The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Synopsis:
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 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.

My Review:
What a book! This is one of those books that you cannot easily forget because of both the content and the way in which it was written. I have read several books that took place during the Holocaust but those were from a Jewish’s perspective but only one other from the view point of the German citizens. It puts a whole different spin on an event that we believe we know and understand. And yet there are a million different sides to that story and this book only verifies that.

This book, while about Germans and Jews during WWII, was told by the Angle of Death which I found very interesting. I listened to this book on CD (which I highly recommend) and I really enjoyed that format and I thought the narrator did a great job and portrayed the characters well.

This is by no means a fast read or one with a happy ending. But it is a touching and moving story that reflects the reality of what life could have been like during that time. I think this story has personal meaning for me since I have been to Germany and visited the concentration camp Dachau. It’s not to say I would have any idea of what it would have been like to been a Jew and live there but a place marked by death like that can’t not have an effect on you. I think I have a greater appreciation for all that the Holocaust victims suffered and how everyone else was affected by it.

Markus writes with texture and imagination and I loved the way he would phrase various scenes. He has an understanding of the heart of humanity and has such a unique way of describing it. I will definitely be recommending it to others so read it!

(There were several lines that I loved and I will leave them now at the end of this review):

• 
  “The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy that loves you."
• 
  “She was the book thief without the words.
  Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain."
  "...one opportunity leads directly to another, just as risk leads to more risk, life to more life, and death to more death."
• 
  "People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spot blues. Murky darkness. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them."
• 
  “I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race - that rarely do I even simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant...I AM HAUNTED BY HUMANS."
• 
  "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.”
• 
  "A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship."
• 
  "How about a kiss, Saumensch?"
  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."