The Book Thief [Library Binding]

An incredibly beautiful book!

This is a story of a young German girl abandoned in the late 1930's and her ordeal of survival over the war years in Nazi Germany.

The story is told by the personified spirit of Death; a sympathetic Death who is so worn out and so tired from the countless millenniums of collecting souls. A Death so discouraged by man's inhumanity to man that when is sees something special in our heroine (the book thief) he decides to follow her story over the next few years.

Deeply, deeply moving, insightful and, as is often the case in periods of dire circumstance, occasionally humorous. There were moments of profound revelation, moments of quiet discovery that took my breath away; moments when it was difficult not to stop reading and reflect on what one has just read.

Reading this book reminded me somewhat of "The Diary of Anne Franck" and although the stories were completely different there was a connection because of the era involved and the wonderful, emotional impact of the written word on the page.

All in all, a beautiful, compelling story. Highly recommended! 5 Stars, more if I could.

P.S. surprisingly enough this book is found in the young adult section of most book stores; this I feel is a inappropriate classification. This novel really is an adult book and should be placed as such.

THE BOOK THIEF is on of the most memorable books I've read in a long time. It takes place during World War II in Molching, Germany. It's the writing, the unusual narrator (death), and the characters sketched in vivid colors that make this novel so difficult to put down.

Meet Leisel, the book thief, whose first encounter with death occurs on a train with her mama and brother - on their way to meet her foster parents.

Meet Rosa Hubermann, Leisel's new mama, whose rough, crude exterior can't hide the heart inside.

Meet Hans Hubermann, Leisel's firm foundation. The man who stays up with her after her nightmares, who teaches her to read her first stolen book, who finds empathy in a slice of stale bread.

Meet Max, a Jew, the shadow in the basement, a skeleton later seen marching, or more aptly, stumbling, down the road.

Meet Rudy, the lemon-haired Jesse Owens, Leisel's partner in crime and best friend, the one who yearns for Leisel's kiss.

Meet the Führer, the invisible, potent master of words.

Meet death, in a metal cockpit, on a snow-covered field mottled in red, hanging from a rafter at the end of a rope, sitting at a simple kitchen table, under a pile of rubble that used to be a home.

Markus Zusak fills the reader with vivid images of humans at war, humans led to the unthinkable by a force they cannot control. Some go willingly, others have no choice. Those left behind are merely attempting to survive each day as life crumbles around them. Leisel survives by stealing books.

As I read the final chapters of THE BOOK THIEF, I literally had to close the book to get my emotions under control before reading on to meet death. It was inevitable -- he would meet me at the end of the book. As I emerged from the story at the turning of the back cover, my reality felt so jarringly wrong. It was as though I went from a black and white silent movie to a new world: bright, free, and colorful. You cannot read this novel without feeling a resounding resolve that this should never, ever, happen again.

The writing is incredible. Mr. Zusak gave death such an unusual perspective. His descriptive phrases are nothing short of brilliant. THE BOOK THIEF is a powerful read that should not be missed by anyone, teen or adult!

Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger

"So I looked, and behold, a pale horse.
And the name of him who sat on it was Death,
and Hades followed with him." --Revelation 6:8

I'm sure that at least several hundred reviews
of The Book Thief have summarized it far better
than I could. Let me address something else:
Many people don't think they want to read
another story about Nazi Germany filled with
lots of inhumanity. I suspect that reason is
why I waited for a long time to read this
highly regarded novel.

While The Book Thief is based in Nazi Germany
and will give you more than you think about
each day in terms of terrible things that
happened then and there, it would be wrong to
think of this book as being another morality
play presented in that context.

The Book Thief in instead a testament to the
importance of love, the value of truthful words
in opposing untruthful ones, and the inevitability
of guilt. As a result, this is a positive book.

Will you be sad after reading it? Sure. I know
that I was.

But Mr. Zusak has a very nice writing style that
gently prepares you for what's coming while still
switching the actual results around from the
obvious just enough to make the story interesting
to continue reading. He never kicks you when your
emotions are down. As a result, you can bear
reading about more suffering than you think you
can. It's a gift.

I think one of the great values of this book is
that it will encourage many people who don't think
about death to wonder about what happens after
they die.

"O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?"
-- 1 Corinthians 15:55

" . . . if you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that God has
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
-- Romans 10:9