The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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nannyluvscmu
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Re: The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Post by nannyluvscmu »

It's funny, because everyone praises this book but I found it underwhelming. I didn't like Death as the narrator; it seemed really self-involved and narcissistic and I really did not have much sympathy for any of the characters. There were a few lines that stuck out to me, but none that I recall as being especially profound. I liked THE WORD SHAKER and the stories within the stories, but overall I would give this book 3/5. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
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Post by suzy1124 »

Any thoughts on whether the book is as good as the movie ? ( which was EXCELLENT )
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Post by cyndiha11 »

Thought this book was excellent and so compelling, such an emotional rollercoaster. I felt tears popping up in certain parts. I also watched the movie and this might be the first time where I could go so far as to say that the movie was just as inspiring as the book. Usually, a movie is hard-pressed to capture everything a book has to offer, but in this case I think they did an excellent job of gathering all the important parts of the book and capturing them all in the movie.
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Post by BookWorm07 »

I love everything about this book, right from the names and characters to the story line. But what was so special about the book was the language. Zusak painted pictures in my head with his words.

Did anyone else stare into space for a few minutes? I sat there not wanting to let go of the book, however I also didn't have the strength to reread.
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Post by bronwynrb »

I loved the book thief. For anyone who loves historical fiction this is a great book. Great characters that are well developed. Zusak is a great author and I am looking forward to reading more of his!
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Post by therhinofam »

This book quickly found it's place on my "favorites" list! I absolutely loved how the author crafted the story from the perspective of death. I found it refreshing to read his style of writing and just the overall story concept; it was beautiful. The characters in the stories all had great depth, personalities, and were developed very well.
From a historical fiction perspective, I really appreciated that this story showed what life was like in Nazi Germany for German citizens, especially those who did not agree with the Nazi's treatment of the Jewish people. This book helped to shed light on life inside Nazi Germany which helps to paint a more accurate picture of history. I hope that this book also makes it way onto the required readings for many schools.
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Post by librarydancer »

I loved The Book Thief! It does take a couple chapters to adjust to the narrator, but it was a wonderful book.

I heard him speak about the book when it was first released, and he admitted he didn't know why it was classified as a young adult book. I don't really feel that it is -- the subject and writing is much more mature then someone might expect.
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Post by Dando »

I read The Book Thief after the movie trailers caught my interest. I was very surprised by the narration by Death. I found it very interesting and original! I have read many books about the holocaust, almost exclusively focusing on the experience of Jewish and other persecuted groups. I found The Book Thief to be a very refreshing reminder that other people suffered from the horrors of the Holocaust. Of course this does not detract from the extreme suffering of the persecuted groups. But is important to remember that despite the propaganda efforts, not all nationals of Nazi occupied nations believed in the genocide and many put their lives in great danger in quite opposition (shout-out to Captain von Trap).

I also enjoyed the perspective of the child protagonist. I found Liesel’s journey to understand the war and the Holocaust very real and interesting. Her life is greatly impacted by the horrors of the war, but in her innocence she still things that it is good that Germany is winning until she slowly learns the truth.

I enjoyed reading The Book Thief! It is an easy and entertaining read with important historical perspectives.
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Post by LivreAmour217 »

I just finished this book a few days ago, and I can honestly say that it is one of the best novels I've ever read. I loved it, even though it made me feel incredibly sad. I can't find the words to describe this feeling--a mix of joy and pain at once--but I am so glad that I read this book.

I've read novels about WWII and the Holocaust before, but never one from the perspective of everyday Germans living under the Nazi regime. The whole time I was reading this book, a quote from the Captain America movie kept going through my head: "People forget that the first country Hitler invaded was his own."
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Post by gali »

have read the book and like it. I found the story and the POV unique. A brilliant book!

The narrator tells us a less known another side of the Nazi Germany, the side of the little people who are trying to survive in the shadow of war and Nazi atrocities and suffering from poverty and deprivation. One can't not to but sympathize with Liesel and her friends, but at least their weren't victims to the Nazi's greased murder machine. Suffice to say I felt more for the Jewish victims which all of a sudden their world fell apart. The narrator mentions the death marches (Auschwitz and such) and even he is shocked about that. Death notes at the end of the book that he always understates the human race (and with a good reason it seems) and concludes: "I am haunted by humans".

