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4.46 AVERAGE
4.46 AVERAGE
The Book Thief is a historical fiction novel told from the perspective of death. Our narrator tells the story of Liesel Meminger. Set during World War II in Germany, Liesel’s mother could no longer afford to take care of Liesel and her brother and had to send them to a foster family. On the train ride to Munich, Liesel’s brother dies. Liesel steals her first book at her brother’s funeral. Without her brother, Liesel now has to find support and friendship in her new situation. Her foster father teaches her to read. Her friend, Rudy Steiner, becomes her accomplice in stealing books. She forges an unexpected friendship with Max Vandenburg, the Jewish man they hide in the basement. This is a remarkable story about the power of words, and throughout the novel, Liesel learns what happens when those words are used for good or for evil.
For the rest of the review visit http://stayingcurious.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/the-book-thief/
For the rest of the review visit http://stayingcurious.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/the-book-thief/
This book made me cry, which isn't to say that it's a sad book. But it is a book about war and survival and love and loss. There is a certain art to grieving and to loving, like there is a certain art of anything involving living. The Book Thief captures it all in the beautiful writing and the equally (surprising) voice of Death - the narrator.
Upon first thought, the book seems to be purely about war, about the injustice of the Nazi soldiers, about a little girl who has yet to understand the complexities of life. But through the little girl, Liesel, the reader views World War II in a way that has yet to be viewed. Liesel is not a soldier; she is not a Jew. She is simply a little girl who doesn't quite believe in the war that is being fought, and Death seems to love this about her.
What made this book heartbreaking was how delicately handled it was. Death wasn't gruesome or distorted. Death was relatable and poetic and kind of funny. Death seemed almost like a friend, someone you could count on even when there wasn't anything left to count.
The Book Thief is about a girl and her love of words and books. It's about survival, but it's also about life amongst the dying.
Upon first thought, the book seems to be purely about war, about the injustice of the Nazi soldiers, about a little girl who has yet to understand the complexities of life. But through the little girl, Liesel, the reader views World War II in a way that has yet to be viewed. Liesel is not a soldier; she is not a Jew. She is simply a little girl who doesn't quite believe in the war that is being fought, and Death seems to love this about her.
What made this book heartbreaking was how delicately handled it was. Death wasn't gruesome or distorted. Death was relatable and poetic and kind of funny. Death seemed almost like a friend, someone you could count on even when there wasn't anything left to count.
The Book Thief is about a girl and her love of words and books. It's about survival, but it's also about life amongst the dying.
I was prepared for this book to change my life, per such high reviews and acclaim of the book and author. It didn't. However, it did seem to haunt me for a while.
I finished the book, set it down and thought "hmmmm...ok." Then I walked away, carried on, and thought about it throughout the following days. Liesel stuck with me. I couldn't shake her. I even cried about things her character went through, which means I was very attached to her. She felt very real to me, as did everyone else in the book.
Overall, I liked the book. What really seemed to bother me throughout was the authors attempt at poetic prose, sometimes it worked and most of the time it didn't. It REALLY distracted me away from the story line and the characters. It felt that the author was really reaching, trying too hard to used words and twist them into prose. It didn't work for me. Just because something is abstract, doesn't mean it's art. My friend told me that he is still trying to figure out what a dark chocolate colored sky looks like. Some of the prose I did like, I quoted at the end of the review.
I did not like Death as a narrator. The story would have been much better with out him. The character development was great, the emotion was there, I just didn't need death to point out to me that I should be sad.
If you reflect on the whole story, it's actually not very remarkable. War is bad and tough things happen to all those that are involved. THAT is what I think makes this story good. It's an average story of an average person during the war making it actualized and attainable for the reader. It's relatable.
As a book lover, I was especially fond of the passion for books that this novel conveys. Books can be an escape, a thrill, or a reason to keep on going. Books are just more than paper and glue (or a backlit screen).
It is a good book. I would recommend it. I continue to be haunted by the very last line, as apparently, so does death.
Passages and universal questions I liked:
'I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sandcastles, houses of cards, that’s where they begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate.’
'Did they deserve any better,(ordinary german citizens) these people? How many actively persecuted others, high on the scent of Hitler's gaze, repeating his sentences, his paragraphs, his opus?'
'Is there cowardice in the acknowledgement of fear? Is there cowardice in being glad that you lived?'
'Oh how the clouds stumbled in and assembled stupidly in the sky. Great obese clouds. Dark and plump.Bumping into each other. Apologizing. Moving on and finding room'
I finished the book, set it down and thought "hmmmm...ok." Then I walked away, carried on, and thought about it throughout the following days. Liesel stuck with me. I couldn't shake her. I even cried about things her character went through, which means I was very attached to her. She felt very real to me, as did everyone else in the book.
Overall, I liked the book. What really seemed to bother me throughout was the authors attempt at poetic prose, sometimes it worked and most of the time it didn't. It REALLY distracted me away from the story line and the characters. It felt that the author was really reaching, trying too hard to used words and twist them into prose. It didn't work for me. Just because something is abstract, doesn't mean it's art. My friend told me that he is still trying to figure out what a dark chocolate colored sky looks like. Some of the prose I did like, I quoted at the end of the review.
I did not like Death as a narrator. The story would have been much better with out him. The character development was great, the emotion was there, I just didn't need death to point out to me that I should be sad.
