A Bookaholic's Book Log

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

READ: 18.08.17 - 21.08.17

BOOK: The Book Thief

AUTHOR: Markus Zusak

GENRE:YA Historical Fiction

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE

1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.

Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH

It's a small story, about:
a girl
an accordionist
some fanatical Germans
a Jewish fist fighter
and quite a lot of thievery.

THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES

REVIEW: Until the last fifty pages I did not understand the hype behind this book. In the last fifty pages I sobbed.

I still can't work out fully how I felt about this book, but I did think it was a really interesting read. The narration by death provided a completely different look upon not only the story but the war, and I found that some of the most poignant lines came from Death.

The story touched me by the fact that it wasn't necessarily dramatic but instead felt like it was real life. The character of Liesel did annoy me, but I really felt for her throughout the book for various reasons. I was really moved by this book.

I think for me the hype ruined my experience reading this book a little because I had such high expectations, but this was still a really fantastic read and I will re-read sometime in the future.

FINAL VERDICT: A really beautiful, moving story which is crafted excellently. Even though we're told what will happen throughout by Death, you never really prepare for the heartache you will feel.

RATING: 9/10