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Sunday, May 3
Format: Hardcover
Description
This anniversary edition of the extraordinary 1 New York Times bestseller features pages of bonus content, including marked-up manuscript pages, original sketches, and pages from the author's writing notebook. “Life- changing.” —The New York Times When Death has a story to tell, you listen. 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. “Deserves a place on the same shelf with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.” —USA Today Read more
Publisher : Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication date : March 8, 2016
Edition : 10th Anniversary ed.
Language : English
Print length : 592 pages
ISBN-10 : 1101934182
ISBN-13 : 80
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Reading age : 11+ years, from customers
Dimensions : 6.36 x 1.77 x 9.33 inches
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Top Amazon Reviews
The ‘Book Thief’ is set in Germany during World War 2 where being a Nazi was displayed in every street. The book focuses on the main character Liesel Meminger who has just lost her brother while on the way to being given away to a foster family in the town Molching with Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Once Liesel settles into her foster family she explores her town and meets other people including her best friend Rudy Steiner which then leads to her exploring her interest in books which “coincidentally” connects to the book title. Liesels life gets a big obstacle when Max Vadenburg, who is a Jewish man, comes into Liesel's home and he has to hide in her basement while the family is already being suspected of being against Nazi views. The Book Thief explores challenges Liesel has to face and tragedies that occur due to living under Nazi rule. Overall there wasn’t anything I disliked about this book and I think a huge part of it was because of how much I liked the scenes given to us along with the characters. For example, the book-burning scene is strong as we see the people's ability to learn the truth being taken away. At the same time, we also see Liesel being rebellious when she steals a book from the ashes, marking a quiet rebellion against the Nazis. Then we have heartwarming scenes in the book like when Hans Hubermann teaches Liesel how to read. Then we are given the friendship of Liesel and Max who is the Jewish man in her basement, they have a touching relationship as Liesel treats him kindly and their connection grows stronger when he gives her a hand-drawn book. Since this book brings both dark, strong, and heartwarming scenes you can’t complain about not getting one of them. I feel like this is done because the book is narrated by Death, Death doesn’t focus on the negative, it's only made to tell Liesel's story. The characters in the book are characters you wouldn’t forget because they each have their traits. Liesel who is the main character stands out the most because of how rebellious she is even during the Nazi time and we’re able to see her figure out who she is during this time while having to go through obstacles. The way each character was written is a reason why I didn’t dislike this book because you never get bored with them, even if you seem to hate them, they’ll still give you a reaction. [SPOILER ALERT] In the end, the book is a book I'll never forget but it’s because of the tragic ending it has in which the town Liesel lives in gets bombed and Liesel loses almost everyone she loves, excluding the Jewish man Max in the basement. It’s a heartbreaking tragedy that will most likely get you to tear up or even cry (I cried) Markus Zusak has a writing style that is one you never see in other books because he was able to write this book in the narration of Death. With the book being told by Death you are already given foreshadows of what will happen in the book but it’s also an explanation of why the book has a dark tone while also being neutral because Death isn’t on either side, it’s only there to collect and observe. Then the book is slow paced which is what allowed us to get a deeper connection with the characters and the author gave us many scenes that either gave us a wake-up call on what each character had to go through or gave us details on what made each character them. Aside from the author's being able to write the book as if they’re Death, the characters are what made the storyline, without them the setting in Nazi Germany wouldn’t have had such a strong impact. Nazi Germany was already a tough time to live in but the author adding a Jewish character that they had to hide made the storyline more interesting. Aside from the Jewish character, Markus made other unique characters and each has their own story that makes you either like them or not. For example, Rosa Hubermann who you can say is Liesel's foster mom, has a strong personality where she comes off as rude and it seems she doesn’t have much care towards Liesel or her husband Hans Hubermann. Throughout the story and especially in the end the author lets us get a deeper sense of her personality and that she truly cares for her husband and Liesel. The actions that she does are made to help her family even if they seem as harsh as she just wants to protect them and keep them afloat. Then her husband, Hans Hubbermann is a character that was made for everyone to love, Hans doesn’t show any dislike towards Liesel and is the one to help her settle in and learn more about the world. In the book, Hans helps Liesel learn to read which helps Liesel's obsession with reading books. The author did an awesome job of making Hans a caring father figure for Liesel which did not help with [SPOILER ALERT] seeing Hans die at the end. Then we have the main character Liesel Meminger whose unique character was created because of what’s been thrown onto her life like losing her brother, being sent away to a foster family, and having to adapt to the Nazi world and being careful of what she does and says. What makes her even more interesting is her rebellious nature, like her stealing the books and she even goes onto stealing food with her new friend Rudy. The characterization was incredible in this book and it’s why it’s so well written and something you don’t see in other books. For ‘The Book Thief’, if you’re a reader who enjoys slower-paced books and stories that connect to World War Two you would enjoy this book a lot as the plot is based on Nazi Germany. There is a lot of historical context, so if you’re a history nerd it’ll be easier to get through this book. Aside from the plot being based on Nazi Germany, the book has a lot of poetic writing and powerful scenes that aren’t action filled but shows a lot of symbolism. It’s similar to books like ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ and the show ‘Anne with an E’ or the movie Jojo Rabbit’. Then those who may dislike this book are readers who like fast-paced books and prefer books that have actual action fighting scenes like ‘Percy Jackson’. This book has a lot of poetic phrases and words that have deep meanings because of the tragic theme. Readers who don’t like heavy-themed books and prefer books that have jokes and light themes wouldn’t like this book either. Overall this book goes through the story of Liesel Meminger who had to live through the time of Nazi Germany and having to adapt to her foster family.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2025 by Yeni
