The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak

Liesl is a young girl living with a foster family in Nazi Germany. Her life is not easy. She is living in a new place with a new family. Her brother died en route to the new home. Liesl is lonely and struggling.

Her foster parents, the Hubermanns, are different from Liesl’s parents. Rosa is not exactly a nurturing figure. Fortunately, Hans is a little softer than Rosa. Liesl enjoys rolling cigarettes with Hans and listening to him play the accordion.

Of course, Liesl’s struggles with her new family and new school are further complicated by the war being waged in Europe. The Hubermanns do not support the Nazi agenda, and they even hide a young Jewish man, Max, in their basement. Liesl befriends Max, and her confusing world suddenly expands.

Narrated by Death (really, this is too contrived for me), The Book Thief is the story of Liesl, her family, and her friends during WWII. It is the story of a girl who finds solace in words and shares it with others.

Unlike many novels set in this period, The Book Thief examines the lives of Germans, not Jews, during the war. Readers are given a sense of what it was like to live in Germany and oppose the Nazis.

I liked this novel and its message quite a bit, but the narrative voice (Death) really annoyed me. I think Liesl’s story could have been much more compelling if told in the first person.

12/6/13