| The Book Thief |  | Author: Markus Zusak
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
List Price: $12.99
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Rating:  917 reviews
Sales Rank: 114
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 576
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 1.5
ISBN: 0375842209
EAN: 9780375842207
ASIN: 0375842209
Publication Date: September 11, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.
This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 917
 Mr. Zusak's 500 paged masterpiece: The Book Thief September 2, 2010
X. Wu
I went to Indigo three years ago looking for the new edition of Lolita. My mother who was with stumbled into the YA section and picked this book up for me and said it sounded interesting. I bought it, but I didn't think much of it for the past three years. But last summer when I literally had nothing to read, I read this book after two previous attempts.
I devoured this book in one day.
*SPOILERS INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW*
There is not enough praise in the world I could give this book. Yes, I had read books about the Holocaust previously, but this book will stand out to me forever. Mr. Zusak's writing style is so captivating and distinct that no one but him could ever write like that. Sure, he breaks the cardinal rule of "show don't tell" but he does it in such a quirky way you really don't care and can't help but enjoy it.
There isn't too much action in this book (if you want action go turn on Transformers) but ever scene was written beautifully and masterfully crafted. Although much of the book is about Liesel learning to read and her relationship with Hans, and Rosa, and Max, and Rudy, the Holocaust was elegantly woven throughout the entire book. Even if Liesel is playing soccer or reading or having fun, you still sense the gloom and the mood of the war.
Even though Mr. Zusak's writing is superb, the real gems of this novel (tarnished however, in the best way possible of course) are the characters--each one his or her own individual and equally unique and realistic. Liesel was such a relatable character to me, because she acted like a normal 9 year-old girl at the start and 10, 11, and 12 year-old as the book progressed. She struggled to fit in, and she was, not to mention, illiterate. How she overcomes those struggles is what makes her such a wonderful character. Max was fantastic and you couldn't help but dread his fate, Rudy was lovable and you couldn't help but bawl when he died, Hans was the dad you wished you had, Rosa was an animated character that you couldn't help but secretly love.
But the most interesting character, perhaps, was the narrator: Death itself. No, we did not get a back story to Death (how could we ever?), but Death was so quirky and witty he was a character, too!
The book provided an interesting point of view from a German girl's perspective. This is a book that can be life altering--it really and truly opened my eyes. The ending was probably one of the saddest, most bittersweet ones I have read in quite some times. I cried for nearly ten minutes and then re-read the ending again. You will laugh at Rudy's witty remarks as well as Liesel's snarky comebacks. Your heart will melt when you read about Hans and Max. You will feel Rosa's pain. Most of all, you will experience all of this through Death's perspective.
One of the best books I have read in a while. Perhaps I am overrating his book like crazy, but in my eyes, it deserves it all.
Overall Grade: A++++++(Haha, no I'm just kidding....) A+
5 out of 5 stars (If only there was a 6 option.
Similar books include: The boy in the striped pajamas, Milkweed, and Hunger Journeys.
The Book Thief: A Teen's Perspective August 31, 2010
C. King
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been reading a lot of the reviews for this book and I've noticed a recurring theme with most of them. Some have been saying that this is not a book that teens would enjoy, but I'm here to let you know that that is nowhere near the truth. Now I will admit that I am an old teenager (19 years old) and that I mostly read mangas (Japanese comics) but although I still love Japanese comics, I'm looking for more novels to read, because I've miss them so much from my days as an avid reader. The Book Thief is a beautiful work of art amidst the vampire phase spurred by Meyer's Twilight series *gags* that I can't seem to escape in bookstores (seriously there's vampire crap EVERYWHERE, and quite frankly I'm sick of looking at it), Marcus Zusak has fired up my desire to read regular books. I'm now constantly on the look-out for more and more great novels like this one and I will be reading more of Zusak's work. I highly suggest any adults out there with teens to let them have a go at this book.
best read in a long time August 31, 2010
Diane Banfield
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There have been so many good reviews of this book. Just wanted to add mine as I loved this book. Can't really understand the young reader tag tho?? A great story but the writing style is the thing that grabs you. Should be used in any writing class as an example of perfection.
Unique, Enchanting, Heart-Breaking: A Modern Classic August 30, 2010
Jenners (East Coast of the U.S.A.)
