For the first semester, I decided to read The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. This coming of age novel was 550 pages, which included pages filled with drawings and scribbles to provide the thought processes of the secondary character. Interestingly, the narrator of this historical fiction is Death.
Liesel Miminger is the main character who was a foster child, but gets adopted by a German family, the Hubermanns. Little does the outside world know, the Hubermanns are hiding a Jewish man in their basement.
Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the book before the quarter ended, but from what I read, the Hubermanns were helping Lisel become a fine young lady. Hans Hubermann taught Lisel how to read, write, and confront her fears. As Lisel fell in love with books, Hans discovered that she stole three books. Hans, a new father, understood Liesel’s obsession with books since she was ripped apart from everything in her past life. Thankfully, he let her keep them without punishment.
The writing, for the most part, was extremely poetic. Throughout the entire novel, Zusak incorporated German words to teach the readers the new words Liesel is learning. For the poetic passages, it was pleasing to interrupt them because some passages connected to true events, and foreshadowing events.
I liked this novel, and wished I finished it, because of how Death saw Liesel’s life. The way Death explained every step of her life seemed like Death had a strong connection to this child. Although Death is suppose to be the “Devil”, Death acts like a “guardian angel.”
I would only recommend The Book Thief to anyone who prefers historical fiction and poetry. There weren't many plot twists, and there was plenty of grief. The book is meant to feel sad, but it is also meant to carve the way to overcome sadness.
Sabrina Cazares
I have also read this book and each part of the book was very touching. Although the book was very sad, I did enjoy it. What part did you get to read to?
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this book. I think I read this book for school when entering into my seventh grade year. It was really sad, but also very real and I think that because the story was based off of true events, I was able to connect to it and understand more of what was going on. I also watched the movie and both were just very eye opening as to what Germany was really like in this time period.
ReplyDeleteI've read this book a long time ago and I loved it. From beginning to end the book consisted of events that kept you on your toes on what was going to happen . I liked how this book consists of true events and gives a peak into what happened during that time. I loved the emotions the characters felt even if it wasn't an happy ending. I would love to read this book again.
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