Something to think about: Indeed it wasn't easy to live in Germany during the holocaust era, but it was much worse for the Jew and the other victims.
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Post by TLGabelman »

I can honestly say I enjoyed your review more than the book itself. I struggled through this book with every page and broke my rule of "Do I care about these characters or how this ends?" In truth I did not, but it was so wildly popular I felt an obligation to read it and like it, which is not at all like me. Perhaps my being married into a Jewish family also played a role in my personal determination but this just came into my mind. That being said, I did enjoy aspects of the book thief... The narration by Death, the main characters' (Liesel) personality and certainty of who she was, and perhaps most of all I enjoyed Max's gift to her(his hand made book).
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Post by Himmelslicht »

My review from Goodreads (translated with Google translator because I'm a lazy ass so sorry if you find any crucial mistakes):

Words I can use to describe the first book:
Fantastic - exciting - moving - moving - stunning - breathtaking and stop the heart.

This book, from the first few pages, was easily to my favorites list.
Reasons why this book is one of my favorites - if not my favorite, I still consider:
- Simple but captivating narrative;
- Development of bright and realistic characters, easy to get to our hearts and have them beat in the hands of the narrator - in this case, death;
- Views and unique and interesting perspectives;
- A simple idea finely developed with many realistic and appealing ramifications.

characters -
Liesel: bold, suffers some insecurities but under the circumstances in which it is able to develop quite well. Your best friend, Rudy, always helps her to overcome some insecurities that you appear on the way, and they complement each other well.
Rudy: best friend Liesel, waiting to be something else, but unfortunately - and one of the things most of the heart to the end of the book - was their romance did not bloom ever, remained stagnant, however, without losing the beauty of childhood and preadolescence.
Pink & Hans: doting parents who go through an increasingly difficult situation as the war will drag. At a time when everybody is struggling more and more to stay above the level of poverty, Hans finds himself drawn into a difficult situation, especially for a past event in the First War. From there, their moral and good nature prevented him from following the Führer's designs eyes closed, remaining alert and aware of the atrocities committed to the Jews during WWII. But, of course, a person can not run constantly without getting caught, and one day, bad luck knocks on his door. Rose, meanwhile, is the kind of person who goes to your loved-ones of insulting and warmly; but do not be fooled! It is a woman who loves his family with all his heart, a real mother hen that does not look the means to safeguard the interests of the family and does everything to protect their, especially in crisis and risk situations.

To summarize my opinion of the book:
I found nothing that could adversely affect the book. I tend to be picky, I admit I bought the book without reading reviews, I bought just because I had heard a lot about it and I thought it was all just excitement, as with many bestsellers that do not deserve all the credit given to them. But The Book Thief, deserves respect and some more. Markus Zusak created a masterpiece of literature, not stand out mainly in terms of originality, but to be appealing on several criteria that I find important to evaluate a work.
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Post by Carla »

Markus Zusak is an excellent writer. I think he writes way beyond his age.
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Post by Jbennett96 »

This book. I cannot begin to explain to you the joy and happiness this brought which only made the lows and sadness it evoked even more painful. I couldn't even tell you in any language how magnificently amazing this book is. In every way it is creative and inventive, emotionally enticing and just pure gold. If there is ever going to be a book to top this, it needs to be written with heart and soul, coupled with the creativity that Markus Zusak obviously possesses.
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Post by thebookbear »

Personally, I loved The Book Thief.
I'm not sure why I was so late into getting into the book, I had heard about it before but I never really picked it up...
Anyways-
True, at the beginning I was kind of weary to get started, especially when I realized how the style of writing was:
Narrated by Death.
But truthfully, I was really happy that I could get farther into the book. It was so powerful dealing with topics such as love and loss, and after I finished reading it, I was literally attached and stuck to the book for a year.
I hope that everyone finds a chance to read this book, it truly is amazing :)
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