You really have to know that Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is one of the best books I've ever read. It's a book that has you thinking and therefore speaking differently upon its immediate conclusion. Like a memorable Christmas feast, I may not be able to remember everything I ate--or every word I read--but I'll always remember it was a feast and how I felt afterward, both sick and wonderful. My review will be short, and you'll read briefly about the plot but especially about how it's written. Oh, it was written so well.
My review will be short. It's a book about a girl whose mother and brother die early on in the book, and her subsequent adoption into the family of Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Beginning in 1839 and ending in 1943, it tells of Liesel's growth in a world that doesn't deserve her or her parents--Nazi Germany--and how even good people can be found in dark places. There's a fist-fighting Jew that I came to love to the very end! Oh, Max, how I love him so. He and Liesel grow close. Hans is the imperfect but loving dad you may have known in the best male role models. Like the father in The Hiding Place, he knew what to say and how to say it. (Dutch and German dads have a knack for teaching lessons!)
But oh, Markus Zusak and the way he can write! This may surprise you, but shouldn't fear you: the book is narrated by Death. A wicked sense of humor who wonders at humanity's paradoxes, especially during His business at World War 2. I actually grew to like Him! And felt sad at all he had to see and be involved with. We humans make busy and tired--did you know that? (Humans haunt him!) And did you know he struggles to get how goodness and badness can exist in the same place and sometimes in the same person all at the same time? The book is partly where, with the help of the Book Thief's words, he and we grow to understand humanity a bit better.
A smattering of favorite quotes, all for their style:
- A single word leaned against the girl. To their left, flames and burning books were cheered like heroes.
- A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.
- Think clumsy silence. Think bits and pieces of floating despair.
- Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver. Like soft silver, melting. Liesel, upon seeing those eyes, understood that Hans Hubermann was worth a lot.
- “When death captures me,” the boy vowed, “he will feel my fist on his face.” Personally, I quite like that. Such stupid gallantry. Yes. I like that a lot.
- Max lifted his head, with great sorrow and great astonishment. "There were stars," he said. "They burned my eyes.
Please read this book when you can--it's really quite good. Not the fastest read, but well worth it. In the Narrator's own words:
It's just a small story, really, about, among other things:
*A girl.
*Some words.
*An accordionist.
*Some fanatical Germans.
*A Jewish fist-fighter.
*And quite a lot of thievery.
I saw the Book Thief three times.
