The Book Thief by Markus ZusakMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
★★★ and 1/2
Synopsis: Set during World War II in Nazi Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing something she can’t resist — books. With the help of her best friend, Rudy, she learns to live on Himmel Street after her brother dies on the train ride there. She learns to read thanks to her accordion-playing foster father, Hans Hubermann, and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man who took refuge in her basement. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul and human spirit.
In A Sentence: A good read.
My Thoughts: This was a good story. The writing style was very nice; it's somehow both choppy and flowing at the same time. I really liked how well that worked. The plot was very good too, and the layout of the story was also nicely done. I also liked how the narrator was Death. It seemed very appropriate considering the setting was Germany during World War Two.
The characters were likeable, the story was likeable, the writing was likeable. So why am I only giving it 3.5 stars? Well, I just wasn't wowed by it. I've been reading quite a few World War Two novels lately, and I just finished The Kite Runner, so perhaps the reason why I wasn't wowed was because I read it after so many wonderful precedents. I'm also not a huge fan of endings that are revealed halfway through the story. For me, it takes the emotion out of the story, and I can't cry as a result, and for me to really like a book like this, I just have to burst into tears at the end.
Don't get me wrong though. It's a very good book and really worth a look if you're searching for a beautiful but sad story. Strongly recommended for historical fiction lovers. Fans of general fiction will love this too.
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