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Books : The Book Thief
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Rating: 
- Engaging, well paced, but also immature and stylistically flawed
Not just essentially a children's book, but a rather immaturely written novel, centring on a warm-hearted German family in a small village near Munich around the time of WWII. The narrator is Death, which is an interesting device, since it allows a useful distance, almost an innocence, to reign over the proceedings. But I don't believe this device was fully worked out, as one never really understands how Death works - is he omnipotent, as is implied in some places, or almost completely ignorant, as is implied in others? Also, Death allows the novel to talk a lot about "souls" and "hearts", which seriously weakened it for me. The plot is well-paced, very engaging, and includes some fascinating, believable details about the hardships of trying to survive amidst the war - for these reasons I did enjoy reading the novel, and was even moved in places. However, it's also rather sentimental, shies away from the full brutality of events, and constantly borders on the simplistic. The style is too fussy, too inventive, and some of the language is just ridiculous in its attempts to generate vivid metaphors. There are many other semi-adult books out there that deal with WWII and the holocaust so much better (Maus particularly springs to mind).
Rating:
- A Fantastic Read
I have wanted to read this book for sometime and I have to say it did not disappoint. This is a great story from a very unique perspective. Although sometimes harrowing reading, having Death narrating from a childs perspective is very interesting. I found myself laughing one minute and upset the next. You do have to concentrate on the book as it does jump from one story to another but well worth the read. I cried my eyes out at the end at the characters jump out the page and by end you feel as if you personally know them. Would highly recommend
Rating: - Absolutely beautifully written
I picked this book up because it was in a 3 for 2 offer and I wanted something new to get into. Initially I was unsure how well Zusak would be able to pull off writing not only Nazi Germany, but from such an unusual perspective, but he achieves it absolutely beautifully.
Set in Nazi Germany, "The Book Thief" tells the story of Liesel Meminger, an evacuee sent to live with foster parents, narrated by Death. Sounds simple enough, but events take an interesting turn when her foster parents decide to hide a Jew in their basement.
Every time I read this book I read it as slowly as possible, because the sentences are simply beautiful. Even had I not enjoyed the story itself I would still have adored Zusak's prose - some of it reads almost like poetry, so clear and strong are the images. The scenes in which Death describes his workload are stunning. Every character feels utterly real, with even Death seeming to be a living creature, and the ending makes me cry every time - for me, it is heartbreaking. I hope a film is never made based on this book, because I don't think it could do it justice.
If you are looking for something beautiful and compelling, that will stay with you long after you turn the final page, I absolutely recommend this book.
Rating: - WOW !
I want to make this short and simple. Honestly... READ IT !!!!! Simply one of the best books I have read in a long while. I finished "The Book Thief" after having just taken off from Amsterdam beginning my summer Holiday to Mexico. My partner immediately swooped up the book and began reading. He is one of those power readers and by the time we reached our destination he was in awe and was not to be disturbed by the immigration officials.
Really grabs humanity and gives it a good shaking.
Rating:
- Stunningly Different
This book will not be to everyone's taste but let me say that I found it stunningly different from the type of book I'd usually read. Initially the narrative seems strange but equally it's immediately compelling and I loved the way Death told us the story of the book thief. It's a profoundly moving story and is even more so because of the writing style.
Childhood innocence, adult brutality, love, loss, thievery, humanity, faith and death are all here and I define anyone not to fall in love with this special little girl.
Perhaps once or twice in a lifetime does a book move you in this way - it will stay with you for days afterwards.
- Engaging, well paced, but also immature and stylistically flawedNot just essentially a children's book, but a rather immaturely written novel, centring on a warm-hearted German family in a small village near Munich around the time of WWII. The narrator is Death, which is an interesting device, since it allows a useful distance, almost an innocence, to reign over the proceedings. But I don't believe this device was fully worked out, as one never really understands how Death works - is he omnipotent, as is implied in some places, or almost completely ignorant, as is implied in others? Also, Death allows the novel to talk a lot about "souls" and "hearts", which seriously weakened it for me. The plot is well-paced, very engaging, and includes some fascinating, believable details about the hardships of trying to survive amidst the war - for these reasons I did enjoy reading the novel, and was even moved in places. However, it's also rather sentimental, shies away from the full brutality of events, and constantly borders on the simplistic. The style is too fussy, too inventive, and some of the language is just ridiculous in its attempts to generate vivid metaphors. There are many other semi-adult books out there that deal with WWII and the holocaust so much better (Maus particularly springs to mind).
Rating:
- A Fantastic ReadI have wanted to read this book for sometime and I have to say it did not disappoint. This is a great story from a very unique perspective. Although sometimes harrowing reading, having Death narrating from a childs perspective is very interesting. I found myself laughing one minute and upset the next. You do have to concentrate on the book as it does jump from one story to another but well worth the read. I cried my eyes out at the end at the characters jump out the page and by end you feel as if you personally know them. Would highly recommend
Rating:
- Absolutely beautifully writtenI picked this book up because it was in a 3 for 2 offer and I wanted something new to get into. Initially I was unsure how well Zusak would be able to pull off writing not only Nazi Germany, but from such an unusual perspective, but he achieves it absolutely beautifully.
Set in Nazi Germany, "The Book Thief" tells the story of Liesel Meminger, an evacuee sent to live with foster parents, narrated by Death. Sounds simple enough, but events take an interesting turn when her foster parents decide to hide a Jew in their basement.
Every time I read this book I read it as slowly as possible, because the sentences are simply beautiful. Even had I not enjoyed the story itself I would still have adored Zusak's prose - some of it reads almost like poetry, so clear and strong are the images. The scenes in which Death describes his workload are stunning. Every character feels utterly real, with even Death seeming to be a living creature, and the ending makes me cry every time - for me, it is heartbreaking. I hope a film is never made based on this book, because I don't think it could do it justice.
If you are looking for something beautiful and compelling, that will stay with you long after you turn the final page, I absolutely recommend this book.
Rating:
- WOW !I want to make this short and simple. Honestly... READ IT !!!!! Simply one of the best books I have read in a long while. I finished "The Book Thief" after having just taken off from Amsterdam beginning my summer Holiday to Mexico. My partner immediately swooped up the book and began reading. He is one of those power readers and by the time we reached our destination he was in awe and was not to be disturbed by the immigration officials.
Really grabs humanity and gives it a good shaking.
Rating:
- Stunningly DifferentThis book will not be to everyone's taste but let me say that I found it stunningly different from the type of book I'd usually read. Initially the narrative seems strange but equally it's immediately compelling and I loved the way Death told us the story of the book thief. It's a profoundly moving story and is even more so because of the writing style.
Childhood innocence, adult brutality, love, loss, thievery, humanity, faith and death are all here and I define anyone not to fall in love with this special little girl.
Perhaps once or twice in a lifetime does a book move you in this way - it will stay with you for days afterwards.