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The Book Thief [Paperback]

Markus Zusak (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,248 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 1 Jan 2008

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.

SOME 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.

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

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Product details

  • Paperback: 560 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan; Reprint edition (1 Jan 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0552773891
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552773898
  • Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 3.5 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,248 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 23 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Markus Zusak Page
Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak, a prize-winning children's author, lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and young daughter. At the age of 30, Zusak has already asserted himself as one of today's most innovative and poetic novelists. With the publication of The Book Thief, he is now being dubbed a 'literary phenomenon' by Australian and U.S. critics. Zusak is the award-winning recipient of a 2006 Printz Honor for excellence in young adult literature.

Product Description

Amazon Review

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak was the best-selling debut literary novel of the year 2007, selling over 400,000 copies. The author is a prize-winning writer of children's books, and this, his first novel for adults, proved to be a triumphant success. The book is extraordinary on many levels: moving, yet restrained, angry yet balanced -- and written with the kind of elegance found all too rarely in fiction these days. The book's narrator is nothing less than Death itself, regaling us with a remarkable tale of book burnings, treachery and theft. The book never forgets the primary purpose of compelling the reader's attention, yet which nevertheless is able to impart a cogent message about the importance of words, particularly in those societies which regard the word as dangerous (the book is set during the Nazi regime, but this message is all too relevant in many places in the world today).

Nine-year-old Liesel lives with her foster family on Himmel Street during the dark days of the Third Reich. Her Communist parents have been transported to a concentration camp, and during the funeral for her brother, she manages to steal a macabre book: it is, in fact, a gravediggers’ instruction manual. This is the first of many books which will pass through her hands as the carnage of the Second World War begins to hungrily claim lives. Both Liesel and her fellow inhabitants of Himmel Street will find themselves changed by both words on the printed page and the horrendous events happening around them.

Despite its grim narrator, The Book Thief is, in fact, a life-affirming book, celebrating the power of words and their ability to provide sustenance to the soul. Interestingly, the Second World War setting of the novel does not limit its relevance: in the 20th century, totalitarian censorship throughout the world is as keen as ever at suppressing books (notably in countries where the suppression of human beings is also par for the course) and that other assault on words represented by the increasing dumbing-down of Western society as cheap celebrity replaces the appeal of books for many people, ensures that the message of Marcus Zusak’s book could not be more timely. It is, in fact, required reading -- or should be in any civilised country. --Barry Forshaw

Review

"Extraordinary, resonant and relevant, beautiful and angry." (Lisa Hilton Sunday Telegraph)

"...a beautifully balanced piece of storytelling...Unsettling, thought-provoking, life affirming, triumphant and tragic, this is a novel of breathtaking scope, masterfully told. It is an important piece of work, but also a wonderful page-turner." (Guardian)

"A moving work which will make many eyes brim." (Marianne Brace Independent on Sunday)

"This is a weighty novel worthy of universal acclaim. A sense of dread prevades this beautifully written novel. As The Book Thief draws to a close, Death says: "There's a multitude of stories that i allow to distract me as I work." The story of the Book Thief, who tried to change the world in her own small way, proves one formidable and inspiring distraction." (Lianne Kolirin The Daily Express)

"Brilliant and hugely ambitious ... the kind of book that could be life-changing" (New York Times Book Review)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
314 of 325 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Another humdinger 14 Mar 2008
By Mr. Peter Steward
Format:Paperback
I really can't believe that in the first three months of the year I have come across three gems in "A Thousand Splendid Suns," "A Quiet Belief in Angels" and now "The Book Thief." Each of these books is different but they are all stunning in their own individual way.

The Book Thief is highly original, although it did remind me somewhat of my book of the year for 2007 "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas." The subject matter for both books is the Nazification of Germany. Both books look at things from the perspective of a child growing up in the most turbulent of times and both have a child-like simplicity that just adds to their powers.

The Book Thief is a beautiful book from start to finish. Indeed at times it is more of a scrapbook of a life than a novel. It has a strangeness that only enhances the subject matter. For a start it is narrated by death. But this never detracts from the shape or power of the novel as young lives are slowly ripped apart in a German Town where poverty is rife.

The central character Liesel has a beautiful calmness of spirit. She always seems to be on the verge of re-alisation whilst still retaining the fragility of childhood. Slowly and gradually the evil unfolds before her as she becomes aware of the fate of the Jews in a town where she is thrust as an unwilling refugee.

