Books : The Book Thief

Rating: - Whelp, Read this if you have time and a heart.
A college friend of mine raved about this book, saying how good death was in it...

I saw it surprisingly in the kids section of the shop i bought it from and read it.
It does have its moments that make you want to smile... but also there are times that you as a reader may want to cry or throw the book away in frustration...
The narrator occasionally adds sarcastic or witty insight to things which add the humerous slant to this book, but there are times when you feel you either have to read on.. and wish you didnt becase you dont want to know.. but you need to know what happens next.

This book is in a few words bitter sweet.

I would say this is more of an adults book and... well, although it is revolving around a little girl, there are themes there and other characters that are older and you need the insight and maturity of ages to understand the true extent of the happenings.
The book revolves around one area and a small one of the Holocaust, it isnt as dramatic as Anne Frank, (well it wouldnt be since the lead isnt a Jewish girl, [within reason]) but there are still times where you want to pull the characters out of the situations they are in to hug them and protect them.

I kept reading and was glad i did, I am more of a Darren Shan and Eoin Colfer reader, but there was something about this book that was beyond the fantasy books i read, or even some of the others i have.

There isnt much else i can say beside read the book, even if you borrow it from a library, this is for many people i know, worth the read.

---

Rating: - A page turner
What a fantastic holiday read! One extremely practical advantage was that the chapters are quite short (very handy when your kids are having a short nap!). Although this story is far-removed from my life, the author made me believe I was part of that story . I felt I personally knew the main characters and could empathize with one character in particular. I think that depending on your own life experience and/or personality, you will find at least one character you will identify with. It's a story that evokes strong emotions.

---

Rating: - Different
From the first page, I was captivated - caught up in the flow and swept along. The story is simple and well told (bearing in mind that it was written for children). Having Death as the narrator isn't a new concept, but the thought-provoking images created from time to time within the narrative were intriguing by their peculiarity. Although some reviewers have described the style as pretentious, I didn't find it so: more an oddity of style that stopped short of pretention, and entirely appropriate to the tale being told.

I stayed up way too late on several nights with this book, and only reluctantly put it down.

---

Rating: - Love it!
What an amazing read! I found the first 30 pages a bit weird, since the book is narrated by death, but once the book becomes solely about the adopted daughter of a german family during WW2, living in Germany, I couldn't put it down.

The author had researched the underlying subject matter thoroughly and wrote a realistic impression of WWII.

A highly recommended read!

---

Rating: - Quirky, original and beautifully written
Unaware of any "hype" surrounding this book I bought it on a whim a few months ago. Picking it up last week I was totally gripped and couldn't put it down. Unlike previous reviewers I did not find anything about this story depressing. Parts are very sad but always there is a sense of hope. All the characters are determined to survive. They make the best of the circumstances. The community of Himmel Street could be any British street from the same time - with more Nazis, obviously!

The book is narrated by Death so from the outset expect people to die. If this upsets you easily this is not the book for you. If you do not enjoy WWII stories then this is not the book for you.

For me this is the best book I have read in years.