The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
July 15, 2007 — Mary Childs
I don’t know how to begin to write about this haunting book. It’s probably one of the most memorable books I’ll ever read. And it’s probably one I could read and re-read and get something new from it every time. Whatever I say here won’t be adequate. You have to read it to appreciate it and be ready for a challenge. This is one book that can’t be skimmed. Every word has meaning.
The narrator is Death, and the setting is a small town outside of Munich, Germany in 1939 when events in Germany are leading up to World War II. You know enough about wars in general and WWII in particular to know that Death was kept pretty busy during those years. After particular air raids in some of the larger Germany cities, Death tells the readers of the book about the many thousands of people Death (he? she?) helped from this world to their afterlife. But in spite of that, Death takes the time to tell us the story of a 9-year-old orphan, Liesel Meminger.
Liesel’s father was called a Kommunist and so he was an enemy of the Nazis in power in Germany. To protect Liesel, her mother gave her up to a foster family, but on the train on their way to her new home, Liesel witnessed the death of her 6-year-old brother. She–the book thief–also acquired her first stolen book, and her source of comfort and hope.
Her foster home on Himmel Street [translation: Heaven] was the home to her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Hans was nothing but kind to her and gave up his nights of sleep to comfort Liesel from her nightmares and his days to teach her how to read. Rosa was also kind but hid that kindness beneath a wicked tongue that she used equally with everyone–family & neighbors! Eventually they would share their home with a Jewish young man who was the son of a man who had saved Hans’ life during WWI, the Great War. Of course Max had to remain hidden in their basement and Liesel was forbidden to tell anyone or the Nazis would come to capture Max along with the Hubermanns for hiding him.
Another important person in Liesel’s life was her friend Rudy. Rudy’s hero was Jesse Owens, the track star from the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Together they supported each other in their struggle to survive during those war years, although survival often included some petty crimes, even beyond the occasional book theft by Liesel.
The masterful part of this book is found in the words spoken by Death and how the author crafted those words. Death gives hints of what is to come and many times speaks in riddles. Death doesn’t show much emotion concerning his work, but does sometimes complain about being overworked. Death does, however, have a special concern for Liesel and the people in her life.
Because of other war books I’ve been reading, it occurred to me that here we are reading about Germans who are often seen as the “bad guys,” knowing what we know now about the Holocaust. We wonder why they didn’t do more about the situation with the Nazis, the concentration camps and the Jewish people being led to their deaths. But here we get to know these very average German citizens and get a good look into the fear and terror they lived with, and realize again the courage it took to do the right thing, either in public or secretly in their homes.
This book will haunt me for a long time. But then, that’s what Death says about human beings…us!
