Reviews tagging 'War'

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

448 reviews

livay's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

It's a page-turner with an interesting take on storytelling. Languagewise the text sometimes lacks complexity and is sometimes a bit overly dramatic. On the other hand, the drama of course does make sense in the given setting and the author does many times succeed to paint a heartbreakingly 'real' picture of people's thoughts and lives in Nazi Germany. I wish though he would have had the power to keep up the pace  and quality of the story till the end -the last few pages are a poor conclusion for a book this bulky.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism

Moderate: Child death, War, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, and Blood

sierraclimbs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This story was completely enchanting from the moment I pressed play on the audiobook. It somehow takes such a widely known event (the Holocaust) & tells a beautiful and tragic story from a unique perspective, Death. Because the story is narrated by Death, it gives a somewhat neutral perspective on the horrific events which I felt really let the reader experience the time for what it was, rather than a bias narrator. (Not that I think there is any gray area around the right & wrong of the holocaust. More so that it allows you to get in the headspace of just being a human living through that time. Rather than it being a historical retelling where you know what is the right & wrong choice) 
It was a truly raw & human experience reading this book. 
Highly recommend the audiobook. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Child death, Death, Child abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Suicide, and Vomit

I find none of the content was excessive or exaggerated for shock value. If anything, it felt very thought out & deliberate to depict a reality of a horrific time period.

puffins's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Antisemitism, War, Genocide, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Child death

Minor: Suicide

patchedspines's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Death, Blood, War, Grief, Suicide, Cursing, and Death of parent

niki258devil_angel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Grief, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, War, Torture, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Death of parent, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Genocide, and Violence

miriyumi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, War, and Death

fuzzygazelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Such a beautiful and timely book. I knew it was going to make me cry once I started getting attached to the characters but I didn't think i would ugly sob. But everyone is so lovable, the character progression of the Huberman family, Liesel and Rudy's growths, Liesel's relationship with everyone. It's funny at times and it's light-hearted when we are just seeing their lives and it makes it real. The narration is also really nice and unique and Death's propensity to spoil things just makes it even more tense. It's so beautifully tragic and sad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, War, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Suicide, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Genocide, Death, Child death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Death of parent, and Hate crime

Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Slavery, Bullying, and Gore

Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol

raspberryjelly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Really great book, a few of the characters didn't have much to too them literally and figuratively.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Cursing, War, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Genocide, Racism, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Blood, Gun violence, and Hate crime

Minor: Suicide, Deportation, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, and Alcohol

fblair's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Grief, Genocide, Death, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Death of parent, and Child death

josephdf's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, War, and Antisemitism