The Book Thief Book Review

Author: Markus Zusak

Published in : 2005

Genre: Historical Fiction 

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    <h1> The Book Thief Book Review </h1> 

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I had been experiencing readers block lately. Books failed to keep me engaged; however, Markus Zusak 's The Book Thief did not. A story narrated by death; a little girl with the sheer love of reading; and a historic setting of Nazi Germany; this brief description is enough to make one want to read The Book Thief.

When a story is set in the times of a holocaust, it's a given that it's tragic and heartbreaking. I pictured Jews being treated worse than animals and questioned how humans can be so cruel to another mortal; it seemed as if the story was set in the age of barbarism. The authenticity of the holocaust is indubitable, but the inhumanity makes you question it. Death, too, wonders how the same thing - as the human race - could be both "damning and brilliant". 

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     <h2> " The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a Masterpiece " </h2> 

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Although bound to perform a gruesome duty, death is portrayed as considerate and caring. For instance, we find death disclosing us the future mishaps, so that "perhaps [it would] soften the blow for [us] later". In truth, death is not cruel, it does what it has to, it has no choice; the actual barbarians are humans, who despite having a choice, choose evil over good for their own benefits. 

In the Book Thief, Markus Zusak also signifies the power of words; they can be a means of obliteration and chaos, and they can be a means of felicity and joy. Words brought despair to Liesel, and words "brought her to life". 

Unfortunately, as I write this book review, as I endeavor to empathize the pain of Jews, that I certainly can not fathom, the same lot, the same people, are funding the executors of a second holocaust. Somewhere, another Liesel is living in fear, another Liesel has lost her family. Death, today, roams the streets of Syria and Palestine. 

All in all, I would like to conclude the book review by proclaiming that The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is amongst my favorite books, for it offered a lot: a captivating plot, emotional theme, memorable characters, relatability, and more. The ending, given the setting, obviously couldn't be on a happy note; it was tragic and brought me to tears. Had death not been kind, and avoided foreshadowing, the ending would have been absolutely heart wrenching.