Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Date: 2007
Pages: 576
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN: 978-0375842207
A book narrated by
death – not a typical narrator. And death has a sense of humor and
compassion for the book thief, Liesel who stole her first book at the
grave-site of her brother. A handbook for grave diggers. When her
mother sends her to a foster family, she meets a compatriot in her
foster father, a painter and violinist. Her foster mother is rough
and sharp tongued, but strong and smart. Liesel becomes frenemies
with Rudy and is teased at school for being uneducated. With
various traumas surfacing each night in her dreams, her foster father
begins midnight reading lessons. Liesel learns the power of words
and wielding word in WWII Germany as Hilter begins his campaign
against Jewish people. Because of an old promise to her foster
father, the family hides a Jewish man, Max, who also befriends Liesel
and builds new stories with her. As Germany rises and falls,
Liesel's childhood is filled with unique characters, the illicit
pleasure of stealing forbidden books, and treading a fine line of
secrecy and discovery. Being a book narrated by death, the body
count is not unexpected but it is still difficult to comprehend. The
author uses a very interesting tone and style throughout the book
that at first was distracting but became comfortable over the first
few chapters. It was originally intended as a young adult book, yet
because of the movie released in 2013, the book has been taken up by
adult reading groups.
Here is some
background and discussion questions from One Book, One Chicago 2012
Other discussion
questions from LitLovers
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