After the last book I got from Dymocks' top 100 list, I picked this one up with some trepidation since it came from the same list. The Book Thief is the story of a German girl growing up in Nazi Germany through World War II, and is narrated by Death. Yes, Death. Sound depressing enough?
Surprisingly, although at times it is incredibly sad, it isn't depressing because it demonstrates both the potential for great goodness and great evil that exists in human nature. It explores the incredible moral conflicts faced by ordinary Germans in the face of a regime that ruthlessly punished dissension. Extra special punishments were reserved for those who helped the Jews.
Zusak tells of the Hubermann's bid to shelter a Jew from the death camps from the perspective of their adopted child Liesel. I thought the language and writing style was excellent, and very poetic:
A young man was hung by a rope of Stalingrad snow.
Rosa Hubermann, who looked like a small wardrobe with a coat thrown over it.
Zusak is an Australian born in Sydney. He published the book in Australia as regular fiction, but it has been marketed overseas as young-adult fiction. That is an interesting choice, given the subject matter - I saw an interview with Zusak and he said he hadn't set out to write a young-adult novel; he actually only planned a 100 page novella! In any case, I was surprised to see it was classified as young-adult.
I loved Zusak's portrayal of Death: compassionate, gently scooping up souls, powerful, efficient, and yet haunted by the goodness and hatred of the humans he touches. Brilliant.
5 stars!!!
You're the second person I know to rave about this book. Sounds fascinating. It's on my list.
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