all possible times while giving us a view of the everyday lives of Germans living in Nazi Germany. Although it deals with often painful subjects, it's also a compelling read full of humor, warmth, and irresistible/quirky phrasing.

THE BOOK THIEF will twist your heart and stretch your soul. The story had such an emotional impact on me, that I can't stop talking about it to everyone I know . . .and I will never forget it.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 2 1
3 results - showing 1 - 3