The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

4.39

2,567,662 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 1846570905 ISBN 13: 9781846570902

Publisher: Random House Audiobooks, 2007

Paperback. Pub Date: 2007 Publisher: Audiobooks 'IT's just a small Story. Really about among other things: a Girl some words. An accordionist a Jewish fist fighter and Quite a lot of Thievery ...' Narrated in the all-knowing matter-of-fact voice of Death. witnessing the story of the citizens of Molching: When nine-year-old Liesel arrives outside the boxlike house of her new foster parents at 33 Himmel Street. she refuses to get out of the car. Liesel has been separated from her parents - 'Kommunists' - for ever. and at the burial of her little other. she steals a gravedigger's instruction manual which she can't read. It is the beginning of her illustrious career . In the care of the Hubermans. Liesel befriends blond-haired Rudy Steiner. her neighbour obsessed with Jesse Owens. and the mayor's wife. who hides from despair in her liary. Together Liesel and Rudy steal books - f...

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Review:

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak was the best-selling debut literary novel of the year 2007, selling over 400,000 copies. The author is a prize-winning writer of children's books, and this, his first novel for adults, proved to be a triumphant success. The book is extraordinary on many levels: moving, yet restrained, angry yet balanced -- and written with the kind of elegance found all too rarely in fiction these days. The book's narrator is nothing less than Death itself, regaling us with a remarkable tale of book burnings, treachery and theft. The book never forgets the primary purpose of compelling the reader's attention, yet which nevertheless is able to impart a cogent message about the importance of words, particularly in those societies which regard the word as dangerous (the book is set during the Nazi regime, but this message is all too relevant in many places in the world today).

Nine-year-old Liesel lives with her foster family on Himmel Street during the dark days of the Third Reich. Her Communist parents have been transported to a concentration camp, and during the funeral for her brother, she manages to steal a macabre book: it is, in fact, a gravediggers’ instruction manual. This is the first of many books which will pass through her hands as the carnage of the Second World War begins to hungrily claim lives. Both Liesel and her fellow inhabitants of Himmel Street will find themselves changed by both words on the printed page and the horrendous events happening around them.

Despite its grim narrator, The Book Thief is, in fact, a life-affirming book, celebrating the power of words and their ability to provide sustenance to the soul. Interestingly, the Second World War setting of the novel does not limit its relevance: in the 20th century, totalitarian censorship throughout the world is as keen as ever at suppressing books (notably in countries where the suppression of human beings is also par for the course) and that other assault on words represented by the increasing dumbing-down of Western society as cheap celebrity replaces the appeal of books for many people, ensures that the message of Marcus Zusak’s book could not be more timely. It is, in fact, required reading -- or should be in any civilised country. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

"Becomes compelling spoken in the rich tones of Allan Corduner ... has the haunting quality of poetry" (The Times)

"The gentle narration increases the impact of these terrible events." (Observer)

"Allan Corduner is perfectly voiced as the narrator" (Daily Express)

"A major achievement" (People)

"'Perched on the cusp between grown-up and young adult fiction... it deplores human misery and celebrates the power of language'" (New York Times)

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