Imagine walking into a big library or bookstore. As you enter, you see shelves upon shelves of tightly leather-bound papers with different narratives and eye-catching covers. Ladders line the shelves for easy access and a nice chair sits in front of a big window. The books surround you and stare at you with a kind smile, all of them with a story to tell. However, that love of books leads you to commit a crime: stealing. This experience perfectly captures protagonist Liesel Meminger, a cunning thief who, throughout “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, steals books to read and immerse herself.
The story of Liesel Meminger, narrated by Death, begins when she is sent to live with her foster parents on Himmel Street in Nazi-Germany and ends up hiding Max Vandenburg, a Jew on the run. She goes through many trials while trying to avoid the Nazis.
One of the best features of this book is its originality. I have never read a book where the narrator is Death itself, recounting one of many tales he has experienced. I found it interesting seeing how he was fascinated by humans and how complex they are, especially when he felt sadness and humor. Also, Death not being a malevolent figure but instead viewing himself as a necessary part of life’s cycle showed Zusak’s originality with a concept as old as Death.
In addition, one of his first lines of the book is “You are going to die.” This breaks the fourth wall right away and entices the reader to find out what will conspire. It was surprising how he would foreshadow events later in the book, like character deaths. The Gambler is one of the most creative chapters of the novel. Each part of the chapter starts with one side of a seven-sided die. The symbolism of the die shows how risky it is for Liesel’s family, effectively gambling with their lives. Zusak’s literary choices are continuously inventive and talented.
Another brilliant choice was having each part of the novel dedicated to a book that Liesel stole. Some are fictional like “The Whistler,” “The Last Human Stranger” and “The Dream Carrier” while some are real like “The Grave Digger’s Handbook,” a guide to grave digging and “Mein Kampf,” an autobiography by Adolf Hilter.
A characteristic of the novel that caught my interest right away was Zusak’s brilliant writing style. He details the imagery perfectly and even simple sentences display a deeper meaning. When Liesel visits the mayor’s wife, Ilsa Hermann’s, library for the first time, she describes how she “ran the back of her hand along the first shelf, listening to the shuffle of her fingernails gliding across the spinal cord of each book. It sounded like an instrument, or the notes of running feet.” With this description, I could vividly hear Liesel as she joyfully ran around the library with what I imagined to be the biggest smile on her face.
The relationship and banter between Liesel and Rudy is one of the best character arcs in the novel. In the beginning, Liesel views Rudy as a nasty kid who is infatuated with her and tries to avoid him. However, when Rudy shows his friendship by jumping into a freezing river to get a book for Liesel, she begins to fall somewhat in love with him. They begin to go on adventures together, like stealing books from Ilsa’s library and walking towards the frontlines of the war. Even though they curse each other, there is always a hint of romance in their words that culminates in a heartbreaking reveal at the end of the novel.
At 550 pages of the book, people have noted it to be too long and want it to be shorter. I disagree with this completely. Though the book is lengthy, many of the side plots help add character development to the main characters that the main plot would not have time to address. An example is Rudy’s obsession with Jesse Owens, an African American sprinter who won four gold medals in the 1936 Summer Olympics, which results in him painting himself black. This symbolizes the beginning of his defiance of the Nazi ideology imposed on him which becomes further developed when he skips the Hilter Youth meetings and secretly throws bread to the hungry Jews with Liesel as they pass through town. Without these pages, we could never learn about the kindness that Rudy develops and his character arc.
Three years ago, I bought this book on a whim at a Scholastic Book Fair in middle school. Although it took a while for me to get to,, I can confidently say it was one of my favorite books of the year. The novel beautifully displays the complexities of World War II from various perspectives. By the end, my heart was pounding to discover what would happen to characters that I became attached to. Even with only an eight page epilogue, I felt all the loose ties were tied and I could rest easily. I would not be surprised if this book became a classic taught in schools. In fact, I want it to be.
