The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Tonight's book was a recommendation from a woman at work who described it as the most beautiful book she had ever read. When someone describes a book to you in such a way, you just have to read it so I ran right out that evening and bought it. More on that description later...

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is another young adult novel set in Nazi Germany right smack in the middle of World War II and the Holocaust. Once again, I would never have known this was a young adult novel had that not been the section in which I found it in the book store.

One of the most interesting and unique aspects of this book is that it is narrated by Death. Yeah, this guy:

Although, in the book, he claims to not look like this at all. Which begs the question: what does Death look like? Hopefully, he looks like Michael Fassbender. That way, maybe I'll be more apt to follow him when my time comes. Yum.

Anywho, back to The Book Thief. As I said above, Death narrates this story - the story of Liesel Meminger, the book thief of the title. When Death first encounters Liesel, she is on a train with her mother and brother on their way to a suburb of Munich, Germany. Death is there to take Liesel's little brother. Unfortunately for Liesel, not only has she just lost her little brother but she is also on her way to Munich to be delivered to foster parents. Luckily for Liesel, her foster parents are good, kind people and she soon begins to flourish in her new home. Liesel makes friends and plays soccer but her real joy is reading - something she wasn't able to do when she arrived in Munich but her new foster father was happy to teach her. Her passion for books extends not only to reading books but also stealing them, as the title implies, sometimes from the bottom of a Nazi book burning pile.

This book presents a unique perspective on the WWII genre - at least one unique to me. Most WWII novels I've read are from the Allied Forces or conquered counties' point of view. Seldom have I seen the story told from the plain old German citizens point of view. Not all Germans were Nazis. Not all swallowed the propaganda unquestioningly. And those German citizens lived in just as much fear as the rest of the world. Scared they would make one wrong step and the Nazis would come knocking on their doors.

And not only were these innocent Germans terrorized by the Nazis, they were also terrorized by the Allied bombing raids. Some of the most powerful and haunting scenes in this book are the scenes of Liesel and her family, friends and neighbors clinging to each other in basement bomb shelters during Allied bombing raids. People running from their homes in the middle of the night with only their most precious belongs that they could carry. Liesel, of course, carried her books to the shelters, where she calmed everyone by reading to them.

Zusak's choice as Death for the narrator seemed a bit unnecessary to me. It appeared as if he was trying too hard to make his novel unique and inventive. I mean, I understand his choice. A lot of deaths happened in and because of Nazi Germany at that time in history and presumably, Death was a first hand witness to them all. But it felt like Zusak was just trying too hard.

Another area where it felt like the author was trying too hard was in his writing style and choice of words and literary devices. My coworker described this as "the most beautiful book" she had ever read. I agree. It is beautiful (although I may not classify it as the most beautiful book I've ever read). However, it's also a little much. A little much with the metaphors, a little much with the descriptions and a little much with the flowery words. At one point, the narrator (Death) describes the sun as "breakfast colored". What does that even mean? It's the color of a sunny-side-up egg? Another: "Her wrinkles were like slander?" Huh!?!? The book is full of them.

But, BUT, sometimes the author gets it right and it is beautiful. Some of the best includes scenes when Death gingerly and sweetly comes for the souls of the dead. "Who was there to sooth him as life's rug was snatched from under his sleeping feet? No one. There was only me. And I'm not too great at that sort of comforting thing, especially when my hands are cold and the bed is warm. I carried him softly through the broken street, with one salty eye and a heavy, deathly heart. With him, I tried a little harder." Awww. Death has a heart. Sweet and touching.

I heard this book described somewhere else as "experimental literature". I'm not sure what that means exactly but it does seem to fit somehow. It's lovely and picturesque. It's profuse and showy. It's touching and heart warming. It's bleak and depressing. And it's unlike any other book I've ever read. I'm going to give it four bows. The good more than makes up for the pointless. It's not a feel good story so if you're looking for a happy ending, this isn't your book. (And really, if you're looking for a happy ending, you shouldn't be reading a book about the Holocaust in the first place.) But it's a good read that will provide you with an interesting look at WWII through the eyes of the German citizens.

On to some housekeeping business: this post took me a good two weeks of beginning, starting over and stalling. It's a tough book to describe. And because of that, I have a bit of a back log in posts. Next up will be the third and final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. So stay tuned for that. And after that will be the third and final book in the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. So, until next time, happy reading everyone!