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147 of 157 people found the following review helpful:
A masterpiece of empathy
Sometimes a fictional interpretation of history is exactly what we need in order to be able to come to a real understanding of what it meant to live through historic events, particularly horrific ones. Markus Zusak provides us with a masterful interpretation of the Nazi period of German history from the perspective of ordinary people suffering through it and striving to...
Published 24 months ago by Gordon Eldridge
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64 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
A 'clever' book, but not for everyone
I am ambivalent towards this book. The writing style was definitely unique; I enjoyed the frequent intermissions by the narrator, which gave the story a light-hearted and a nostalgic back-in-your-childhood feel. The ending was particularly well done - poignant, perhaps tear-jerking for many readers.
However, I felt the characterisation altogether a little...
Published 20 months ago by J. Takata
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147 of 157 people found the following review helpful:
A masterpiece of empathy, 28 Nov 2007
Sometimes a fictional interpretation of history is exactly what we need in order to be able to come to a real understanding of what it meant to live through historic events, particularly horrific ones. Markus Zusak provides us with a masterful interpretation of the Nazi period of German history from the perspective of ordinary people suffering through it and striving to keep their lives together and their souls alive and kicking within the horrific and ever-tightening boundaries constructed by the Nazi regime. He gives us a gut-wrenchingly palpable empathy for people facing harrowing decisions on a daily basis. His marvelous characters bring to life the dilemmas of those who believe they should help the Jews as well as the equally nightmarish predicament of Jews who through receiving help put others in danger. We see much of this through the perspective of the main character Liesel, who is only a young girl. Her innocence and the gradual realizations she comes to about the events swirling around her in a maelstrom of horror evoke a remarkable empathy in the reader. If you want to understand how the little people cope with such tragic historic events without allowing their souls to be crushed, read this book. Ultimately it is a portrait of the resilience and hope of the human spirit.
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64 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
A 'clever' book, but not for everyone, 20 Mar 2008
I am ambivalent towards this book. The writing style was definitely unique; I enjoyed the frequent intermissions by the narrator, which gave the story a light-hearted and a nostalgic back-in-your-childhood feel. The ending was particularly well done - poignant, perhaps tear-jerking for many readers.
However, I felt the characterisation altogether a little weak - there were very few characters I could care about; many of them appear to be cardboard cutouts of stereotypical personalities. The story meanders a lot in the middle of the book without much really happening and most of the events seem to have no purpose at all. All in all, I don't know what this book wants to be. It doesn't deliver the full atmosphere of what it was like living in Nazi Germany, as I had expected; nor is it a simple idyllic bildungsroman. It is neither happy nor depressing; its target audience appears to be neither for adults nor for children. Many would undoubtedly argue that it is precisely this ambiguity that makes the book so enjoyable; I believe it is a matter of taste whether you like those kinds of books or not.
If there is one word I would sum up the book with, it would be 'clever' - the structure certainly is ingenious and the narration with Death works very well in some parts. However, I do think that Zusak had tried a tad too hard; I felt the basics of a good book - the characters, the plot and writing style - had suffered as a result of pursuing style over content. While some people (as testified by the many positive reviews) would love this book, others will find it is not entirely up their street. Try it, and find out!
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107 of 121 people found the following review helpful:
Just read it!!!, 22 Feb 2008
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.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Soul searching story, 14 May 2009
With over 400 reviews posted already on Amazon there is little left to write on `The Book Thief' - a fictional telling of horrors in Nazi Germany involving ordinary citizens in extraordinary circumstances - albeit with `Death' in the form of a being. I found it to be a tremendously emotional book, invoking satire and irony amongst atrocities and barbarity, and with a capacity to make readers laugh and cry - it is an exceptional book and I felt compelled to comment. `The Book Thief' embraces credible characters experiencing innocence and inhumanity, life and death, love and hate, truth and lies, and sadness and joy in wonderfully descriptive combinations, and it uses ingenious practices like text commentaries in bold print and illustrations by persona to enhance the wording. Words are of prime importance, as with any novel, but `The Book Thief' itself concerns `words'. It adopts an innovative approach to presentation of its own words via books within books and intertwined elements narrated by `Death' with colourful portrayals - literally. An idiosyncratic perspective is the telling to readers of what is going to happen before writing the detail. This works well as author Markus Zusak employs marvellous metaphors, amazing analogies and illuminating imagery. I was engrossed by both his unique telling of the story and the powerful gripping nature of the story itself, and the undercurrent of challenges to search deeper for meaning. `The Book Thief' is a profoundly moving, thought provoking book that can be both unsettling and uplifting. This does not prevent it being an easy read - so read it!
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Even Death Has a Heart, 3 Jun 2007
Born in Sydney in 1975, Markus Zusak is the youngest of four children and the son of Austrian and German parents. He grew up hearing stories about Nazi Germany, two of which led to him writing "The Book Thief".
