Reviews

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

vishal_moorthy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

cleo44's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This book is magical. Zusak’s writing is so emotive and poetic- this book is quite a feat to pull off, and how he pulled it off! It keeps you waiting while feeding you teasers along the way. It is heart touching❤️

creenareads's review against another edition

5.0

I finally got to this book, and it is an absolute masterpiece - one of* the best books I've ever read across all genres.

*The best? With only slight hesitation, quite possibly.

sketchy_reader's review against another edition

5.0

I can't say that I don't like historical fiction because that we would be a lie. I enjoy it very much, however, I tend to only read historical fiction books once every couple of months or so. The story lines tend to be very slow and often difficult for me to take in large amounts. I kept putting The Book Thief off because of the genre but also because I have always been very interested in the Holocaust, a lot of my favorite movies are about that time and this book has so much hype, I was scared I wouldn't like it or that it just couldn't hold up against all the wonderful things I've heard about it.
As you can see it took me a lot longer to read than most other books of the same length. The emotional parts need to be consumed in small doses, for me anyway.
The only word I have been able to use to describe The Book Thief is special. It was an extraordinarily special book. I've never read anything quite like it. Death being the narrator brought a whole new level of intensity to a subject matter that is very intense all by itself. I actually started to relate to and love death as its own character.

I do not recommend watching the movie the same day you finish the book, it was a bit too much emotionally for me.

vmusing's review against another edition

5.0

“I am haunted by humans”
I FINALLY finished this book! I started reading The Book Thief last October, and read about 136 pages before I put the book down. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the story, I did, but the pacing was too slow for me. At the beginning of December this year, I decided to try out the audiobook. I am SO glad I did, because this book is AMAZING. I don’t know if it was the book itself, the voice who narrates, or both, that finally grabbed my attention, but either way I am so happy to have finally finished this book. It is most definitely an all time favorite.
#thebookthief #markuszusak

dharris's review against another edition

4.0

This book was a great read. The story can be somewhat predictable, but the character building, poetic writing, and the ending make this story really hit home. As I approached the ending I thought I would be disappointed but I was pleasantly surprised. Great book, and a great writer!

dmwfish's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

marsapril's review against another edition

emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

i don’t want to write a full review so i’ll just write a list that explains WHY you should read this book 

- good writing (really really good, basically poetry)

- complex main characters (but dw they’re all loveable) 

- narrated by death (literally)

- movie made (meaning the book is gooood)

- again good writing because why not

charlote_1347's review against another edition

5.0

I consider myself lucky to have seen the film adaption of 'The Book Thief' before I began reading the book. I was prepared (kind of) for the heart-wrenching finale and the solemn, life-changing message it communicates to the reader. Death's narration is certainly evident in the story while it really wasn't in the film and I cannot imagine his absence now. Rudy was as cheeky and bright as I expected and I only fell more in love with his character as the novel progressed. Papa was the same. Knowing both their eventual fates did not alter how attached I became to them. And this novel is unusual in that it tells the reader exactly what is going to happen. This doesn't ruin the story however. Far from it. The imagery in 'The Book Thief' was ambitious and perfect - most of the time. There were sentences and similes and descriptions that I felt interfered with the flow of the narrative. Attempts to be too minimalist or too unique in writing style. This affected my overall enjoyment of the novel until the last seventy pages, when the plot took over and left the language in the dust. Despite this criticism though, I would never insult this work of art by giving it anything less than five stars.

lyraaner's review against another edition

dark sad

3.5