The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak
Death has seen quite a few catastrophic events in his time, but none quite so ruthless and methodical as the genocide of the Jewish people carried out by Hitler and his death squads during WWII. But no matter how terrible the circumstances, there is no rest for gentle Death, who must continue to gather souls, from battlefields and gas chambers alike. However, he finds his ancient head turned by one little German girl who, in the midst of darkness, has found light through the magic of books and reading. Liesl, the book thief of the title, has attracted Death’s attention because of her unusual habit of stealing books during times of great distress in her life. Now, Liesl and her parents have hidden a young Jewish man in the basement of their home, and he will need more than just words on a page to survive the war. Narrated by the striking and original voice of Death, the tale of The Book Thief is one of horror, courage and unbelievable love that you will probably need (and want!) to read more than once to fully understand and appreciate.
Faith Stein said,
November 7, 2007 @ 10:29 pm
One of the best books i’ve ever read!!!! Zucas has a wonderful way of capturing emotion and play with words!!! We have all heard the story of Hitler and the Jews but “The Book Thief” is completely different than anything you’ve ever read before. You can’t help but fall in love with all his chacaters perticularly Rudt Steiner!!!
courtney waggoner said,
November 19, 2007 @ 2:08 pm
this one sounds really good.
Megan said,
December 8, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
I loved this book, but truth be told, i did have to practice some patience with it. The format is hard to get used to at first, but makes the story. It’s strange how the presence of Death highlights Life. Beautiful. Lifting. Give it up for Zuzak.
Jen Hubert said,
December 9, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
It’s not an easy read, that’s for sure. That’s why I’m surprised so many teens keep picking it up and making their way through it. I would have never had patience for this as a teen. I remember thinking Anne Frank’s diary was dense and difficult–compared to the Book Thief, that’s just a walk in the park!
Lindsey Proper said,
May 29, 2008 @ 3:39 pm
I think this is my favorite book ever. And that’s saying something, seeing as how I’ve probably read thousands upon thousands of books in my life. It was a little difficult to get into at first–the beginning is almost impossible to understand if you’ve never read the book before–but by the end I had to put it down to keep from crying. I’ve read maybe two books in my life that made me cry and probably about four that made me teary-eyed. This one made me want to sob and crawl into bed for days on end. And the best part was that I already knew the ending. The narrator–Death, which is another of my favorite things–basically said what would happen in the first chapter. And then he said it again about half-way through, when you knew the characters better. But when it comes, it still shocks you. There was humor. There was starkness. There was beauty. And there were many tears.
Hazel said,
June 5, 2008 @ 8:52 pm
i thought the enire thing was unbelievable!!! not only was the story wonderful, but Zuzak is an incredible writter!!! the entire thing is rich with the ture terror and beauty of human nature and you can’t help but love every character, my personal favorite was Rudy Steiner, though even Death was quite like able. with all his persistent fascination with humans, the one thing that he never seems to grip is that he, is so many ways, human. the entire thing is about the power of words and one little German girl, living in the very heart of Nazism, incredible relationship with the Jewish man living in their basement. i personally feel it should be required reading.