I usually start my book reviews by writing a story overview to give you a glimpse of what the book is about. And I could do that for this book too ...
"This is the story novel of a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger who lives with her adoptive parents in World War II Germany in the working-class town of Molching. Given up by her mother to protect her safety, Liesel loses her younger brother on the train ride to Molching. (At his burial, she steals her first book, The Grave Diggers Handbook.) As she grows up on Himmel Street, we get to know Liesel and her accordion-playing adoptive father Hans Hubermann; her stern (but secretly loving) adoptive mother Rosa; her best friend Rudy; the depressed but kind Mayor's Wife (who passively encourages and abets Liesel's continuing book theft); and the sad but strong Jewish refugee Max (who is hidden in the Hubermann's basement). Set against the backdrop of World War II, we experience the war from Liesel's point of view--from forced participation in the Hitler Youth, to the stress of sheltering a Jew in your basement, to the importance of seeming to support the Nazis and Hitler when you're doing everything you can to subvert their atrocities while not being noticed."
...but I don't really want to do that. Why? Because giving a summary of this book doesn't convey to you what makes this book so incredibly powerful, amazing, gripping and poetic. It makes the book seem somewhat ordinary when it is anything but. For this is an extraordinary book.
What makes it so extraordinary? The narrator. Our narrator, you see, is Death. (Yes ... Death. Like the Grim Reaper.) And, as you might expect, Death doesn't come at a story in the same way as you or I.
EXCERPT: I could introduce myself properly, but it's not really necessary. You will know me well enough and soon enough, depending on a diverse range of variables. It suffices to say that at some point in time, I will be standing over you, as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away.
Death is tired. Death needs a distraction. A vacation. Which is why he notices colors. To Death, Rudy isn't just a boy. He is the lemon-haired boy. Hans Hubermann isn't just a man. He is the silver-eyed man (whose eyes begin to rust at his death). But Death notices Liesel ... and something about her catches his notice. As Death says:
EXCERPT: It's the story of one of those perpetual survivors--an expert at being left behind. It's just a small story really, about, among other things:
* A girl
* Some words
* An accordionist
* Some fanatical Germans
* A Jewish fist fighter
* And quite a lot of thievery
I saw the book thief three times.
From the very first page until the very last, I was completely enchanted by this book. I loved Death's narration ... his bolded, centered asides, his sly sense of humor, his use of imagery and colors, his way of listing the events in the upcoming chapters, his advice for meeting him, the gentle way he holds a soul in his arms. For me, Zusak's choice of narrator and the way he tells the story elevates this book from "another World War II novel" to a shimmering, dazzling prism of light that reflects our humanness back to us.
If you can't tell already, I loved this book. Loved it. When you read a lot of books, you're always hoping for one that will surprise you, tell you a story in a unique way, or open your eyes to what a writer can do with words. For me, The Book Thief was one of those books. Upon starting it, I immediately regretted that I hadn't read it sooner. What if Death had come for me before I got to read it? Then it became a book that I didn't want to end. Although it is 576 pages, I found something to love and linger over on each page. And although I'm not a person who likes to reread books, I know I will revisit this one again.
So, if you haven't read it yet, don't delay. It is a wondrous book--brimming with love and dazzling in its inventiveness and words. Perfection.
A Brief Aside: For some reason, this book is always classified as a Young Adult novel, which I feel might turn off some readers. Do not let this label fool you into thinking there is anything simplistic about this book. If this is YA book, then it is the pinnacle of the genre. In my mind, I don't see it needing to be labeled as such, and I fear that such a label might keep some readers away from it. Don't make that mistake!
Something different August 28, 2010
Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA)
The story is narrated by Death, who is out collecting souls. Mainly it concerns Liesel Meminger and the people around her - in particular her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her particular friend, Rudy Steiner, and a Jew in hiding, Max Vandenburg. The story starts in 1939 when 9-year-old Liesel (not quite ten) arrives on Himmel Street in Molching, a town on the outskirts of Munich. It continues through the war years to 1943, as people struggle to survive, men from the town are sent to the Eastern Front in Russia, and Death strips away people around Liesel. Along he way Liesel steals books and learns to read and write. It skips forward with an Epilogue to the end of the war in 1945, and ends with Liesel in Australia, the home country of the author.
Along the way you will get a good picture of life in a small town in Nazi Germany during the war.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 917
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