Book Thief Strikes Again!
Book Thief Cover
Chelsea Meerians, Staff Writer
September 30, 2009
Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Books
Considered to be Markus Zusak’s masterpiece, The Book Thief is the chilling tale of “a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery” (Markus Zusaks). Set in Nazi Germany during World War II, a young girl named Liesel Meminger is catapulted into a world of destruction and confusion as she is transferred to live with a foster family in Mulching near Munich. Soon after the death of her younger brother, she picks up a habit of stealing of stealing books earning the title of the story itself.
Throughout the novel, her collection of reading material grows as do her experiences, some of which include surviving city bombings, housing a hidden Jew in the family basement, and witnessing the perplexity and evils of war. All the while, Death is closely following her; his new “distraction”.
The story is darkly narrated by Death himself. Though this may seem confusing to anyone unfamiliar to the story, but Death’s ever-present conscience is proverbial to post-Book-Thief readers, proving that even death has a heart. The protagonist of the book, Liesel Meminger, steals books to compensate for the family that was stolen from her by past events. In turn, the world of literature opens up, steering her toward some form of comfort in a volatile world.