'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.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The Book Thief
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Amazon Review
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak was the best-selling debut literary novel of the year 2007, selling over 400,000 copies. The author is a prize-winning writer of children's books, and this, his first novel for adults, proved to be a triumphant success. The book is extraordinary on many levels: moving, yet restrained, angry yet balanced -- and written with the kind of elegance found all too rarely in fiction these days. The book's narrator is nothing less than Death itself, regaling us with a remarkable tale of book burnings, treachery and theft. The book never forgets the primary purpose of compelling the reader's attention, yet which nevertheless is able to impart a cogent message about the importance of words, particularly in those societies which regard the word as dangerous (the book is set during the Nazi regime, but this message is all too relevant in many places in the world today).
Nine-year-old Liesel lives with her foster family on Himmel Street during the dark days of the Third Reich. Her Communist parents have been transported to a concentration camp, and during the funeral for her brother, she manages to steal a macabre book: it is, in fact, a gravediggers’ instruction manual. This is the first of many books which will pass through her hands as the carnage of the Second World War begins to hungrily claim lives. Both Liesel and her fellow inhabitants of Himmel Street will find themselves changed by both words on the printed page and the horrendous events happening around them.
Despite its grim narrator, The Book Thief is, in fact, a life-affirming book, celebrating the power of words and their ability to provide sustenance to the soul. Interestingly, the Second World War setting of the novel does not limit its relevance: in the 20th century, totalitarian censorship throughout the world is as keen as ever at suppressing books (notably in countries where the suppression of human beings is also par for the course) and that other assault on words represented by the increasing dumbing-down of Western society as cheap celebrity replaces the appeal of books for many people, ensures that the message of Marcus Zusak’s book could not be more timely. It is, in fact, required reading -- or should be in any civilised country. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
A moving work which will make many eyes brim. -- Marianne Brace, Independent on Sunday
Extraordinary, resonant and relevant, beautiful and angry. -- Lisa Hilton, Sunday Telegraph
Unsettling, thought-provoking, life-affirming, triumphant and
tragic, this is a novel of breath-taking scope, masterfully told...A
wonderful page-turner.
-- The Guardian --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Extraordinary, resonant and relevant, beautiful and angry. -- Lisa Hilton, Sunday Telegraph
Unsettling, thought-provoking, life-affirming, triumphant and
tragic, this is a novel of breath-taking scope, masterfully told...A
wonderful page-turner.
-- The Guardian --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
165 of 172 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really can't believe that in the first three months of the year I have come across three gems in "A Thousand Splendid Suns," "A Quiet Belief in Angels" and now "The Book Thief." Each of these books is different but they are all stunning in their own individual way.
The Book Thief is highly original, although it did remind me somewhat of my book of the year for 2007 "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas." The subject matter for both books is the Nazification of Germany. Both books look at things from the perspective of a child growing up in the most turbulent of times and both have a child-like simplicity that just adds to their powers.
The Book Thief is a beautiful book from start to finish. Indeed at times it is more of a scrapbook of a life than a novel. It has a strangeness that only enhances the subject matter. For a start it is narrated by death. But this never detracts from the shape or power of the novel as young lives are slowly ripped apart in a German Town where poverty is rife.
The central character Liesel has a beautiful calmness of spirit. She always seems to be on the verge of re-alisation whilst still retaining the fragility of childhood. Slowly and gradually the evil unfolds before her as she becomes aware of the fate of the Jews in a town where she is thrust as an unwilling refugee.
In her adopted father Hans Hubermann, Zusak has created one of those unforgettable men of strength and kindness. At first when Liesel is thrust into the Hubermann household I was expecting a hard-hearted couple keen to take the small amount of money that Lisel brings with her but not so keen to give her the love that she craves. Nothing could be more from the truth. Hans is open with his love and support whilst is wife is softer than she would ever want anybody to know.
There are passages where the book appears to be meandering and nothing much seems to be happening. There is a war on, but it isn't hugely affecting those involved in the story. But then you realise, almost by chance, that it is affecting every character, sometime directly and sometimes in a rather subtler way (if war can be subtle). Then comes a cataclysmic climax that is both sad and uplifting.
This is a very unusual book. It is a delight to read and never stodgy and once again I can only highly recommend it.
The Book Thief is highly original, although it did remind me somewhat of my book of the year for 2007 "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas." The subject matter for both books is the Nazification of Germany. Both books look at things from the perspective of a child growing up in the most turbulent of times and both have a child-like simplicity that just adds to their powers.
The Book Thief is a beautiful book from start to finish. Indeed at times it is more of a scrapbook of a life than a novel. It has a strangeness that only enhances the subject matter. For a start it is narrated by death. But this never detracts from the shape or power of the novel as young lives are slowly ripped apart in a German Town where poverty is rife.
