This week I finished a fabulous book. The Book Thief, by Markus Zousak, tells the story of a young girl (Liesel Meminger) in late 1930s/early 1940s Germany. The novel opens on a scene that must have been common, and heartbreaking, in late 1930s Europe - a young girl, her tired and hungry mother and her sick brother are traveling on a train to a small suburb of Munich. Liesel's brother never makes it to Munich and is buried in the snow. As Liesel and her mom are leaving, Liesel snatches a little black book that the gravediggers left behind. This is the first in a series of important book thefts that Liesel commits - but she doesn't know it yet.Liesel is taken to Molching - a suburb of Munich - and given to a foster family. Her papa and mama on Himmel Street are an interesting pair. Papa plays the accordian and teaches Liesel to read. Mama has Liesel help with the laundry she takes in for extra money and is really, really good at yelling. Despite the hard times - the ever increasing threat of war, the Nazi party, little food, less money and more rationing - love grows on Himmel Street. They are a family and their life is as normal as it can be...under the circumstances. Liesel becomes friends with Rudy - a boy her age who lives next door. Rudy is also an interesting presence in her life - he pretends to be Jesse Owens winning gold medals at the Olympics (down to painting his face and arms black), he plays soccer with the neighborhood kids in the street and brings Liesel into his social group, and he grows to love Liesel.
There is one more main character in Liesel's life, yet he is not known to everyone on Himmel Street. One night a young man comes to their home and asks for help. He wants to be hidden because he is a Jew. His father was one of Papa's close friends in the Great War (WWI) and Max is calling in his father's favor. Without any questions, Liesel's foster family takes in Max and hides him first in the spare bed in Liesel's room, then in the basement. Even though they are the only three people who know about Max, he is a part of their family - a part that Liesel grows to love as much as her foster parents.
The book is narrated by a character who plays a part in the young girl's life from the opening scene. He is a character who has a name, Death, yet is feared and unknown to the characters. Death is not a mean or viscious character - he is a caring and compassionate character who is weighed down by the horrors of humanity, the demands of his job taking souls and can not pull himself away from the life of this little girl. The narration is at times funny, often uses foreshadowing and keeps the story moving.
Liesel is growing, the war is progressing and we see more excerpts from Liesel's life. Liesel begins to steal books. She is marked as the "book thief" by the narrator and each book that she steals has a purpose, symbolic or practical, in her life. The various book thefts represent changes in Liesel's life and play important roles in her future. She does not steal for fun, nor does she steal all the time, but she steals because she needs something new to read. Death continues to work on the edges of Liesel's life and can not bring himself away from the life of this young girl.
The Book Thief is a very, very good book. The 550 pages flew by and I am glad I read a lot of it during spring break....otherwise I would be even more tired than I am from staying up to read it. I cried through the last 10 pages or so. This is not a book with a nice, neat "happy" ending. This is not a book that is a quick and easy read. It is a book that will change your outlook on death/Death as a character and a personality. It is a book that will have you truly invested in the lives of it's characters. It is a book you will have to own for yourself. The Book Thief, by Markus Zousak, is a life changing and mind changing book.