In her adopted father Hans Hubermann, Zusak has created one of those unforgettable men of strength and kindness. At first when Liesel is thrust into the Hubermann household I was expecting a hard-hearted couple keen to take the small amount of money that Lisel brings with her but not so keen to give her the love that she craves. Nothing could be more from the truth. Read more ›
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255 of 270 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Just read it!!! 22 Feb 2008
By A. Hope
Format:Paperback
I am not sure how to describe this book - without either giving too much away - or making it sound depressing and grisely which it is not at all. Suffice to say this is a novel narrated by death. It is the story of a young girl living in Nazi Germany, who goes to live with a foster family,and learns to read, and falls in love with: books, her new Papa, a boy called Rudy, and a Jew hiding in a basement. It is also a story of WW2 - from a persepective we don't often see - ordinaary Germans - some of whom were members of "The Party."

Death takes the reader by the hand, and leads us through the lives and deaths of people in Liesel's world, he kind of "gives the game away" a few times - and yet that never spoils it - it prepares the reader for what's ahead.
This is an astonishing book - the writing is great - an unusual style - but one that fits perfectly somehow with the voice of Death - and that of the unforgettable Liesel.
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207 of 224 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece of empathy 28 Nov 2007
By Gordon Eldridge
Format:Paperback
Sometimes a fictional interpretation of history is exactly what we need in order to be able to come to a real understanding of what it meant to live through historic events, particularly horrific ones. Markus Zusak provides us with a masterful interpretation of the Nazi period of German history from the perspective of ordinary people suffering through it and striving to keep their lives together and their souls alive and kicking within the horrific and ever-tightening boundaries constructed by the Nazi regime. He gives us a gut-wrenchingly palpable empathy for people facing harrowing decisions on a daily basis. His marvelous characters bring to life the dilemmas of those who believe they should help the Jews as well as the equally nightmarish predicament of Jews who through receiving help put others in danger. We see much of this through the perspective of the main character Liesel, who is only a young girl. Her innocence and the gradual realizations she comes to about the events swirling around her in a maelstrom of horror evoke a remarkable empathy in the reader. If you want to understand how the little people cope with such tragic historic events without allowing their souls to be crushed, read this book. Ultimately it is a portrait of the resilience and hope of the human spirit.
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77 of 83 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, wonderful book w/unique perspective 15 Sep 2008
By D. Taggart
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up in an airport on a whim. I liked the cover. It took a couple of months to open it up, but once I did, I could NOT put it down. I (foolishly) took it with me on vacation. I did NOT see the sights, because I stayed in my room all day and all night until I finished the book, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying hysterically.

This book is haunting, beautiful, and moving-but not in a sappy way. My family is Jewish, and suffered loss due to the Holocaust. But lots of people have similar stories, and have told them. They are all important, and moving, but this is completely unique, because it's not primarily about the Jews (though they are in the book).

I have to admit, I have never once thought about what it was like for regular, working class citizens to live in Nazi Germany. Or what it was like for their children. There were other innocent victims of the Nazi regime than the ones who died in the camps. Zusak vividly brings to life these special, imperfect and at the same time PERFECT characters and makes you experience their lives as if they were your own. I felt what they felt, saw what they saw, lost what they lost. And, I finished this book crying like a baby. I cried for at least half an hour. And it was wonderful.

A boy with hair the color of lemons broke my heart the night I finished reading this book. (You will understand what that means when you read it.) But I am glad he did. I would never have known him, otherwise.

READ THIS BOOK!!!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
The best read you will ever have and be ready for a book that makes you cry! The film will need to go done to match the book.
Published 43 minutes ago by Jeanette L Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and very moving
Brilliant and very moving story, this author has a unique and gripping style of writing. Really recommend Jan Grover Dorset
Published 4 hours ago by Mr. Rc Grover
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
A truly "unputdownable" book. Gives you a completely different prospective on the second world war.
I bought the Kindle edition so it's even more convenient
Published 7 hours ago by arty #1
5.0 out of 5 stars The Book Thief
A very very good story, although a little hard to get into at first, especially from the German phrases, into English. Read more
Published 8 hours ago by David
4.0 out of 5 stars memorable
I wasn't sure about this book at the start but it just got better and better. Stylishly written although many of the characters are two dimensional.. Read more
Published 9 hours ago by jaffa
5.0 out of 5 stars A real eye opener
I found history at school very boring and dry and therefore don't know much about WW2 so this book was a real eye opener for me. Read more
Published 10 hours ago by Elisabeth Stewart
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking
Wanted to read the book before seeing the film. I wonder how they are going to translate this. Very different from what I expected, but it was a thoroughly good read
Published 13 hours ago by Sheena Fitchett
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth a Read
For me, this is the first time I've read a WW2 novel from the German perspective, which is why I purchased the book. Read more
Published 20 hours ago by Ann
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book with intelligent observations of life in wartorn...
This is a story that makes you think, and be aware that there where many ordinary German people who did not agree with the Nazi party doctrin and suffered deprevation caused by the... Read more
Published 20 hours ago by MRS J E SMITH
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
I have just finished reading this extraordinary book. There is no need to recap the content as many have already done so here, but I urge anyone looking through these reviews to... Read more
Published 21 hours ago by Janie
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