Thursday 20 March 2014

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book

There's no other way to describe this story than with the true blurb:

HERE IS A SMALL FACT

YOU ARE GOING TO DIE

1939.  Nazi Germany.  The country is holding its breath.
Death has never been busier.

Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street.  Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp.  Liesel steals books.  This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION

THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH

It's a small story, about:
a girl
an accordionist
some fanatical Germans
a Jewish istfighter
and quite a lot of thievery.

ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW

DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES


My Review

What can I say?  This book is a masterpiece.  A stroke of genius.  A pleasure to read.  Some might say it's a hard read and not one to pick up if you don't have a lot of time.  It seems to be the opinion that you have to put a lot into this book to get what you want out of it.  I disagree.  I found it so easy to fall into Nazi Germany that I finished the book within the week even though it's 550 pages long.  I've never read anything quite like this.  It was intriguing.

The first thing I loved about the book was what I ended up loving most.  The narrator, Death himself.  He tells you Liesel's story from the most unique perspective I've ever come across.  Both retrospective and omniscient but with personality and emotion.  Death seemed so soft and warm as a character, even though that seems peculiar to write.  I laughed a few times at his narration when he jumped in to add something he thought we should know.  I loved how aware our narrator was of us readers.  I was being told a story from beginning to end.  The little facts and observations Death adds in as we go along made this book what it is.  I think that was one of the reasons I loved The Book Thief so much.  It's almost like Death's personal scrapbook on Liesel Meminger, the book thief he's so fond of.

The only point that I see this as being a problem for the reader is when the pages of Max's book are almost too small to read.  The illustrations are fine but the writing is tiny.  That was a stupid decision made by whoever was in charge of that part of the book.  I had to really try to read Max's words which was disappointing seeing as he's such a huge character in the book.  I was so excited that I got to read his words but my heart dropped when I saw the size of them.  Other than this, all the interruptions are perfect.  I don't care what some people think.  It's not distracting or a waste of time.  It shows personality and adds to this book like diamonds add to a bracelet.

The reason I don't think this book is hard to read is because the paragraphs are so short.  It was so easy to pick up and so impossible to put down.  It was separated into ten parts, each part named after a stolen book.  I quickly got into the habit of reading at least one part a day until I got to the end and read about four in one go.

History was beautifully interweaved in this story.  The Book Thief was both all about history and yet not.  I loved that about it too.  I can't deal with heavy historical fiction, regardless of how much I love history.  History was both the most important factor in The Book Thief and again not.  It was expertly crafted by Zusak and I'm in total awe.

I only have one sort of criticism when it comes to characters.  And that is: there were so many I got confused.  The minor characters that made up Himmel Street got combined in my head and I couldn't remember Frau What's-Her-Face to Frau Oh-You-Again.  It didn't help that they were Herr or Frau (Mr or Mrs) Whatever because the surnames were all German, again, making it hard for me to remember, not knowing anything about German names myself.  It just made it difficult for me to distinguish between one character and another.  I think I got my head around it eventually.  I'm not sure it mattered though.  I understand a sense of community was the most important thing and I certainly felt that.

As for the major characters, well . . . anyone who has read this book must've fallen in love with them as I did.  They were all flawed and believable.  I hated them and loved them as I do my own friends and family.  Especially Rudy, Max, Mama/Rosa and Papa/Hans. 

I was extremely glad that I had a box of tissues next to me when I finished the book.  I knew how it was going to end - Death tells you at the beginning - but that didn't make it any less heartbreaking.  Instead of boring me because I knew how it was going to turn out, it only added to the dread of the event.  Again, genius. 

This was one of those books that when I put it down I got this bitter-sweet feeling in my heart because I'd never have the pleasure of reading it for the first time ever again.  But it read like one of those books that will never get old, even if you read it a hundred times.


Evaluation

Plot - 8/10 - I see where people are coming from when they say there wasn't much of one, but in my opinion they aren't looking deep enough

Way Plot Was Pursued - 10/10 - Death's interventions made this book amazing

Characters - 8/10 - a lot of confusion but a lot of love

Style - 10/10 - loved the way the book was set out and written, can't fault it

Pace - 8/10 - read it fast but it was slow in some places


Would I recommend it? Yes - It was sold to me as a YA book but it could just as easily be for adults

Would I look up the author? Yes - I'm very curious about Zusak's other novels.


The Book Thief was incredible.  It blew me away.


Molly Looby
Author / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready
molly.looby@hotmail.com

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