HOL

Title of the book: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Genre: Historical Fiction

What to say about this book? I can tell you this much, by the end, I was glad that the copy I was reading from was a gift because there are tear stains on the pages. It's a story about a young German girl who goes to live with a very poor foster family during World War II. She is unable to read or write when she moves in, but soon enough she discovers a love for books. Not only do we see how books can change and save a person's life, but we also get the story of life during that time in Munich, told through her eyes through the lips of Death. Death also narrates his own story every now and then, and this is one of the things I loved the most about this book. What Death speaks of is heart-wrenching, what he sees (I say he, but perhaps Death is a she, who knows?), and his thoughts on the whole of humanity and war. This is definitely near the top of my highly recommended book list now. While I could have finished this in one day, I also could not have either, and I didn't. This book required me to take breaks because it is very emotional, and truly drags the reader into the story being told. Have tissues handy.

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Genre: YA, Historical
Audience: Young Adult and on

Date finished: 12/12 (re-read)

This was my second visit to Himmel street in Molching, and this time I arrived armed with some tissues and a lot of patience.

While reading World War 2 fiction or watching movies set in that era, I've often wondered how it felt being German in those circumstances. Did they feel safer than anybody else living in the affected countries, secure in the fact that they wre considered the 'superior race'? Was there a clash of conscience when they witnessed the suffering that their own people were causing?

The Book Thief answered a lot of these questions. While the narrator is an entirely neutral (and somewhat detached) party, the majority of the story is told from the perspective of a German girl living in Poland. The entire tale details the way that those in this 'privileged' position struggled with the wave that was sweeping across Europe... and their own battles to stay alive (and human) during those trying times. While Liesel Meminger is at the centre of the tale, there are many more characters that are swept along by the events taking place.

This is a haunting read, one that will stay with you days after you've finished the last page. Like Shi, I had to take quite a few breaks in between, simply because it deals with very emotional subject matter.