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A review by rachell710
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
The concept behind this novel is brilliant. Narrated by Death who continuously spoils the ending of the novel before it actually happens it tells the story of Liesel Memminger, a young girl living in foster care in Germany during the Second World War. In truth, it is less a story about the war in the sense of fighting or rebelling, but more a story about the life of those who were, for the most part, mere bystanders to the happenings of the war. The characters in the novel are neither Nazis nor do they really fight them, their acts of resilience are mostly small and accidental. Zusak manages to humanise those whose suffering is often overlooked because they had slight ties to the aggressor whilst accepting their flaws and mistakes. I grew very fond of Max and Liesel’s foster parents in particular.
Surprisingly, the writing style also grew on me. At first, I found it rather clunky and all of Death’s insertions seemed more distracting than helpful to the story, but with time I came to appreciate the unique voice and atmosphere. Synaesthesia also turned out to be a fun rhetorical device (although I can believe it must annoy people who cannot relate to it at all and it is slightly over-used by the author).
The only thing that annoyed me personally was how very occasionally, it became evident that the author had not done quite enough research into the German language. (It would have to be “Gelbe Straße”, not “Gelb Straße” and no street in Nazi Germany would have ever been called “Grande Straße” because “Grande” is simply not a German word.)
All in all, The Book Thief lands somewhere between 4 and 5 stars for me, but because its central message remains quite simple, I will stick with the lower rating. I do however appreciate the way Zusak handles such a complex topic and makes it appropriate for younger YA readers.
Surprisingly, the writing style also grew on me. At first, I found it rather clunky and all of Death’s insertions seemed more distracting than helpful to the story, but with time I came to appreciate the unique voice and atmosphere. Synaesthesia also turned out to be a fun rhetorical device (although I can believe it must annoy people who cannot relate to it at all and it is slightly over-used by the author).
The only thing that annoyed me personally was how very occasionally, it became evident that the author had not done quite enough research into the German language. (It would have to be “Gelbe Straße”, not “Gelb Straße” and no street in Nazi Germany would have ever been called “Grande Straße” because “Grande” is simply not a German word.)
All in all, The Book Thief lands somewhere between 4 and 5 stars for me, but because its central message remains quite simple, I will stick with the lower rating. I do however appreciate the way Zusak handles such a complex topic and makes it appropriate for younger YA readers.