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A review by amandasbookreview
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
5.0
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is nothing but 550 pages of intense raw emotion. I can’t even convey the depth of the characters. These characters gave me the impression that they were real. They displayed real and accurate emotion. They were relatable and determined. They all had experiences that shaped them throughout the novel. But most of all, they were hard to let go.
The book begins with the introduction of Liesal (scratch out) Actually the book begins with the introduction of the narrator. Death himself. He is the gatherer of souls. He starts the story with a fact.
“Here is a small fact: You are going to die”
He speaks so nonchalant about death to the point where it is almost unnerving. However, you come to find that he is exhausted. The book starts out in the year 1939 in Germany. The Nazi party and Hitler have risen to power and the beginning of World War II was just months away. So Death is going to be busy. He hates wars and witnessing the human race slaughter each other. Here enters our main character, almost 10 years old, Liesal Meminger. Death spots her on a train when he goes to collect her younger brothers soul. Death watches her. At her brother’s burial, one of the gravediggers drops a book and Liesal picks it up. It is called The Grave Digger’s handbook. This was the beginning of her fascination with books. She would later steal books from a book burning and even the Mayor’s wife’s library.
Her mother then takes Liesal to live with foster parents. Scared and still grieving for her brother, she is then dropped off with Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Rosa is force to be reckoned with but Hans is gentle and comforting. Liesal goes through a period of terrible nightmares and Hans goes in to comfort her each night. He also begins to teach her to read. When she starts school she meets Rudy Steiner. He would soon become her partner in crime and best friend.
The book goes through the daily life on Himmel Street and progressively shows the effects of the war. The hatred for the Jews also steadily grows worse as they are out of business then gathered and sent to concentration camps. One Jewish man, named Max Vandenburg, finds himself seeking shelter from his father’s war friend. That friends happens to be Hans Hubermann. Liesal then slowly starts to see the lack of humanity and evil in the world as she is forced to keep a secret. If anyone should find out that there is Jewish man in their basement they would be arrested or worse. Danger is rising. The war is getting closer and raid sirens become more frequent. By stealing books, reading and writing, Liesal is able to find an outlet to help her deal with these fearful times. It is hard to believe it could get much worse and no one is prepared for the end.
I wish I could write and tell you about all the chapters that spoke to me or made me think. But honestly, there are just too many. I think what makes this book so unbelievably special are the characters. As I said earlier, they are so beautifully written. In a time when evil seems to win and control everything, these characters bring faith in humanity. Hans and Death are my favorites. Hans is genuinely a good person. I feel like he doesn’t even try to be good. He just is. The moment when he painted over the racial slurs on Jewish buildings or handed bread to the Jews walking to the concentration camp was pure goodness. He didn’t think about his actions, he just helped. Even though this has a negative effect on his life, Liesal is watching and learning from him and what it is to be a good human being. I also love Death. Even though Death has seen it all, he is fascinated with Liesal and learns more about humans because of her. He gives a fresh take on viewing humanity.
This book is one that I think everyone should read. It shows that words and books can change someone’s life. It also shows what it takes to be a good person and respect human life despite our differences. We need to remember history, study history and write about history so events like the Holocaust never happen again. We need to love and support each other despite our differences in gender, race or religion. This book proves that humans can be evil but how a little goodness can go a long way.
Check out this review and more on my blog: https://amandasbookreviewsite.wordpress.com/
The book begins with the introduction of Liesal (scratch out) Actually the book begins with the introduction of the narrator. Death himself. He is the gatherer of souls. He starts the story with a fact.
“Here is a small fact: You are going to die”
He speaks so nonchalant about death to the point where it is almost unnerving. However, you come to find that he is exhausted. The book starts out in the year 1939 in Germany. The Nazi party and Hitler have risen to power and the beginning of World War II was just months away. So Death is going to be busy. He hates wars and witnessing the human race slaughter each other. Here enters our main character, almost 10 years old, Liesal Meminger. Death spots her on a train when he goes to collect her younger brothers soul. Death watches her. At her brother’s burial, one of the gravediggers drops a book and Liesal picks it up. It is called The Grave Digger’s handbook. This was the beginning of her fascination with books. She would later steal books from a book burning and even the Mayor’s wife’s library.
Her mother then takes Liesal to live with foster parents. Scared and still grieving for her brother, she is then dropped off with Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Rosa is force to be reckoned with but Hans is gentle and comforting. Liesal goes through a period of terrible nightmares and Hans goes in to comfort her each night. He also begins to teach her to read. When she starts school she meets Rudy Steiner. He would soon become her partner in crime and best friend.
The book goes through the daily life on Himmel Street and progressively shows the effects of the war. The hatred for the Jews also steadily grows worse as they are out of business then gathered and sent to concentration camps. One Jewish man, named Max Vandenburg, finds himself seeking shelter from his father’s war friend. That friends happens to be Hans Hubermann. Liesal then slowly starts to see the lack of humanity and evil in the world as she is forced to keep a secret. If anyone should find out that there is Jewish man in their basement they would be arrested or worse. Danger is rising. The war is getting closer and raid sirens become more frequent. By stealing books, reading and writing, Liesal is able to find an outlet to help her deal with these fearful times. It is hard to believe it could get much worse and no one is prepared for the end.
I wish I could write and tell you about all the chapters that spoke to me or made me think. But honestly, there are just too many. I think what makes this book so unbelievably special are the characters. As I said earlier, they are so beautifully written. In a time when evil seems to win and control everything, these characters bring faith in humanity. Hans and Death are my favorites. Hans is genuinely a good person. I feel like he doesn’t even try to be good. He just is. The moment when he painted over the racial slurs on Jewish buildings or handed bread to the Jews walking to the concentration camp was pure goodness. He didn’t think about his actions, he just helped. Even though this has a negative effect on his life, Liesal is watching and learning from him and what it is to be a good human being. I also love Death. Even though Death has seen it all, he is fascinated with Liesal and learns more about humans because of her. He gives a fresh take on viewing humanity.
This book is one that I think everyone should read. It shows that words and books can change someone’s life. It also shows what it takes to be a good person and respect human life despite our differences. We need to remember history, study history and write about history so events like the Holocaust never happen again. We need to love and support each other despite our differences in gender, race or religion. This book proves that humans can be evil but how a little goodness can go a long way.
Check out this review and more on my blog: https://amandasbookreviewsite.wordpress.com/