First, before I review The Book Thief (and oh how I can't wait to review The Book Thief), I wanted to apologize to anyone that has been following my blog from the beginning. It seems that about 3 months ago I lost my voice. Not my literal voice (obviously) but my blogging voice. I have been in a little ginormous writing rut the last few months and I feel like with the new year I was granted a fountain of renewed inspiration to write again. I am apologizing because I know that my reviews have been a little dry, but I am back and ready to blog. So... With out further ado... The Book Thief...
Heavens, where do I even begin!? There were so many elements to this book and I want to discuss them all so that you all feel the need to stop what your doing (after you leave a comment of course), and run sprint to your nearest book shop and pick up a copy or two of The Book Thief. (Can you tell I enjoyed this book? Maybe... Just a little...). Mark Zusak hit the ball out of the park and across the street with this little gem of a novel. His writing is beautiful and he paints a beautiful picture with his words. To describe The Book Thief to someone without summarizing the story I would say that it is a tribute to reading, set in Nazi Germany, narrated by Death. Then if you were still not interested in reading The Book Thief I may resort to hitting you upside the head with volume and calling you a Saumench (OK so probably I wouldn't resort to violence, but I would probably still call you a Saumench, since it is my new favorite word thanks to this book).
So the plot is very simple and goes like this... Liesel Meminger is a young German girl that is being taken to live with a new foster family in Molching Germany during WWII. On the way to Molching her little brother passes away and when they bury him she steals her first book. When she arrives at her new home alone, confused, and afraid, her new Papa Hans Hubermann, teaches Liesel to read using her stolen book. Thus begins Liesel's fascination with words, reading, and stealing books. Through out the story Liesel encounters a great group of characters such as her best fiend Rudy who is obsessed with American Track star Jessie Owens. Max, the Jewish man that is hiding in her basement. Rosa, her foul mouthed foster mother. And of course in a round about way Death. Death sums up the plot of this book perfectly when he says in the beginning:
"It's just a small story really, about, among other things:
*A Girl
*Some words
*An accordionist
*Some fanatical Germans
*A Jewish fist fighter
*And quite a lot of thievery"
Anyway, if you couldn't tell, The Book Thief really it is one of the best books I have experienced in quite a while, I have been on a roll of bad books lately, so I am really excited about finally finding a good piece of literature. The plot line was unique, the writing style was unique, the point of view was unique, and the characters were developed really well. Thank you Markus Zusak for getting me out of my reading (and writing) rut!!
BOOK vs. MOVIE: I am sure this movie will need to be watched with a hand full of tissue. I see that 2010 is supposed to be the release year for this movie but I don't see a production house or a cast list anywhere so it probably is just a rumor at this point. I hope they do the book justice though, because I am sure it would make a good film adaption.
RATING: 5 Stars
3 More review on The Book Thief:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
ISBN 9780375842207
Pages 560
If you liked this book try: Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
