The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Title: The Book Thief 
Author: Markus Zusak
Pages: 552 pages
Published: March 14th, 2006 
Genre: Historical Fiction 
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.

So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dadangerousimes. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Marcus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

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After an endless amount of recommendations and a horde of crazy fangirling teenagers, I decided to pick up the historical fiction novel, The Book Thief. I'm slightly impressed by how much I enjoyed this book. It's been a goal of mine to read more of the genres I tend to neglect. So I guess, here's to historical fiction being my new favorite genre!

Historical fiction is the perfect genre to be reading during the winter time. It was time for me to finally read this book. I had to take some thorough notes for this book because I haven't read historical fiction in so long. I don't quite remember how to comprehend what I'm reading. 

The Unique Narrator The narrator of this book was Death. And although it's not totally given to us that it certainly is Death, it is definitely implied that it is some spiritual being close to the Grim Reaper. When we first think about WWI and the regime of Hitler, the first think we think about is death. Therefore, I think it was quite appropriate Mr. Zusak to tell the story from a POV that was well familiar with death and was even perhaps associated with it. 

The Writing I don't think I've ever read such ingenious writing before. The writing flowed perfectly and even though this was a quite lengthy book, I had no trouble flying through it. The title chapters foreshadowed what the next part of the story would be about. And the power of his words made the tense times in the story very nerve-racking and the elated parts in the book very enjoyable.

The Characters If you were to take all of these characters and drop them into different books, they wouldn't fit well with that book because Marcus Zusak's class are utterly phenomenal and unique. They were meant to be in this book and in within its story. There wasn't a single dull moment for either of them. And throughout the book I had to say that my favorite character was Hans Hubberman, the foster father of the main protagonist. He was oddly the most considerate character I've ever read about in a book and he was selfless, putting Liesel's needs before his own. 

The Historical Aspects I think the fact that this book was interwoven with the time period of the early 1940's was really unique. Because in the early 1940's there was so much going on in history, like WWI and, of course, there was Adolf Hitler. Whether Marcus Suzak actually experience this time in period or did the proper research, the historical facts were superbly intertwined with the story of the book. I couldn't help but enjoy reading about it. 

The Feels Back and forth, left and right, this book made me shatter and curl myself up into a ball! Don't read this book if you weren't mentally stable for The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I couldn't help crying at the end. And for anyone who has read this, what did you think about that ending? 

After I finished the book I immediately went to watch the movie on my computer. In all honestly I loved the book a little bit more. I think it's probably safe to say that The Book Thief was my favorite read of 2014.






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16 comments

  1. This book is amazing, the execution was flawless and the EMOTIONS. THE FEELS. SO MUCH. Great review :)

    Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books

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    1. OMG U READ IT!! HAHA it was so good. I'm never doubting anyone that tells me to read Historical Fiction... ever again!

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    2. I finished it when I was subbing, and I cried so hard. The kids looked at me like I had three heads. lol

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    3. HAHA Crying is normal when reading books. I was reading TFIOS on a road trip during the Summer and I remember bursting in tears in the car. My parents had to get off the car and ask me what was wrong so I said to them... "My book ended."

      And I guess you could say they were looking at me like I had three heads as well!

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  2. I love this book so much. I just followed you on Bloglovin' and had you disliked this book I probably wouldn't have subscribed. This is one of the most unique and emotional books I have ever read. Your review was great but there was just one very minor detail wrong: the book is set during WW2 not WW1. I'm just letting you know because someone might come along and point it out you like a history Nazi. What kind of person would ever do that...Oh.

    Anyway, I just started a blog of my own (http://leaf-on-the-breeze.blogspot.ie/) and I'd really appreciate it if you could check it out, give me some advice on how to improve and, hopefully subscribe. In any case your blog looks great.

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    1. This is probably one of the greatest comments I've ever gotten on a blog post. OMG Thanks for correcting me LOL I know I'm not a history buff and that makes me very sad D:

      I will most definitely check out your blog and follow you back. Thanks for taking your time to visit and read deeply into my review. It means so much, and I'm touched. ILYSM :D

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    2. No problem! Thanks for following the comment, I really appreciate it.

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  3. My uncle, aunt, grandma and I all talked about this book on Christmas. My uncle bought it for my grandma last year, even though I had offered it to her before. :( Anyways, she read it and loved it, and then my aunt wanted to borrow it. We all had to start it multiple times before actually really getting into it, so that was funny.

    I'm just really jealous because now my grandma has a beautiful hardcover, and I have a beat up paperback because I had to read it for a college class and that's all my dad could find.

    Erin @ The Hardcover Lover

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    1. She has a hardcover??? SAY WHAT NOW!! I must find this beautiful hardcover and purchase it!

      I'm really glad you loved this book because it deserves all its praise. It was such a heart-warming book that had a huge impact on me. I tend to neglect historical fiction sometimes because I'm afraid I won't get what the book is talking about (I'm not a major history buff). But I do like the feeling that I get after I read historical fiction books, a sense of beauty and warmth. Thanks for visiting Erin!

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  4. I can't believe I haven't read this book... yet! *goes to corner and hides in shame* I've heard so much about it, from everyone, so hopefully I'll pick it up next year :)

    http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/christmas-book-haul.html

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    1. it's ok! I felt the same way until I picked it up. Don't be ashamed or pressured and read at your own will :D

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  5. I have yet to read this book, it sounds really amazing though - I will try next month hopefully - great review!

    Benish | Feminist Reflections

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    1. If you do read this book, I look forward to hearing your thoughts. There might be a lot of positive reviews on this book but they are all so different, and I love reading about what that certain person loved so much about this book. For me, it was the characters that seemed to be so realistic I found myself talking to them -.-

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  6. I read this one just this year. The ending was... gut-wrenching. But I still liked the book. Having Death as a narrator was a really interesting choice.

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    1. Yes and it's like the only book I've read with Death as the narrator which makes it so unique!

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  7. There are not enough words within me to express the beauty of this book. It will move you to laughter and tears, often at the same time. This one is a keeper that I will revisit frequently in the future. It has changed my soul. Highly, highly, highly recommended.

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