Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The Book Thief



I just finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak last night. All three of the people I get book recommendations from labeled this book as "life changing" and a "must read." Well, it is.

This is an unusual book with Death as the narrator. The style takes a few pages to get used to, every few pages he inserts a note in bold text, something that is incredibly insightful... inhumanly insightful into the characters or the time period. There are also some picture stories the Jew gives the main character that touch the reader beyond words.

So much was happening in Nazi Germany, and the average German was so ignorant of the whole picture. The main characters in this book are just trying to get by, just trying to love, just trying to live. This is a powerful book that everyone should read!

2 comments:

Kate M. said...

A must read -- definitely. I can back that statement 100%. Life-altering? Yes. For 48 hours my life was taken over with this book. I didn't sleep because I was reading it.

Alysha said...

Thanks for reminding me about this one - it's been on my "to read" list. I got it from JVBrown a few months ago and never got to it, but I will go back and get it. But first I think I need a light read. I've read several technical books in a row and this one I know will be dark, so I need something light and airy - like a Janet Evanovich book - to sort of cleanse the palate......