The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
by Apollo
IT IS 1939. NAZI GERMANY. THE COUNTRY IS HOLDING ITS BREATH. DEATH HAS NEVER BEEN BUSIER, AND WILL BECOME BUSIER STILL.
Liesel Meminger and her brother are being taken be their mother to live with a foster family outside Munich. Liesel's father was taken away on the breath of a single, unfamiliar word - Kommunist - and Liesel sees the fear of a similar fate in her mother's eyes. On the journey, Death visits the young boy, and notices Liesel. It will be the first of many nearer encounters. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is "The Gravedigger's Handbook", left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.
So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.
"The Book Thief" is a story about the power of words to make worlds. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-wining author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
The blurb at the back of the book doesn't even begin to describe how wonderfully magical this book is. It is set in a time we all know about: The Holocaust and tells the story of Liesel Meminger who goes to live with the Hubermanns on Himmel Street. The story follows Liesel's journey from making a friend of the hopeless Rudy Steiner to finding hope in words. The best part about the book? It's narrated by Death. When I first heard that the book was narrated by death two thoughts popped into my head. Thought #1, "Isn't that just a bit morbid?" and thought #2, "That's brilliant! Why hasn't anyone thought of that before?" Placing death as the narrator was one of the best choices Zusak made. He (or she?) is witty, clever and a bit cynical at times. The punch is that Death isn't the Death we hear about everyday (for example The Grim Reaper), Death does have attachments and, quite honestly, feels emotions, but don't tell Death that. The fact that he is telling Liesel's story shows us that he does feel attached to humans and collecting the dead is just part of his day (and night) job. Zusak's take on Death is fantastically new and makes you think a little. Without giving too much away, this is how Death describes himself (or herself?): "You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue." Pretty much sums up Death and his view on humanity.
Every single character in this book is memorable, even the minor ones. Every character has a heart and dimension, which made choosing my favourite that much harder. Usually, by the end of a book I can tell you the character I loved the most. Sometimes it's because I can relate to them and sometimes they're just the most lovable character in the book. Once I had finished The Book Thief I didn't have a favourite character, I had many. So here's the list:
Liesel Meminger:
Her determination and fighting spirit is something that makes her stand out from the rest of the girls. She's not afraid of getting dirty, but is afraid of being hurt. Liesel's main triumph was learning how to read and write. She's taught by her foster father, Hans Hubermann, who she calls Papa. She is strong-willed and able to compete against the boys, her loving and caring personality also allows her to be sensitive towards others.
Hans Hubermann:
The man who taught Liesel how to read and write. He is the perfect father to her. Hans Hubermann paints, plays the accordian and has a smoking addiction, but he is so much more than that. He is loving and patient and cares for everyone and everything. Because of his caring nature, he gets quite a reputation amongst the Himmel Street residents. He is a perfect example of a well written character.
Rosa Hubermann:
Rosa is a character I've seen and read about many times, but the way she is portrayed in The Book Thief is absolutely brilliant. Rosa has a hard outer shell but a soft inside. She would never admit it to you, but the people she loves the most are the people she insults the most. She has a quick temper and the house is her domain. If there's one thing I've learnt about Rosa it's don't get on her bad side because you never know what may come out her mouth next.
Rudy Stiener:
He is the boy who never stopped loving Liesel. He is Liesel's best friend, ally and, later, her partner in crime. He is described as having lemon yellow hair and is often (affectionately) called Saukerl by Liesel to which he teasingly calls her Saumensch (two words that they both learned from Rosa). His one and only dream is to be a star athlete just like the Black-American runner Jesse Owens. Rudy is brave, mischievous and very, very clever. Rudy is the type of character you can't stopping loving.
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| Not what death looks like aka The Grim Reaper |
Max Vandenburg:
Max is the Jewish fist fighter that comes to stay with the Hubermanns. Max's character makes a huge impact on Liesel. Liesel finds comfort with him and his stories of his fist fighting days and, like Liesel, is plagued with nightmares every single night. Together they help each other overcome their struggles and he sees something in Liesel that he likes and she sees something in him that she likes. To Max, everyday that he is alive is a punch in the face for Hitler and he even dreams about having a boxing match with the Fuhrer one day. Max is a fighter and it's his fighting spirit that keeps him alive for so long.
There are so many more characters I could write about, but I won't bore you with details. Some of the others I did like were Ilsa Hermann, Tommy Muller and Frau Holtsapfel.
The Book Thief is the type of book that clings onto you after you've read it. It's a simple story about a girl who lives in Nazi Germany that is written in such beautifully complex way. It's the type of book that you have to read to understand what all the hype is about. The Book Thief is one of kind and is one of the best adventures I've ever been on.
