The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Book Thief
Book Review: Truly Original
Summary: 4 Stars
The Book Thief is the story of Liesel Meminger, a nine-year-old illiterate girl who loses her family during World War II. Liesel's story is one of struggle, friendship, love, and courage. However, it's her biographer that makes the story unique. The Book Thief is narrated by Death himself.
Death is an uneasy narrator. He's a skittish personality who fears humans, perhaps as much as humans fear him. Death is an unlikely sympathetic character because he doesn't relish his work. He laughs at the human notion that he wears a cloak and carries a scythe. Instead, Death is an overworked laborer driven by a cruel boss--War. Throughout the story, Death interjects sparse nuggets of helpful information for the reader. He seems to be uneasy with his reading audience as much as he is with his characters.
In spite of his reluctance to get involved with humans, Death finds himself drawn into Liesel's story. The Nazi's imprisoned her father for being a communist and her mother gave her to foster parents before the Nazi's came for her as well. Liesel thus finds herself in the care of a rough but not unkind family, the Hubermans.
It's at the Hubermans that Liesel learns to read and discover the power of words. Hans Huberman becomes a grandfather figure to her and gives her 2 AM reading lessons when Liesel awakes from her nightly nightmares. Rosa is a gruff, cursing matron who eventually reveals a softer side. Liesel also meets some wonderful characters from around the neighborhood. There's Rudy, a young sprinter and fellow thief, who idolizes Jesse Owens. Rudy's obsession with the African-American sprinter doesn't win him favor with the Nazi Youth Party, but he is undeterred. There's also Max, a young Jew whom the Hubermans hide in their basement. Liesel makes fast friends with each of these youthful men and learns lessons about loyalty, friendship, and love.
In The Book Thief, Markus Zusak captures Liesel's childlike perspective showing that she is somehow able to hold onto while living on Himmel (Heaven) Street - until Allied bombers bring the weight of the war and death to her neighborhood. Zusak is generous with humor and tales of the heroes' thieving mischief. These elements keep the atrocities of Nazi Germany from overwhelming the reader.
The Book Thief ultimately is the story about the power of words. Words provide Liesel escape from her nightmares. Her relationship with Max centers on storytelling. Liesel also comes to the terrible realization that Hitler's Third Reich wasn't built with tanks, but first with words. Teen readers will leave this book with an acute understanding of the power of ideas.
It's hard to find flaws with the Book Thief. The book is dark and tragic. A story involving Nazi oppression narrated by Death seems like a hard sell to the average teen. However, Zusak writes about Liesel's exploits with a gentleness that softens the weight of the book. Parents might want to be aware that there a few curse words sprinkled in over the course of 550 pages. This reviewer doesn't see them as a reason to keep a mature teen from being exposed to the powerful message of the book.
The Book Thief is a worthwhile read. Consider giving this novel to your Senior High School student, and even discussing it together. There are conversations to be had about prejudice, courage, love, and the power of words
Book Review: Truly a must read...
Summary: 4 Stars
I loved this book. Why? I am not sure. I think it was because it gave me a perspective on life that I never really thought of. I am in my early twenties and this book really made me think about my life and how good I have it. I really don't know what it means to be poor, to be afraid to go outside and live my religion. I think everyone takes life for granted and this book took me a long time to read. I didn't want to read it fast just to finish it. I wanted to savor every page, so that I was able to truly understand what it means. This is a good book, but it is sad.
I honestly wouldn't recommend this book unless you are over 16 though. You might not truly understand what is going on or appreciate the book.
Book Review: Unbelievable!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a confession to make. I thought this book was overhyped and over-talked. I mean, everyone just loves this book and when I read the first fifty pages, I was literally bored to tears. I don't understand that about myself after all, this book is about a girl who loves books. And it is a historical piece too. So I put it aside and got busy reading other books until someone in one of my bookclubs convinced me to pick it back up again and tell me to keep plugging away. So I did. (She really made a compelling argument about it.)
This time, I couldn't put it down. I couldn't read it at night since there were some disturbing scenes in there (it happens to me every time I pick up a book on the Holocaust ... I get too emotionally involved and it carries over into my dreams). But I was taken in by the drama unfolding during World War II in Germany. These are people who are just trying to live their lives as best as they could, covering up their doubts as to what their leader was doing and yet trying to survive. They were caught up in a scheme greater than their own. Then the book narrows down to a friendship between a Jewish man hiding in a basement and a little girl who has lost all she has ever known before taken in by her foster family. The little girl Liesel is also a book thief. She stole her very first book when her little brother died. It was a book called "The Gravedigger's Book." From there, she learned to read, learned to live and survive while hungry ... always hungry for food and for mental nourishment that only her books can provide her. The Jew that was hiding in her basement, Max survived the bitter cold by writing down his story and encouraging Liesel to write her own. Together, along with Hans, Liesel's foster father, they created a story and meaning out of their own lives during this turblent time.
Narrated by Death (which, I must admit, did make me wary of reading this book as I really do not like macrabre reading), this book moved me beyond tears. Death's descriptions of his sorrow for all the souls he had to carry away (and how awfully tired he was ... in spite of what people may think, he really does not care for war because it is more work for him) ... was aptly described and definitely a fresh viewpoint ... one that I would have never considered.
This book really should not be regulated to just the Young Adults sections of the bookstore or the library. Really. It is so much more mature than young adult ... it is a must-read for all readers who desire to learn more about the Holocaust and how it not only affects the Jews, but also the neighbors and townsfolks who live among the Jews. The ugliness that is the Holocaust affected everyone and still affects them to this day. This book describes that so well. Not only does it focus on the horrors of war, it focuses on people's will to learn and to live ... and how important the written word is on our lives.
This is a must-read for all book clubs. There is a wealth of information in here that avid book lovers can dissect it for hours and come away with an awe that Zusak has inspired in the readers.
5/16/09
Book Review: Unforgettable Amazing Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an AMAZING book! I bought this for my 13 year old daughter, and read it myself when I ran out of my own books to read. This was such an original story, it was unforgettable, beautifully written, and heartbreaking. I am an avid reader, and this book is hands down one of the best I have ever read. It is marketed as 'young adult' but is as intelligent and complex as any book marketed to adult readers, and better than most. Several of my friends and family members have borrowed the book and fell in love with it, lent it out to thier friends, who also loved it. Everyone who reads it counts it as a favorite - I would highly recommend this book to anyone!Book Review: Unforgettable book
Summary: 5 Stars
Where to begin? I think it should be considered an adult book. Putting it under the young adult section probably prevents it from being more widely read.
It is the most unforgettable book I have ever read. I felt actually sucked into it as if I was living the story. I didn't want to let the characters go. Every one of them came alive to me, and I cared about all of them, even the villains (except Hitler, of course). I couldn't put it down and the next day, I had to start reading it over again. A heart wrenching story that shouldn't be missed. I don't think I will ever for get Liesel Meminger, Rudy, Hans, Rosa, and all the rest including the unusual narrator. Give it a try. You won't regret it!