In this very strangely structured but good novel, a powerful entity, Death, tells us about strange humans. How they are very peculiar, for example, words. They are evil and extremely dangerous, yet beautiful. Death then proceeds to inform us of a story that perfectly embodies the humanness of humans, a story of book thieving and Germany. In 1939, it seems that a girl by the name of Liesel Meminger moves into a quaint town named Molching, based on Olching, near the great city of Munich. So days go by, and being very perturbed by her lack of reading-ability, the Book Thief–Liesel practices reading in the basement with her foster father Hans. And that is how the Book Thief learns about the power of words and books. But the lives of the Hubermanns, Liesel's foster parents, get turned upside down when a mysterious Jew by the name of Max Vandenburg arrives. Apparently, Hans has sort of rashly decided to help the son of his dead friend. Much pain and suffering and bombs and death and war follow. The writing style is like nothing I have seen before. There are many long, metaphorical sentences. And short ones too. The author, Markus Zusak, is clearly very good at this because the storytelling is awesome. Though I wouldn't recommend this for people in need of short and easy reads, as it takes concentration to read. But overall, I think you should probably read this if you are interested in Germany or historical fiction or a thought-provoking book.
The Book Thief
By Markus Zusak
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 9 - 12 | Grades 3 - 6 | Z+ | 5.1 | 118933 |
The extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller that is now a major motion picture, Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul.
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
Book Reviews (108)
What a beautiful book. No better way to show the ugliness of the Holocaust than to show how it affected those who caused. Touching.
Absolutely wonderful, a touching story of a young girl and her life in Nazi Germany. Beautiful descriptions and likable characters, you won't be able to put this book down! Recommend for grades 5-9 or kids that can handle mature topics.
This is a book about a little Jewish girl who likes to read a story. Her little brother and father died, and her mother abandoned her. So she is staying with her great-aunt's family. Unfortunately, Great-aunt doesn't have any child, so she stays lonely all along. But she became friends with Madame Conget and figures out she have a tone of books. I love this book because it's kind of sand ending (I really enjoy reading the sad ending!) , and I think I and the main character has a lot in common. So read this book and rate it!
I am currently reading this book and I just found out that its on Disney+
I just love this book
I totally agree with this person called pariyansha, she nailed it at describing this book!
The movie is on disney+
I agree with all of you I really loved this book it is amazing the story is so heart warming and so emotional,Liesal gets so attached with Max and I know for sure that she is Rudy Steiners girlfriend she does kiss him in the end !
Love your review I totally agree!🤗🤗😘
This was NOT what I expected. Since I normally don’t read books like this, I wasn’t sure whether I would like this, but The Book Thief simply astounded me with its heartwarming characters and amazing plot. I would definitely recommend this book, because I loved the figurative language that made me feel like I was in the story. Summary: It’s 1939. Germany and many other European countries have been invaded by Adolf Hitler, and a young girl named Liesel Meminger lives in the midst of it all. After her brother died and her mother became too sick to take care of her, she has been taken away to live with foster parents who are nothing like her real family. But Liesel finds joy in the one thing that she loves deeply; books. She steals them from different places, and even though her reading skills aren’t great, she finds many stories that interest her. When her foster family hides a Jewish man named Max in their basement, Liesel finds out that she and Max have a lot more in common than they thought—and the color of your eyes or skin doesn’t determine who you are. In a beautifully woven tale of friendship and fun, Markus Zusak celebrates the triumphs of helping others. Overall, I liked this book, and rate it 4/5 stars.
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“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is an interesting novel. Liesl is an orphan living with her foster parents in Germany. When a boy named Max enters Liesel’s life running from the Nazis, An inspiring part happens. This is when she and Max are together where they are is a warm and cozy place. When they are apart the cellar is dark and gloomy, in Max's perspective. This is inspiring because it shows the importance of being together in hard times. I’ve learned that just because you've lost everything to people, in this case the Nazis, doesn’t mean someone else can’t refill your life. I connect with this book on a small scale because I've made big mistakes and someone’s come along and fixed my mistake. Like, when I broke my grandfather's bird house, he came home and told me that he’d fix it for me. Therefore; this is an inspiring novel to me. The main character, Liesl, in The Book Thief changes a lot over the book. This is true because when Liesel enters the story she is nervous and scared, like when she was terrified to take the book on the ground in front of her when her brother is being buried by her friends. She becomes braver and more risky when she finishes her first book and wants more. Then when she builds up the courage to go to the mayor's house when she's invited she marvels at the library. Later in the town square she steals a book caled The Shoulder Shrug from a Nazi book burning. This shows that she wants more books and is willing to take a huge risk to get them. Many years later WWII ends this allows her to access the books she wants and allows her to calm down her life. She has a family and dies calmly of old age, ending the book. She started out as a nervous little girl and ends as a calm old woman, the book thief Liesl therefore; changes a lot.
I agree with you it is impeccable!