The central character Liesel has a beautiful calmness of spirit. She always seems to be on the verge of re-alisation whilst still retaining the fragility of childhood. Slowly and gradually the evil unfolds before her as she becomes aware of the fate of the Jews in a town where she is thrust as an unwilling refugee.
In her adopted father Hans Hubermann, Zusak has created one of those unforgettable men of strength and kindness. At first when Liesel is thrust into the Hubermann household I was expecting a hard-hearted couple keen to take the small amount of money that Lisel brings with her but not so keen to give her the love that she craves. Nothing could be more from the truth. Hans is open with his love and support whilst is wife is softer than she would ever want anybody to know.
There are passages where the book appears to be meandering and nothing much seems to be happening. There is a war on, but it isn't hugely affecting those involved in the story. But then you realise, almost by chance, that it is affecting every character, sometime directly and sometimes in a rather subtler way (if war can be subtle). Then comes a cataclysmic climax that is both sad and uplifting.
This is a very unusual book. It is a delight to read and never stodgy and once again I can only highly recommend it.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By John Bower
Format:Paperback
A chance encounter and recommendation of this book at a conference led to me purchasing and reading it. And I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The Book Thief, a young girl adopted by a German family just before the second world war seems deprived of everything except her desire to learn to read. This leads to book stealing and night time readings with her step father whom she adores. The war, when it comes, complicates things especially as the family is hiding a Jew in the basement, but she has extra support from a local boy. The writing style is fascinating, with interjected paragraphs in bold stylized print, making points or emphasising a part of the story. This takes a bit of getting used to but after the first few chapters, I found myself looking forward to these interruptions. It's a very different book but a good story and a good read.
206 of 219 people found the following review helpful
By A. Hope
Format:Paperback
I am not sure how to describe this book - without either giving too much away - or making it sound depressing and grisely which it is not at all. Suffice to say this is a novel narrated by death. It is the story of a young girl living in Nazi Germany, who goes to live with a foster family,and learns to read, and falls in love with: books, her new Papa, a boy called Rudy, and a Jew hiding in a basement. It is also a story of WW2 - from a persepective we don't often see - ordinaary Germans - some of whom were members of "The Party."
Death takes the reader by the hand, and leads us through the lives and deaths of people in Liesel's world, he kind of "gives the game away" a few times - and yet that never spoils it - it prepares the reader for what's ahead.
This is an astonishing book - the writing is great - an unusual style - but one that fits perfectly somehow with the voice of Death - and that of the unforgettable Liesel.
Death takes the reader by the hand, and leads us through the lives and deaths of people in Liesel's world, he kind of "gives the game away" a few times - and yet that never spoils it - it prepares the reader for what's ahead.
This is an astonishing book - the writing is great - an unusual style - but one that fits perfectly somehow with the voice of Death - and that of the unforgettable Liesel.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely
Lovely, kind and a bit abstract in the same time.. A story full of love, but not necessarily a love story, in a natzi Germany. Death is the narrator. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Roxana
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Book Thief
What can you say? Unbelievably well-written, such a clever idea with 'Death' as the narrator. Couldn't put it down, just sorry it had to end. Buy it!
Published 1 day ago by Maddy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very cleaver book
Cleaver and well written book which kept me engrossed from beginning to end.
Absolutely loved it and very unusual to read of the atrocities of the war from the perspective of... Read more
Absolutely loved it and very unusual to read of the atrocities of the war from the perspective of... Read more
Published 1 day ago by joanna archer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!
I had to buy this book for a school project at school and I was very pleased at how quick it came! I ordered it on Wednesday and I needed it for the following Tuesday, I was... Read more
Published 3 days ago by Tia
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting and moving
An unusual slant on a narrator, Death is presented as a fairly gentle being who carries souls away and watches over the heroine in an almost paternal way. Read more
Published 3 days ago by maureen austin
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best books I have ever read.
This book is brilliant! Setting it in Nazi Germany only makes it sadder, as you realise how the German people also suffered. Read more
Published 4 days ago by T SToner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding
Beautifully written, an insight into an unknown Germany. Gets under the skin of the human psyche and the true meaning of love and war.
Published 4 days ago by miss m sherrington
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unexpectedly good!
I had thought this a book for children but actually the complexity of the plots and use of language makes this an engaging and thought-provoking book for any reader.
Published 4 days ago by Scittman
5.0 out of 5 stars
A stunningly moving book.
A beautiful book. An unusual and Unique narrative from death himself set in Second World WarnGermany. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Victoria
5.0 out of 5 stars
A really good read.
I chose this book because of the other reviews I had read, and have really enjoyed it. I loved the characters and the way that the war was portrayed through a young girl's eyes and... Read more
Published 5 days ago by MEH
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