The Book Thief

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The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
2005

Cover Synopsis
"By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger finds her life changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow.  It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.  So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read.  Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

"But these are dangerous times.  When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish man in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down."


Thoughts
The Book Thief is heart-wrenching and endearing and beautiful.  It is an unusual book, considering Death acts as the narrator of Liesel Meminger's story, but it's laced with beautiful and intriguing language, a sort of synesthesia in which colors are linked with perceptions and experiences, meetings with the dearly departed.

Death makes a surprisingly good narrator.  He's very precise, very measured in recounting Liesel's story, but he's also thorough and thoughtful.  Although I found him - or it, or whatever it is that Death might be considered - slightly unnerving, I enjoyed every last morsel of his tale.

I will also note that The Book Thief works upon you slowly.  It builds slowly, it takes time to reach that all-important resolution; however, it gives you ample time to form attachments.  You won't even notice how important these characters are to you, how attached you've become to them, until, suddenly, tragedy strikes and it's quick, explosive, heart-rending - and it's like you've suffered along with Liesel, like you've endured this horrifying and tragic loss with her.

You experience it.  You feel it.

And, as much as those final pages hurt, as much as they will wound you in the reading, you'll be glad you finished and you'll be glad you picked it up.

Overall Impression
As part of the final blurb on the cover synopsis, I read this:  "In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time."

And, honestly, I couldn't agree more.  I was completely in love with every chapter, every page of Zusak's novel.

Don't get me wrong, The Book Thief left me in tears.  I mean, I completely lost it when I reached the conclusion, but I don't regret reading it and, truthfully, I feel as if I would have missed out on something truly wonderful if I had let it pass me by.

The Book Thief is an exceptional novel with wonderful characters, beautiful language, and a truly magnificent story.