I’m going t o come right out and say it , the Book Thief is a literary masterpiece, and should be nominated for the Noble Prize in Literature. It’s that good. The author, Mark Zusak uses a simple approach, with the words he uses, and the tone he sets. He is a gifted wordsmith, who knows when to use metaphors, one word sentences, and how to arrange the sentences in a way that ‘s unpredictable, but satisfying.
The general premise of the story, is about a girl named Liesel, who is given up by her mother, at the eve of World War II. It really tells the story too, of what the German people experienced during the war.
That element , is often left out of what history remembers, as the Nazi’s victims are often given more of the spotlight in today’s history books, more so than the experience of the German people during that time period. But it ‘s not so much a sympathetic depiction of how the Germans were fooled into following Adolf Hitler. More like a sincere look at how the war affected them each individually. For some, they were all too easily swept up in the furor, of “Fuher”.
While a few, most notably, Liesel’s new foster Dad, take the high road, and hold onto their humanity. Even in the most excruciating circumstances, Hans, her new father, would rather hold onto his belief that the Jews are not the enemy. But even his faith is put to the test .
Liesel seems so real to me. More so, than any other character I’ve ever read. Here characters development through out the story, seemed so real, and easy to relate to. It seems so unfair, to see how the war affected the children of Germany. They didn’t start it , but that fact didn’t exclude them from living through the consequences.
I’ve often wondered, when looking at pictures of bombed out cities, what life was like for the inhabitants. What their hopes, and day to day problems were. There is a very poignant part in the story, that really illustrates for me, what I have always wondered about these bombed out cities. There are some really sad parts in “The Book Thief “, but there is also a lot of hope too.
Hope, that humanity can live on, if only in a handful of people, in the face of such dire
circumstances. These people may not be the most educated, or the most sophisticated.
Just average people, working, living their lives, trying to do whats right , while everyone around
them is doing the exact opposite, and calling it right . That is the madness they lived in.
I didn’t look up t he author, until I was about half way through the book. When I saw his picture, I was surprised, thinking all along, it must have been written by some one much older. He states in his bio at the end of the book, that he always start s each book, thinking it ‘s going to mean something to him. This book it turns out , means everything to him.
