The Book Thief

The Book Thief
By Marcus Zusack
Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. 552 pgs. Fiction

Death himself narrates this novel. Weary of his job, Death brightens his own life and ours by sharing the story of Liesel Meminger, who is a young girl in Germany during World War II. En route to live with foster parents, Liesel encounters Death as her little brother dies on the train. She also begins her career as a book thief, taking a gravedigger's manual from the graveyard. Although at this point in her life, she is illiterate, she is determined to read and words come to play an important role in her life. Her foster parents, Hans Hubermann, who is a kind-hearted non-Nazi German, and Rosa Hubermann, tough-skinned, loud and loving in her own way, are endearing people, struggling to get by during the war. Next-door-neighbor Rudy Steiner quickly becomes Liesel's best friend and partner in crime. These and other characters add to Liesel's life, and as Death learns about them, they brighten his existence as well.

This book is brilliant. Liesel's story is beautiful, even in the midst of the horrors of war, and although Death seems like an unappealing narrator, he's perfect--searching for his own reasons for hope, his own reasons to care about humanity, he shares them with the reader. Some readers may object to some of the language, but the story is amazing, definitely worth reading--or rereading.

Another option to try is the audio version. I listened to this on CD. I wasn't sure what Death should sound like, but Allan Corduner has the perfect voice. This is probably the best audio book I've ever listened to. (As BHG mentions in her comment to this post, the drawings in the book are important as well. So what you should really do is read it AND listen to it...although you could probably do them at different times.)

AE