The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

The image of death dancing on the spine of the book intrigued me immediately, but it took me many months to finally buy and read this book. The style of the first few pages was novel, partly because they were narrated by death, and partly because the words were presented in some odd ways, but I wasn't sure that I really wanted to read 550 pages in such an odd style. After all, 'different' doesn't necessarily imply 'good to read'. Finally, I spotted it on a shelf in a charity shop and read the first few chapters without stopping. I couldn't resist it anymore, but would I regret the impulsive ... more

The Book Thief The Author Markus Zusak is an Australian writer. He is the son of an Austrian father and a German mother. Jews were marched through the small German town where his mother grew up and he was inspired by stories like this, that he heard when he was growing up. For anyone that is interested, here is a link for an interview with the author about how he came to write the book - http://motherdaughterbookclub.com/2010/0​2/interview-with-markus-zusak-author-of-​the-book-thief-and-i-am-the-messenger/ ********************************* *********** Come with me and I'll tell you a story ... more

PLOT The Book Thief is set in Nazi Germany and narrated by Death itself, who follows the story of a young girl, Liesel Meminger as she goes to live with a foster family after being abandoned by her mother and witnesses the death of her younger brother. During her time with Hubermann family, she makes a number of close friends, including a Jew, Max who seeks protection in the Hubermanns' basement. Through her friendship with Max, the guidance of her foster father, Hans and the taking of her first book found on the ground of her brothers graveside, Liesel learns to read and finds a passion like ... more

I had read so many good reviews about The Book Thief and so when I first came to read this book I was a bit disappointed. After the first few pages I put it down as I didn't enjoy the writing style, and the book didn't immediately draw me in. Despite this, many months later I decided to give the book a second chance, this time making sure I got at least one chapter in. I am glad I did this, because this book is one of the best I've ever read. The Author Markus Zusak is an Australian author; he grew up hearing stories about Nazi Germany, the bombing of Munich and the marching of Jews through ... more

The book thief I had heard so many good reviews about this book and kept seeing it be on the 'book of the week' shelf at my local library that I decided it was about time I read it to see what the fuss was all about. I didn't have any expectations about the story except that I was hoping it would be one of them books which leaves you thinking about it long after finishing it. Only a few books have this effect on me and so I knew it was a bit of a rarity to find one that would but because of what I had heard from many people about this book being so amazing I was hoping that this would be the ... more