The Book Thief by Markus Zusak | 4/5
Read Synopsis here
I don't normally read books outside my comfort zone. But this one is an exception, since it is widely known, and people bug me about it, and of course, mostly for the reason that there is a movie coming out in 2014.
Let me enumerate the bad points before I get to my long list of good points.
First of two downsides, The Book Thief is not my cup of tea, and it probably explains the 1 point missing from my rating. Since its not my cup of tea, there are times where it bored me so much I want to discontinue it. Thank whatever push I had left in me that made me continue on. And thank the same I did. Because I liked it. I liked the book, I just cannot say that I enjoyed the process of reading it.
Now the second and last negative point is the pace of the book. It's very slow-paced, at least for me who's used to reading fast-paced Young Adult books. But I don't want to argue with everyone else, since some may say the otherwise. It just what it is for me. Now let me tell you that I am not completely against it. I think it's meant to be told in that way, and that in itself contributed to the overall narration of the book.
Speaking of narration, I think one of the main reasons that pushed me to finish the book is the narrator himself. I liked the fact that it was told on his point of view. I liked his humor and the way he explained everything. No super long descriptions, and the chapters are rather short. I also like the spaces (Maybe just from the edition I own), provided in every scene. It gives light in my eyes, and a bit of a break to my brain. The style of writing was amazing. I like that it was in direct contact with the reader. I felt the connection of the author/narrator to the reader, like I was only conversing with a grandparent telling me of the story passed down after generation. It kept me interested, at least just enough to finish the book.
I guess I grew tired of reading too formal books. I read books and everything is grammatically correct, all literary rules perfected, but most of those cases it lacked connection. Markus Zusak reminds everyone else that he's the author, it's his book, thus, he's the boss.
The Book Thief is set in Germany during the Nazi period, where Hitler was on his reign. As a person outside Germany, I know only of Hitler's hate for the Jews and nothing else. I didn't really focus on my World History subjects. That's mainly because I have no interest at all in too much History. So another good thing about the book that even if it was set in a historical period, it didn't really felt like it, because the historical facts thrown to the readers were limited to a minimum. Another reason why my boredom didn't reach the maximum level. Now that I look back, one word struck the most, Saukerl.
Since it is set in Germany, I expected German (language) in every page. And I appreciated how Zusak delivered the language in a way where German words weren't all directly explained, but you seem to understand it anyway because of how it was written, and the sentences that came afterwards.
I like the hints provided before the tragedy struck. The author meant not to surprise us, which I appreciated, but still maintained the right amount of anticipation. The author/narrator doesn't spoil everything, but gives you enough push to continue on, because you're curious on how such facts happened.
I appreciated the epilogue as well, since I know just how frustrating it is to read a book without epilogues.
Now that we're after the structure/text of the book, let's move on with the characters.
The main protagonist is Liesel. I like her. She's not a hero and she's not trying so desperately to be. I understand her hunger for books, and that created the bridge between us. I love that we are also given snippets of books she read like we actually read it together.
I love that all of the characters are somewhat given back stories, direct and short enough to not bore me to death. I love Max's depth whenever he tells stories and draw things for Liesel.
Hans is one lucky dude, but not lucky enough, which made it believable. I appreciated where his character went, instead of being too damn lucky. He is my favorite character, and also the character I most pitied in the end.
I appreciated Rudy being the best bestfriend I've read from all my books. There is one quote I read from Tumblr. "A friend will keep you out of jail, but a bestfriend will be in jail with you." Thank you Rudy,
I liked how the narrator brought everything to a close in the end, and explained how he got his hands on The Book Thief.
Overall, I loved The Book Thief, but it's just not my cup of tea. I didn't love it to the point where I'm obsessed with it, just a read I am glad I tried.
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