I purchased this book on my Kindle, which I totally love - but its one downside is that you can't pass a book along to somebody else when you're done with it. If I'd known how much I'd want to share this book, I would have bought a paper copy. I might actually go ahead buy a few copies just so I can share them. I heard the following explanation of why it's in the "Teen Literature" genre (I don't know if this explanation is correct, but it makes sense): It was originally published in Australia in the normal "Literature" genre, and was fully intended for an adult audience. When the publisher brought it to America, though, they decided that books in the Literature genre don't sell as well here and it would get more exposure in the "Young Adult" and "Teen" market, so they threw it in there to make more money. I think probably every teen SHOULD read this, in the same way they should all read The Diary of Anne Frank, but I doubt it will appeal to many of them. Certainly not to the same crowd of teens that's gone crazy recently over Twilight and Harry Potter before that. It's the (fictional, but very true-to-life) story of a young girl raised by foster parents in Germany during World War II. Her family is hiding a Jew, and so is in constant danger of being discovered by the Nazis. (In this way, it's reminiscent of The Diary of Anne Frank but told from a completely different perspective.) Interestingly, the story is actually narrated by Death. Death himself is very much a character in the book even though he takes no direct hand in the plot other than quietly and compassionately collecting souls when their time comes. He interjects his own opinions and notes throughout. (At first these interjections seemed distracting, but before long they became one of my favorite aspects of the book.) By tying such a narrator so closely to the story the author ensures that the right mood is maintained throughout. The author's concept of an personified Death is very different than the ones we are used to. In one parenthetical statement Death even alludes to his more classic personification when he comments, "I like this human idea of the grim reaper. I like the scythe. It amuses me." The main character of the book is Liesel. Everything she's ever had, even her family, has been taken from her, so early on in the book (the first chapter or two, if I recall), in attempt to have anything at all that is hers, she steals a book left accidentally on the ground by an apprentice grave digger just after the funeral of her younger brother. It's "The Gravedigger's Handbook". She can't read, and has no idea of what the book is - it's just one of the only things in the world that is hers now, so she hides it away like a treasure. When her foster father finds it, he realizes that she'd like to learn how to read. Being too poor to afford any other book, they use that one to teach her. He's hesitant about the subject matter but, in a wonderful illustration of the character's optimism in the face of even the most depressing situation he laughs and tells her as they get started, "Well, promise me one thing Liesel. If I die any time soon, you make sure they bury me right. No skipping chapter six or step four in chapter nine." The Gravedigger's Handbook becomes the first of several books that she steals, and the story tells how each one changes her life. This is the first fictional novel to ever actually make me cry. A few times throughout the book I realized I was about to let loose a tear, but I managed to get through those without actually crying. (Typical male: Just had to man-up, ya know?) But then, as I finished it, my face was literally wet. It's an amazingly moving book. In addition to the tears, it also made me laugh in a lot of places, made me happy and inspired in a lot of places, and just generally ran the gamut of human emotion. I've never had a book affect me like that, and certainly not one that I knew was fictional. (But just because it's fictional doesn't mean it isn't full of truth. It shows many of the horrors of war in such realistic terms that you'd swear it could only be written by somebody in Anne Frank's position.) I've always felt for the Jews who were persecuted during that war, but this book has given me a whole new appreciation for the few German citizens who were brave enough to protect some of these persecuted people, the ones who were wise enough to recognize the Nazi propaganda against the Jews for what it was, and who were human enough to risk their lives and families to do what they could do to help the oppressed. As far as actual objective quality of writing, I wouldn't go so far as to say that The Book Thief is written as well as a few others I've read. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett comes to mind as one with higher quality writing, as does The Archer's Tale by Bernard Cornwell. But the writing here is incredibly poetic in many places, and when it comes to grabbing your emotions and making you feel like you're living in the story, I've never seen another book as well-done. Because I'd heard it was in the Teen section of the bookstore, I started it very skeptically, and it took a while for me to get used to the very odd narrative style - but by the time I was a third of the way through I was completely hooked. Whoever it was at the publishing company who decided to call it "Teen Literature" needs to be strung up by the thumbs. I'll admit that if every teen read this book during their most impressionable years then it would probably make the world a better place because more of them would grow up into people who want to actively avoid war. But I doubt that many teens have the social maturity to really appreciate all that this book has to offer. I know there are many who do, and those that do have my complete respect, and I hope this book finds them. But the adult market is a far more appropriate venue for this book that I can only hope becomes regarded as a classic in years to come.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2010 by Marshall G