Tab Article

ratings: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Genre: Historical Fiction / Young Adult / Literary Fiction / World War II Fiction

Book Review:
Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is one of those rare books that truly deserves every bit of praise heaped upon it. An international #1 bestseller, adapted into a major film, it is a novel of breathtaking scope, originality, and emotional power. Here's the setup: It's Nazi Germany. A nine-year-old girl, Liesel, is living with foster parents on Himmel Street. Her real parents have been taken away. She steals books. And the story is narrated by Death. Yes, Death. But Death in Zusak's hands is not a monster; it's a weary, compassionate, and surprisingly gentle voice, haunted by the humans it must collect. This is not a story about the Holocaust in the way we usually think of it. It's a story about a girl who learns to read, about the power of words to sustain us in the darkest times, about a Jewish fist fighter hiding in a basement, about an accordionist with a secret, and about the ordinary Germans who were not all monsters. It is beautiful, angry, heartbreaking, and ultimately life-affirming. The Guardian calls it ''a novel of breath-taking scope, masterfully told.'' The New York Times says it's ''brilliant and hugely ambitious.'' They're right. Read this book. It will stay with you forever.