Buy The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak here!
Marcus’ website describes the book as:
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. . . .
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.
This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.
I can’t really tell you how much I enjoyed this book. It’s nothing to read if you want a light, fluffy book to help you get to sleep, but it’s an inspiring book that makes you want to get up and do things, a wonderful pick for my first book.
The book is narrated by Death which provides an insightful and eerie look at the events throughout the story. As you’ve read above, the setting is Germany during World War II, but not from the usual perspective. Most books about the Holocaust or based on the Holocaust are lightly based around the lives of the persecuted, but this book was different. Liesel Meminger, the heroine of the story, isn’t Jewish. She comes to Himmel street after her mother and father are taken away to a Concentration Camp for being Communists; she is adopted by a brash woman (Rosa) and a kind man (Hans). It tells of her instant mutual attraction to the boy next door (Rudy Steiner) and her fast friendship with the Jewish teenager that her father allows to stay in their basement (Max).The story and our narrator (death) follows Liesel through her life on Himmel street: her experiences with death, friendship, love, and most importantly, book thievery. She
To say that I loved this book would be taking it most likely. It moved me in a way that a book hasn’t been able to do in a while, and when I got to the end of the book I had to stop every few chapters, take a deep breath, and wipe the tears from my eyes. By the last page I was sobbing uncontrollably.
A few favorite quotes:
-”The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: A boy who loves you.”
-”The survivors. They’re the ones I can’t stand to look at, although on many occasions I still fail. I deliberately seek out the colors to keep my mind off them, but now and then, I witness the ones who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprise. They have punctured hearts. They have beaten lungs.”-Death
-”The point is, Ilsa Hermann had decided to make suffering her triumph. When it refused to let go of her, she succumbed to it. She embraced it.”
-”He stood waist-deep in the water for a few moments longer before climbing out and handing her the book. His pants clung to him, and he did not stop walking. In truth, I think he was afraid. Rudy Steiner was scared of the book thief’s kiss. He must have longed for it so much. He must have loved her so incredibly hard. So hard that he would never ask for her lips again and would go to his grave without them.”
-”[from the chapter Death's Diary: 1942] It was a year for the ages, like 79, like 1346, to name just a few. Forget the scythe, Goddamn it, I needed a broom or a mop. And I needed a vacation.”
-”In all honesty (and I know I’m complaining excessively now), I was still getting over Stalin, in Russia. The so-called second revolution-the murder of his own people.
Then came Hitler.
They say that war is death’s best friend, but I must offer you a different point of view on that one. To me, war is like the new boss who expects the impossible. He stands over your shoulder repeating one thing, incessantly: “Get it done, get it done.” So you work harder. You get the job done. The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more.”-Death
-”It kills me sometimes, how people die.”-Death
-”I guess I’m better at leaving things behind than stealing them.”-Rudy
-”Tell me something,” he said, “because I don’t understand…” He fell back and sat against the wall. “Tell me, Rosa, how can she sit there ready to die while I still want to live.” The blood thickened. “Why do I want to live? I shouldn’t want to, but I do.”-Michael Holtzapfel
“It’s probably fair to say that in all the years of Hitler’s reign, no one person was able to serve the Führer as loyally as me. A human doesn’t have a heart like mine. The human heart is a line, whereas my own is a circle, and I have the endless ability to be in the right place at the right time. The consequence of this is that I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both. Still, they have one thing I envy. Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die.”-Death
“No one wanted to bomb Himmel Street. No one would bomb a place named after heaven, would they? Would they?” -Death
“His soul sat up. It met me. Those kinds of souls always do-the best ones. The ones who rise up and say, “I know who you are and I am ready. Not that I want to go, of course, but I will come.”"-Death
“Rudy, please wake up, Goddamn it, wake up, I love you. Come on, Rudy, come on, Jesse Owens, don’t you know I love you, wake up, wake up, wake up….”-Liesel
“I don’t want to hope for anything anymore. I don’t want to pray that Max is alive and safe. Or Alex Steiner.
Because the world does not deserve them.”-Liesel
Challenge will be posted in less than 24 hours.
Next book will be: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Reading will commence Sunday.
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