Tolog Review: The Book Thief

The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
reviewed by Julia Yellen

Mark Zusak's nontraditional historical fiction novel, The Book Thief, illustrates a nine-year-old girl’s hectic life growing up in Nazi Germany at the height of World War II. The book journeys through multiple perspectives and exposes the horrors of war.

The story starts with Death as the narrator, surprisingly with a compassionate and understanding voice, who sympathizes for his victims. Death has an uncanny interest in a poor German girl named Liesel Merminger, who has been robbed by life. Her brother dies in her arms, her father is dead, and her mother, a communist, deserts her. To take revenge on life, Liesel accomplishes her first act of thievery at her brother’s funeral when she steals “The Grave Digger’s Handbook”— “the beginning of an illustrious career” (Zusak 29). She is later forced to live with a foster family named the Hubermanns, consisting of a harsh, yet caring foster mother named Rosa and an accordion-playing, cigar-smoking foster father named Hans. Her new home is a loving refuge: a blessing in disguise. When Liesel is nightmare ridden, Hans comforts her every night by teaching her how to read her stolen book. The two form a strong bond as Liesel falls in love with words. She uses the book as an escape to heal the wounds inflicted by life. Inspired greatly by the power of words, Liesel— the notorious “Book Thief"— strikes again at a Nazi book burning event, desperate to learn and read more. There, she makes food and book stealing an exciting habit with her best friend, Rudy Steiner, when they take from the mayor’s wife, Ilsa’s library and from their local farm. But Liesel’s entire world is flipped upside-down when Hans hides a Jewish refugee named Max in his basement. Liesel develops a powerful relationship with Max, bonding over their passions for books. Liesel and everyone in her life struggle to survive in a world overcome by evil and prejudice as they learn the power of acceptance and love.

The Book Thief captivates readers with a symphony of wonderfully worded, poetic and figurative language with metaphoric and symbolic allusions throughout. Its enthralling and breathtaking plot is beautifully structured and well thought-out. Skillfully narrated, Zusak offers the perfect amount of suspense, masterfully foreshadowing important connections between events and characters and keeping me on the edge of my seat the entire time. He uses vivid imagery that makes readers feel like they are in Liesel’s shoes, exploring Molching themselves. The author takes readers on an adventure through serious warlike problems and a suspenseful, inspiring, and fascinating story of a courageous girl. Using Death as the storyteller, Zusak immediately stimulates curiosity and hooks and amuses readers with dark humor. The Book Thief possesses interesting and unique characters who make readers' hearts melt as they hope for the best. Characters like Liesel are inspiring and strong, despite all that they’ve gone through. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, long, detailed books, poetic language and powerful characters. The Book Thief is a touching story (that even Death can love) about using the power of words for good— to create friendships, save lives and spread love.