The Book Thief is a novel that attempts to portray a conflict’s story but from a different perspective. The Kindness and Cruelty of Human BeingsĬonflicts have a long history they have a multitude of impacts that result in the form of deaths, parting of families, and other losses for which there are no amends later.Part VII – The Complete Duden Dictionary and Thesaurus.It's a measure of how successfully Zusak has humanized these characters that even though we know they are doomed, it's no less devastating when Death finally reaches them. As a storyteller, Death has a bad habit of forecasting ("I'm spoiling the ending," he admits halfway through his tale). Death also directly addresses readers in frequent asides Zusak's playfulness with language leavens the horror and makes the theme even more resonant words can save your life. This "small story," as Death calls it, threads together gem-like scenes of the fates of families in this tight community, and is punctuated by Max's affecting, primitive artwork rendered on painted-over pages from Mein Kampf. His promise to repay that debt comes due when the man's son, Max, shows up on his doorstep. Hans is haunted himself, by the Jewish soldier who saved his life during WWI. Rosa Hubermann has a sharp tongue, but Hans has eyes "made of kindness." He helps Liesel overcome her nightmares by teaching her to read late at night. Liesel's father a "Kommunist" is already missing when her mother hands her into the care of the Hubermanns. Liesel Meminger, the book thief, is nine when she pockets The Gravedigger's Handbook, found in a snowy cemetery after her little brother's funeral. The narrator is Death himself, a companionable if sarcastic fellow, who travels the globe "handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity." Death keeps plenty busy during the course of this WWII tale, even though Zusak (I Am the Messenger) works in miniature, focusing on the lives of ordinary Germans in a small town outside Munich. This hefty volume is an achievement a challenging book in both length and subject, and best suited to sophisticated older readers. “Deserves a place on the same shelf with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.” - USA TodayĭON’T MISS BRIDGE OF CLAY, MARKUS ZUSAK’S FIRST NOVEL SINCE THE BOOK THIEF. “The kind of book that can be life-changing.” - The New York Times In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time. 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. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. When Death has a story to tell, you listen. The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times. ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME.
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