A young girl who lives with her foster parents learns that they are hiding a Jewish man. Their relationship develops and she questions the beliefs of almost everyone around her- including herself. She begins to act in ways that are unlike her and discovering herself all at the same time. Narrated by Death, there is an ominous feel to the entire story that ends in reunion and then ultimately death...
Bibliographic Citation:
Zusak, M. (2005). The book thief. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
My Impression:
This story is one that will make you cry and laugh and think... I have never read a story narrated by Death, but the narration gives The Book Thief an incredibly real and unique aspect. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and I especially love to read books based on the events during WWII, The Book Thief bridges a gap between safe stories about real events and a more adult story geared toward slightly younger readers. I have already recommended this book to many people, of many ages, and I have received positive feedback. I will continue to recommend this book and it will remain a part of my personal collection. It is rare to find a story this powerful, a story that overcomes all you have considered but The Book Thief does just that and I hope will continue to for all time.
Reviews:
The 584 pages of this extraordinary novel are centred on the lives of families and individuals in a town in Nazi Germany. Liesel, nine at the beginning of The Book Thief , is parted from her family in the chaos of Hitler’s rise to power; little explanation is given although it seems her parents were communists. Fostered by Rosa and Hans Hubermann, she grows to early teenage in a tough but loving environment. Hard times are exacerbated by Hans’s reluctance to join the Nazi party or to persecute the Jews in his town. Formerly a soldier in World War One, his life was saved by another soldier, Erik Vandenburg, a Jew, so when his son Max turns up on Hans’s doorstep Hans feels obliged to hide him, despite the huge risks involved. Hans is one of the great characters in the book: humane and patient, he teaches Liesel to read the books which she loves and which acquired by stealth, she builds into an eclectic library. The narrator is Death who does not choose those whose souls he takes; it is his job to gather them after their owners have died. He is appalled by the way in which humans often behave, and especially the horrendous ways in which victims of Hitler’s fanaticism meet their appointments with him. It’s a clever device, allowing for dispassionate observation of events and for a different commentary on matters which can lose their impact by becoming over familiar. It also provides opportunities for Death to drop oblique remarks, leaving the reader fearful for sympathetic characters. This is not a ‘them and us’ war novel. Most of the characters know little about those with whom Germany is at war, and show little allegiance to Hitler. Most of all, it is about survival; the survival of people in the first instance, but it is also a reflection on the survival of books despite efforts to eradicate them, and of words too in the face of a political system which makes everyone afraid of saying too much. Within this powerful novel, the power of story is manifest when, for example, Liesel distracts her neighbours as they shelter from bombings, and where Max finds distraction from his basement hideout by creating stories. The Book Thief has much to say to thoughtful readers, young and old. Category: 14+ Secondary/Adult. Rating: 5 (Unmissable). ...., Bodley Head, 584pp, D12.99 hbk. Ages 14 to adult.
Valerie Coghlan (Books for Keeps No. 163, March 2007)
How to use this book in your library:
Given the opportunity this book would be an excellent story to progressively read aloud to students. This would be more difficult in a public library, but in a school setting it could easily be paired with the lessons during which students are learning about World War II.
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