The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

★★★★

I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.

Liesel, an orphaned girl, is sent to live with a foster family right before the Nazi’s take over Germany. 

She has a peculiar attachment to books, her first being a gravedigger’s manual that she picks up during her brother’s funeral.

Death takes an interest in her and her books on that day and follows her, sometimes constantly and sometimes at a distance.

There’s just something so…fascinating…about her that Death cannot stay away.

Meanwhile Liesel slowly grows up in the heart of Nazi Germany.

Her adoptive Papa and Mama make her bleak life bearable. But Rudy, her best friend, makes everything right in this world.

A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.

But their idyllic lives cannot stay that way forever. Food shortages are rampart, money becomes ever tighter and Papa’s son believes every word from Hitler.

And throughout all of this, Death watches…. and waits.

Even death has a heart.

Whew. I have avoided this one for so long…and I’m so glad that I finally took the plunge.

Normally, I dislike most books/movies/games set in Nazi Germany.

I absolutely hate anything that turns that much pain and sorrow into a gimmick to sell more of the product. I feel that a majority of that entertainment field both cheapens the experience and is hugely disrespectful to the victims.

I feel like this subject should be treated delicately – and there are very few bits of media that I feel do it justice.

The Book Thief was just absolutely perfect in that sense. This book was just the right mixture of joys and sorrows, of highs and lows, and of good and evil.

I loved Liesel and the way she grew up against the ever-present tide of Nazis.

The way she and her family struggled against the world, by hiding a Jew or showing sympathy, really made this book shine.

Death made an interesting perspective, though I wish the book would have been narrated more from inside his head.

Overall, loved this one. Though (and this may be just me), but am I the only one disappointed by the title?

I really was expecting a bit more book-thievery…instead Liesel was (mostly) given the very few books that she “steals”.

Audiobook Comments
Extremely well-read – an absolute delight to listen to!

Interested in this one from Markus Zusak? Buy it here:  Amazon