The story is told by Death, who tries not to take too much of an interest in humans - sometimes, however, he can't help himself. In "The Book Thief", Death follows the story of Liesel Meminger - a young German girl he first meets in January 1939. Liesel is nine years old and travelling by train to Munich with her mother and brother, Werner. Liesel's mother is having difficulty providing for her family and is constantly ill. In the hope of a better life for her children, she has arranged for them to be fostered with a family in Molching - a town close to Munich. Here, she hopes they will be fed and educated better than she could provide. Unfortunately, Werner doesn't make it - he dies and is buried on the journey, giving Death his first meeting with Liesel. Werner's funeral is where the Book Thief is born, when Liesel 'acquires' a copy of "The Gravediggers Handbook". Her pilfering, naturally, doesn't finish there - and it isn't always restricted to books.
Liesel's new family, the Hubermanns, live on Himmel Street in Molching. Liesel's new foster-mother is the foul-mouthed and (apparently) permanently cross Rosa Hubermann. Even worse, her cooking is as bad as her language. Hans, Liesel's 'new' father, is a different matter entirely. He's a kind, loving and patient man, who works as a painter and is a WW1 veteran. His main pleasures in life are centred around tobacco and playing the accordion. He also teaches Liesel read and write - something Liesel is very keen on - with "The Gravediggers Handbook" being used as the starting point in her education. After Hans, two other men play a big part in Liesel's life in Molching. One is her permanently hungry best friend Rudy Steiner, who is also a big fan of Jesse Owens. (This is just the sort of thing that could get you in trouble in Nazi Germany). Although Rudy is always on the lookout for food, there's only one thing he's truly desperate for : a kiss from Liesel. The Book Thief's 'other' best friend isn't introduced until a little further into the book : a Jewish man by the name of Max, who -like Liesel - is a fairly useful fighter.
"The Book Thief" was published in Australia as an 'adult' title, but as a Young Adult novel in America. The truth is, both age ranges will enjoy this story - it's very easily read book, with very likeable characters - Liesel, Hans and Rudy particularly sttod out for me. Death proves to be a sympathetic, likeable and even, occasionally, witty character - something this Death has in common with Terry Pratchett's Death. (Of course, there's a lot less silliness and a good deal more sadness here than in one of the Discworld books). A beautiful book, well worth reading.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
The most amazing book I have read this year!, 19 Jun 2007
I finished The Book Thief last night, having not been able to put it down for the last ten days, and haven't read a book that made me cry this much since The Kite Runner. It is a truly amazing tale set in Nazi Germany, and rather strangely but very successfully narrated by Death.
Desipite the horrors of the second world war, the novel deals with every day events in the lives of the inhabitants of a small German town, and you really feel you are living through things with them, following their personal journeys, enjoying the quirkiness of their characters and desperately wanting to know what the future holds for them.
The book is incredibly touching at points, and as a result, you become involved with each and every character, particularly that of Liesel, The Book Thief.
This is a truly, truly wonderful story. I can't recommend it enough.
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38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
Beyond my power to describe, 30 April 2007
This is a book so deceptively simple, so easy to read that its astonishing depth only reveals itself towards the end and, in fact, retrospectively. It draws you into itself and you see everything through the eyes of its heroine Liesel and form attachements with people as she does. I have read extensively on the holocaust and the second world war in general but never have I seen it with this much personal clarity. I was left deeply moved and reflective and wanting to buy copies to give to everyone important to me. It's that powerful, and I believe, that important.
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44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
Zusak's Masterpiece, 5 April 2007
"The Book Thief" is the best book I've ever read. It is beautifuly written and imposible to stop reading-you just don't want to put it down! It is unbelieveably sad but at the same time it can be funny.The plot has so many twists that the end comes as such a big shock I had to read it twice before I believe it had happened.
I read an extract out to my class and after only one and a half pages nearly everybody wanted to read it. I would highly recomend it to anyone. It is a book that should be on everyone's shelf.
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24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
From the Inside, 25 Feb 2007
Even after three weeks, I am still thinking about this book. The clarity of the language and the beautiful, yet harrowing images created in the story have burned themselves into my memory. I wept like a baby over the last few pages.
Im torn between wanting to keep the treasure to myself and grabbing everyone and anyone I see and demanding they read this.
A true gem of a book. Please buy this book (see I have made my mind up). Genius. Absolute genius.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
Tragic, haunting and inspirational, 26 Mar 2007
This is an extremely powerful read. It is a tale of tragedy, loss and inhumanity, but at the same time love, life and humanity.
The wartime story of a young German orphan, Liesel, living with her foster family in a suburb of Munich is told by Death, which turns out to be not the gimmick I expected, but in fact an inspirational idea. Far from being a hackneyed stereotype the author has imbued him with perceptiveness and sense of humour. His role is that of commentator on humanity's lack of humanity, but he also interacts with the story instead of viewing from afar.
I think the author handled that aspect brilliantly, but actually the whole book is beautifully written. There are some absolutely jaw-dropping turns of phrase and fabulous uses of language that are still making me purr with pleasure.
On one hand this book is desperately sad, on the other it is inspirational. On both it is thought-provoking and engaging. Highly recommended.
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