Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 9780375931000
Summary:
Nine year-old Liesel Meminger believes her life is over. It is 1939 in Nazi Germany. She and her brother are on their way to Molching, Germany to live with a foster family. During the train ride, the brother dies. After he is buried in the snow-covered ground, Liesel finds a book, The Grave Digger’s Handbook, and it changes her life forever. Obsessed with learning to read, Liesel becomes the book thief. Upon arriving in Molching, Liesel lives with Hans and Rosa Huberman. Hans, the fun-loving painter and accordionist teaches her to read. Rosa, the stern, swearing laundress secretly loves her. Liesel spends her days reading and playing with her friend Rudy while keeping a secret. A Jew is hiding in their basement. Liesel earns her title of book thief by stealing the books she needs to continue to learn to read until she ultimately writes her own book. Narrated by Death, who, according to VOYA, is impressed with Liesel as she “makes a profound impression on him, and he carries her words with him everywhere he goes.”
Analysis:
The Book Thief is a gripping story of intense danger yet the reader is warned in advance of what is going to happen from the narrator, Death. The main character, Leisel is realistic in that she misses her mother and brother, gets into fights at school, steals to keep from being hungry, and steals to fill her need for words. She also grows to love the stranger, Max, who is the Jew hiding in their basement. Set in 1939 Nazi Germany, there is real fear of searches from the Gestapo, air raids, and of not being accepted into the Nazi Party. Tragedy (and death) is the main theme of this story as Liesel seems to lose everyone close to her during the war. As the narrator, Death is obsessed with the tragedy and deaths surrounding Liesel as she grows.
Excerpt:
Liesel reversed.
Cautiously.
She took the first few steps backward, calculating.
Perhaps the woman hadn’t seen her steal the book after all. It had been getting dark. Perhaps it was one of those times when a person appears to be looking directly at you when, in fact, they’re contentedly watching something else or simply daydreaming. Whatever the answer, Liesel didn’t attempt any further analysis. She’d gotten away with it and that was enough.
She turned and handled the remainder of the steps normally, taking the last three all at once.
“Let’s go, Saukerl.” She even allowed herself a laugh. Eleven-year-old paranoia was powerful. Eleven-year-old relief was euphoric.
***A LITTLE SOMETHING TO ***
DAMPEN THE EUPHORIA
She had gotten away with nothing.
The mayor’s wife had seen her all right.
She was just waiting for the right moment.
Reviews:
" Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward...An extraordinary narrative."
Booklist 2006
"It's Liesel's confrontation with horrifying cruelty and her discovery of kindness in unexpected places that tell the heartbreaking truth."
Awards:
NOMINEE 2006 - Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (South East Asia & South Pacific)
WINNER 2007 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
WINNER 2007 - Michael L. Printz Honor Book
WINNER 2007 - Book Sense Book of the Year
WINNER 2006 - Horn Book Fanfare
WINNER 2006 - Kirkus Reviews Editor Choice Award
WINNER 2006 - School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
WINNER 2006 - Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year
WINNER 2006 - Booklist Children's Editors' Choice
WINNER 2006 - Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book
WINNER 2009 - Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Master List
Connections:
For more information about the author visit http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/
To watch an interview with Mark Zusak visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7B8ioiZz7M
Visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at http://www.ushmm.org/
For more information about the Holocaust, visit the Jewish Virtual Library at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/holo.html
If you liked this book, you might enjoy:
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By the Time You Read This, I’ll be Dead by Julie Anne Peters
Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, A Shirtwaist Worker by Deborah Hopkinson
An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub
Chase by Jessie Haas
If I Just Had Two Wings by Virginia Frances Schwartz
In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Picture:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780375831003&imId=12591277
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