Scan barcode
A review by nila
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
Plot summary: “Here is a small fact. You are going to die.” How can you not keep on reading with that opening? It’s 1939 in Nazi Germany where everyone is on the edge of their seat for what’s going to happen next. In the midst of all this, Death, the narrator, who has never been busier with carrying souls, meets the Book Thief for the first time as she griefs over her dead little brother’s body.
The thief, 9 year-old Liesel Meminger, is an orphan who is taken to Hans, an accordionist, and Rosa, his angry wife, by her mother. After having stolen her first book, ironically a book on grave digging, Hans teaches her to read and to love words and books. She grows over the years, make great friends, among them lemon-haired Rudy, who loves her, and Jew-on-the-run Max and their adventures together.
“It’s a small story, NARRATED BY DEATH, about: a girl, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES”
What did I think?: The characters are beautiful and dense, and the entire experience of reading this book is very fluent, organic and just very real. The writing is easy to follow, with poetic characteristics and also small drawings of how the war was seen through the eyes of the innocent ones.
The thief, 9 year-old Liesel Meminger, is an orphan who is taken to Hans, an accordionist, and Rosa, his angry wife, by her mother. After having stolen her first book, ironically a book on grave digging, Hans teaches her to read and to love words and books. She grows over the years, make great friends, among them lemon-haired Rudy, who loves her, and Jew-on-the-run Max and their adventures together.
“It’s a small story, NARRATED BY DEATH, about: a girl, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES”
What did I think?: The characters are beautiful and dense, and the entire experience of reading this book is very fluent, organic and just very real. The writing is easy to follow, with poetic characteristics and also small drawings of how the war was seen through the eyes of the innocent ones.