If you reflect on the whole story, it's actually not very remarkable. War is bad and tough things happen to all those that are involved. THAT is what I think makes this story good. It's an average story of an average person during the war making it actualized and attainable for the reader. It's relatable.
As a book lover, I was especially fond of the passion for books that this novel conveys. Books can be an escape, a thrill, or a reason to keep on going. Books are just more than paper and glue (or a backlit screen).
It is a good book. I would recommend it. I continue to be haunted by the very last line, as apparently, so does death.
Passages and universal questions I liked:
'I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sandcastles, houses of cards, that’s where they begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate.’
'Did they deserve any better,(ordinary german citizens) these people? How many actively persecuted others, high on the scent of Hitler's gaze, repeating his sentences, his paragraphs, his opus?'
'Is there cowardice in the acknowledgement of fear? Is there cowardice in being glad that you lived?'
'Oh how the clouds stumbled in and assembled stupidly in the sky. Great obese clouds. Dark and plump.Bumping into each other. Apologizing. Moving on and finding room'
This book is the pinnacle of what writing should be. I cannot do justice in describing how this book reads, you can only read it yourself and understand. It's writing is smooth and easy, it never feels like a chore or like a book, it is real and feels less like reading and more like watching. Everytime I picked up the book I was easily transported into the story as if the page was instead a screen. However, the writing is simply the tip of the iceberg.
The premise of this story is one all too familiar. The holocaust and WWII made an unfading mark on the world and, consequently, has endless stories to be told. This one may be fictional, but it highlights a very real situation through plausible events. It forces empathy to the point that even the most cruel, unfeeling person would be almost choked with the emotion and depth of this book.
Our main character is a German girl, she is not Jewish. This may be surprising due to the nature of the book but Zusak executes this flawlessly. He puts the audience in the shoes of someone who has been through a lot, but who is ultimately the most relatable person we could follow under the circumstances; as readers who are decades past the events of this book, most of us cannot relate to the atrocities committed against the Jewish people. However (especially if you're American), we can relate to being bystanders of atrocities now. Many of us are helpless to them, like Liesel. So even though she is not a blank slate of a character to be filled in by whoever reads the book, she is the best representation of someone who knows hardships but is still naive to the world.
The relationships within this book help highlight one of the main points I feel Zusak was trying to make: we are all human, and that is hard. We see the horrors of Nazi Germany while also seeing the more simple side, the side of normal people forced to live under it despite their own beliefs. But we see how those beliefs are still there in spite of their circumstances. Morals and values can be changed but whatever they are, they are ingrained in you from the moment you are born and begin to grow into whatever world you're in.
This books shows both the perspective of normalcy in an abnormal society as well as those most negatively affected by that society. It shows the crossroads of both perspectives as they enhance each other, and in the end, it shows the horrors of war and hate and entrapment.
The ending of this book is a stunning experience, filled with sorrow and despair while also filled with hope and relief. In the end, Death does not relish in abundance, but in the small specks of life that shine gloriously as they fade.
The premise of this story is one all too familiar. The holocaust and WWII made an unfading mark on the world and, consequently, has endless stories to be told. This one may be fictional, but it highlights a very real situation through plausible events. It forces empathy to the point that even the most cruel, unfeeling person would be almost choked with the emotion and depth of this book.
Our main character is a German girl, she is not Jewish. This may be surprising due to the nature of the book but Zusak executes this flawlessly. He puts the audience in the shoes of someone who has been through a lot, but who is ultimately the most relatable person we could follow under the circumstances; as readers who are decades past the events of this book, most of us cannot relate to the atrocities committed against the Jewish people. However (especially if you're American), we can relate to being bystanders of atrocities now. Many of us are helpless to them, like Liesel. So even though she is not a blank slate of a character to be filled in by whoever reads the book, she is the best representation of someone who knows hardships but is still naive to the world.
The relationships within this book help highlight one of the main points I feel Zusak was trying to make: we are all human, and that is hard. We see the horrors of Nazi Germany while also seeing the more simple side, the side of normal people forced to live under it despite their own beliefs. But we see how those beliefs are still there in spite of their circumstances. Morals and values can be changed but whatever they are, they are ingrained in you from the moment you are born and begin to grow into whatever world you're in.
This books shows both the perspective of normalcy in an abnormal society as well as those most negatively affected by that society. It shows the crossroads of both perspectives as they enhance each other, and in the end, it shows the horrors of war and hate and entrapment.
The ending of this book is a stunning experience, filled with sorrow and despair while also filled with hope and relief. In the end, Death does not relish in abundance, but in the small specks of life that shine gloriously as they fade.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
It took me 4 months to read this book and I think that says something.
I slogged through it, interspersed with several other books that I actually enjoyed.
An interesting writing style but I found his contrived use of simile quite off-putting.
The last 10 pages went some way to redeeming the 500-odd pages of drudgery that preceded it.
I slogged through it, interspersed with several other books that I actually enjoyed.
An interesting writing style but I found his contrived use of simile quite off-putting.
The last 10 pages went some way to redeeming the 500-odd pages of drudgery that preceded it.
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh I just loved this book. I was at first, slightly turned off because it is technically a "young adult" book. Not that it should matter, but I thought it would. It did not! I would sit down with this book and read over 100 pages at a time and not even realize it. It was a beautiful story written in a clever way. I recommend it and am excited to see how the movie pans out. Anyone who has a passion for books is a friend of mine. Liesel Meminger, book thief, daughter, friend, heroine. Loved it!