The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Review by Katie Rose

         The Book Thief was one of the very few books I had to read for school that featured a female lead character, and I am very grateful that I did. Although this book technically fits under the genre of historical fiction, it also can be considered a "coming of age" tale. "The coming of age" genre is almost completely dominated by stories of young boys coming into adulthood. Stories of young girls learning the same thing are rare. One of the reasons I was able to connect to this story as much as I did was because it was about the struggle of a young girl as opposed to a boy.

            The story takes place in Nazi Germany. I should preface this by saying this story is nothing like The Diary of Anne Frank, so don't be worried that you will be reading the same story. It is completely fictional, but portrays the horrors and suffering that the average German family faced during the Second World War. One of the exciting things about this story is how it is narrated. Markus Zusak, while writing this book, struggled with what perspective to write from. In the end he came up with the idea of having the story told by Death himself.

            Liesel is a nine year old girl whose mother is being forced to give her and her younger brother up for foster care. Why? Liesel’s mother is a Communist. Death encounters the small family on the verge of being torn apart. Liesel’s brother is dying, and Death is there to collect the young boy’s soul. He is taken with Liesel, and makes the decision to keep an eye on her.

            Liesel is brought to her new foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubberman. Hans and Rosa are an older couple composed of very different people. Hans is a compassionate artist. Rosa is a realist, coarse, and extremely stubborn. Hans and Liesel quickly form a connection that only builds over the course of the story, whereas Rosa and Liesel take a little bit longer to warm up to each other. Rosa is an extraordinary woman. The weight of the world hangs much more heavily on her shoulders than Hans, and she fights against it with the rage of an angry bear. Liesel does not as easily love, or feel loved, by Rosa, but in the end they share the bond equal to that between any mother and daughter. Liesel’s journey through the novel is one of survival, compassion, and discovering her own strength.

The types of women in this story are many. The major and minor female characters are all very different from each other, and are written so well you believe they are real people. That is what is amazing about all the characters in this story, not just the women. They are complicated, and they are different. Some are cowards, some are mean, and some are scared. Some will do anything to protect their families, and some will do anything to do what is right. They are written as real, living, breathing human beings with flaws, dreams, and fears.

            The book is very often heartbreaking and horrifying. It reveals the persecution of the Jews, the pain of the soldiers who were forced to fight for the Nazis, and the difficulties of trying to survive in an environment of tyranny. The first time I read The Book Thief, I finished it while I was in my 11^th grade English class. I cried. I kept the book in front of my face to hide my tears from my classmates, and later on many of them confirmed to me that they too cried when they finished the story. Liesel’s childhood is not easy. Reading about it is not always easy. But in the end you are left with a message of hope, and a satisfying closure that you don’t always get with these types of stories.

            The Book Thief is truly one of the greatest books I have ever read. Zusak created an ambitious story with incredible detail and a realness that could easily trick the reader into thinking it actually happened. I would recommend this book to anyone I met on the street. More recently it has been turned into a film. The movie was good, but it was nothing compared to the book. I suggest you do both, book first. The movie had amazing acting and there is always something magical about seeing a story you have read brought to life on screen. So my ending recommendation? Read it.