“The Book Thief:” Clever, Dark and Suspenseful

The Book Thief: Clever, Dark and Suspenseful

When a book has a movie adaptation (movie version released in 2013), it’s generally assumed to be an excellent book. “The Book Thief” is no exception. Published in 2005 by author Markus Zusak, it tells the story of a young girl named Liesel Meminger and her life with her foster parents in Nazi Germany. Liesel steals books and she loves words. Her entire life shifts when her foster father hides a Jewish man in their home. “The Book Thief is about survival, family, and love. Every character is complicated and deep.

Liesel steals books and she loves words.

— Cassandra Marando

With well-developed characters and an interesting narrator, the author tells a clever story filled with dark humor. The narrator tells about life in Nazi Germany and includes a lot of historical facts. Additionally, The Book Thiefprovides a different view for the reader because (s)he gets to see how German children and citizens lived during the Wars. Zusak also uses an extensive variety of figurative language, that allows the reader to easily picture what he’s describing in vivid detail. And, he doesn’t use long, drawn-out blocks of text to describe things. “The Book Thief is written in a unique style with “announcements” from the narrator throughout the book and interesting chapter titles like “Death and Chocolate.” However, the narrator is extremely blunt. Halfway through (s)he might jump forward to something that happens at the very end and then come back. This way of storytelling could make the book more suspenseful, or it could irk the reader. Either way, “The Book Thief” is worth your time!