The Book Thief

It would seem that I am on a roll! Here's to my second post of the day!!!

I recently finished reading 'The Book Thief' written by: Markus Zusak. As far back as I can remember, and I'm talking like elementary school, I have had a certain obsession fondness for reading books and stories about World War II. I'm really not sure why this particular topic and setting appeals to me so much, but I continue to be drawn to it even all these years later. I have to admit that I bought this book a couple of years ago and started it, but for some reason, life got in my way and the book ended up neglected and unfinished on my bookshelf. It wasn't until my younger sister asked put this book on her Christmas wish list and my mom went to the movie that I remembered that I even owned it! Poor book. So, I went into the office and rummaged around my very unorganized bookshelf and retrieved it. And so, for the second time, I started reading 'The Book Thief'.

I found the book to have a unique style of writing. The book is narrated by 'Death' who is recounting the story of a young girl in Nazi Germany. The main character, Liesel, is faced with the death of loved ones, a new home, new family and new friends, learning to read and write, adjusting to life during the war and overcoming many obstacles. I especially enjoyed how the story focuses on the trials and hardships faced by non-Jewish Germans (while still bringing to light the horrendous atrocities suffered by the Jewish populations) as this is a perspective that is told less frequently. I felt like the author did a great of creating and developing such lovable characters and giving enough back story on each of them that by the end of the book, I felt like I knew them and loved them as much as Liesel did.

It truly is a powerful and heart wrenching book and I would highly recommend it to everyone looking for a good read.