Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Publication Date:
2007
Summary of the book:
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:
The Novel is narrated
by Death.
It’s a small story, about:
A girl
+
A 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.
During the horrors of World War 2 Liesel Meminger is sent
away to Himmel Street to live with her new foster parents; Hans and Rosa
Hubermann. Liesel steals a book called The
Grave Digger's Handbook and is fascinated by it even though she can neither
read nor write, throughout the course of the book she learns to read and write
and she finds solace in stealing books.
Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book, I was a bit reluctant to read it
at first because of course it is set in ‘Nazi Germany’ and I knew that it would
be pretty sad. But I’m glad that I finally decided to pick it up and read it,
it’s very rare when a book reaches a spot in my top five favourite books when I’m
only halfway through! Only behind to my all-time favourites; The Hobbit, The
Magicians Nephew and The Harry Potter series.
You may be asking yourself; should I read this book? You may be a bit apprehensive as to whether or not you should read it, and I strongly encourage you to read it. Sometimes a fictional interpretation of history helps the reader come to a real understanding of historic events, by reading it is almost like reliving historic events. This is an astonishing book and it has definitely encouraged me to read more fictional historic novels. I fell in love with the characters; Max, Liesel, Rudy, Hans even the story of the accordion made me shed a few tears.
Reviews:
"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)
Film
Adaptation:
There is a film adaptation of this book; the film came out
in 2013.
It stars:
Sophie Nélisse
as Liesel Meminger
Geoffrey
Rush as Hans Hubermann
Emily Watson
as Rosa Hubermann
No comments:
Post a Comment