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• 4 people find this helpful

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  • I loved this book! I found it slow going at times, but overall and in the end I loved it. Markus Zusak is a wonderful author, I can't wait to see what he does next. Death, the narrator, wa a unique and interesting perspective. Liesel's love for words and books was especially interesting and nice to ... Continue

    I loved this book! I found it slow going at times, but overall and in the end I loved it. Markus Zusak is a wonderful author, I can't wait to see what he does next. Death, the narrator, wa a unique and interesting perspective. Liesel's love for words and books was especially interesting and nice to see.

    

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• ― SheReads said on Mar 5, 2007 about the Hardcover edition| 1 feedback| 1 feedback

• 2 people find this helpful

  • The words

  • "There would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing."

    This is the complete book, covering the wide range of emotions that will leave you laughing and then crying. A beautiful examination of love in Nazi Germany while the world spins out of control. Everyon ... Continue

    "There would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing."

    This is the complete book, covering the wide range of emotions that will leave you laughing and then crying. A beautiful examination of love in Nazi Germany while the world spins out of control. Everyone should read this, it will touch your heart.

    

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• ― MoirneStark said on Aug 12, 2008 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  • Powerful

  • Not what I expected...technically a YA novel, I think it would be the rare young adult who could really appreciate the depth of emotion found here. Zusak personifies death as the narrator of his searing story of Nazi Germany. My dad was an American m.p. in Germany from 1943-45. There are pictures of ... Continue

    Not what I expected...technically a YA novel, I think it would be the rare young adult who could really appreciate the depth of emotion found here. Zusak personifies death as the narrator of his searing story of Nazi Germany. My dad was an American m.p. in Germany from 1943-45. There are pictures of him smoking a pipe & writing letters among the rubble of bombed out cities. It has given me a whole new perspective.

    

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• ― Marion the librarian said on Mar 10, 2009 about the Hardcover edition| Add your feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  • 

  • "Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness." - my favorite line from the book

    

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• ― Amusaur83 said on Jun 6, 2008 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • it's a bit of a slow start (it's hard to gauge where the book is going to go at first), but it becomes really gripping while still making you stop and think - that is, it's a real page-turner, but not the sort that has you flipping pages without really reading.
    I've seen this around as a middle ... Continue

    it's a bit of a slow start (it's hard to gauge where the book is going to go at first), but it becomes really gripping while still making you stop and think - that is, it's a real page-turner, but not the sort that has you flipping pages without really reading.
    I've seen this around as a middle school recommendation. It's really sophisticated, though, and I think it's appropriate for high school students too. For example, Death is the narrator, and the reader would need a good general sense of WWII history (to catch a lot of the references). It's wonderfully written and the characters are very well-developed. The array of characters is so varied, and virtually none of them are only what meets the eye. Of course, as an adult - I thought this book was GREAT.
    An interesting conversation would be why the author chose The Book Thief as the title.

    

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• ― gg said on Apr 23, 2008 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • Very unusual writing style and mostly interesting read.

    

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• ― Deanna Kyre said on Apr 9, 2008 | Add your feedback

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel 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 before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.


From the Hardcover edition.

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• 21st Century Literature-FictionholocaustHitler YouthNazisbook burningfoster childhistorical fictionreadingsurvivalkleptomania
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