Thoughts of Brianna

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The Book Thief

Via Goodreads
I LOVE this cover. I think it really expresses the mood of the book, even though it may not be quite accurate. Death explicitly says that he avoids wearing a cloak. Anyway, it's better than the boring one with the dominoes on it. That's a reference to a very minor scene in the book.

            The Book Thief           By Markus Zusak

"I am haunted by humans." 

First of all, the book is narrated by Death. I think that is the coolest idea ever and I'm really jealous that Zusak thought of it.

So what is Death like? Well, he's a nice guy actually. It's not the best job in the world, as you can imagine, even though he likes helping people to their final rest. He enjoys seeing the colors in the sky in the moment someone dies, whether it be the blue of day, the black of night, or a fiery, stormy twilight.

Every once in a long while, Death pays attention to one life in particular, seeing how it intersects with the deaths he must attend to.

This story is about a girl named Liesel. Liesel is an orphan; her little brother died right in front of her and her mother disappeared, presumably killed by the Nazis for her communist beliefs.

Liesel is taken in by a German family in a small village, and she learns to love her new family and neighbors: her Papa, an accordionist who teaches her to read; Rudy, a boy with lemon-colored hair and a love for running; and Max, a Jewish man who is hiding in her basement.

Liesel comes to have a special love for books -- especially stealing them -- at a time when the Nazi party burns them in the public square.

Why you'll love it too...

  • Yes, it's ANOTHER book about World War II. But it's not focused on a romantic love story, like The Courtship of Two Doctors, The Notebook, or any of the hundred other stories out there. You get to see the home front of small town Germany, where dinner every night is awful soup, where good men hate the Fuhrer, and where whole neighborhoods hide in a basement during air raids. One of the best scenes is Max's imaginary boxing match with Hitler.
  • The characters are so lovable. Mama, Liesel's foster mother, is the terror of the entire neighborhood with her sharp tongue and wooden spoon at the ready, but she really cares for Liesel. Papa is amazing. Though he is strict at times, he lets the little girl tag along on his painting duties, he gives up cigarettes to buy her a book, and he stays up with her every night teaching her to read. Rudy finds new and hilarious ways to try and get Liesel to kiss him.
  • While he hides in the basement, Max deals with his own personal hatred for Hitler by writing and illustrating some awesome books (and the walls). Liesel is inspired to write her own book, which combines the four "important" books in her life thus far -- including one she stole from a Nazi bonfire.
  • You learn lots of German vocab!

Springtime for Hitler

  • It is a book about World War II and Death and love. You'll experience TEABS for a number of reasons.
  • This doesn't have anything to do with the book, but I'm angry because they're making it into a movie and it looks AWFUL. First, Liesel is way too clean and her hair too perfectly curled in the trailer. Liesel plays soccer every day after school, has a summer "job" climbing fences and stealing farmers' apples, climbs into windows to explore dusty libraries and hangs out in a dirty basement where she paints the walls. And I'm sure they have plenty of time to curl her hair in between air raids and saluting when the troops walk by. Also, I feel like Geoffrey Rush is all wrong for the part of Papa. Papa is supposed to be lovable, yet firm. Geoffrey Rush has the humor, but he's almost too scary. In general, the tone is just wrong. They're making it into some feel-good 1990s movie, when this is a life-changing novel. Grrr. Anyway...
Some awesome samples of Zusak's writing:

 "I have hated the words and I have loved them and I hope I have made them right."
 "I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant."

You'll love every word, I promise!

1 comment:

  1. After this blog posts and even some praise from my students, this book is officially on my must read list!

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