Book Reviews

The Book Thief: A Review

December 18, 2015 / 143 Comments

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Quotation: “I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”
Would recommend to: anyone.

The Book Thief

I know, I know. I finally read “The Book Thief.” And here’s what I think:

1. Death is compassionate.
If you don’t already know, this book is told from the perspective of Death during World War II. It’s an interesting stance to take during a time when death was so prevalent. It made the war that much more heartbreaking. I loved this perspective because it’s something you can never truly know but can only imagine – and that’s what books are for. Throughout the whole book you can see that this war breaks Death’s heart – an organ you didn’t think death had.

The only thing that bothers me about Death being the narrator is that Death doesn’t always have a reason to be around Liesel, but he always seems to know what’s going on in her life. Maybe it’s because he’s an omnipresent being…who knows?

2. I love that Liesel loves books.
It’s always affirming when you read a book with a character that loves reading. You can always find something to relate to in a book with a character like that. It’s also super heartwarming that Liesel begins her reading career as an extremely poor reader and she pushes through her struggles to improve in something she loves. Books are the thing that brings everyone together in this novel – Liesel and her brother (though in the non-conventional sense), Liesel and her papa, all the people in the bunker, Liesel and death, etc. Of course the book is called “The Book Thief”, but it’s still really great how central books truly are to the themes of Liesel’s story.

3. WHY!?!?!?!
Fair warning – the ending of this book will destroy you. You will be up in bed at 3 a.m. crying into your pillow because of the ending of this book. Still want to read it? Probably, because it’s amazing, but you have been warned. This book will rip your heart out, put it back in your chest, and rip it out again. But it’s worth it. Most things that are worth it usually end up breaking your heart, but they are always worth it.

“The Book Thief” was one of my best reads of 2015. I’m so glad I finally got the opportunity to read this highly regarded book.

Not only do I love the story-line, but I also really enjoyed the style in which the book was written as well as the added elements such as Max’s mini-books for Liesel and Death’s little tangents.

I think any reader can pick this book up at any time in their life and enjoy what it has to offer.

Happy reading,
Kimberly

 

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