Module 10- The Book Thief

Summary
The Book Thief tells the story of a young girl, Liesel, growing up in Nazi Germany.  She is sent to live with foster parents after her mother is unable to care for her brother and her.  The story that follows is a vivid description of Liesel's daily life in her new home in a small town outside of Munich.  She overcomes numerous tragedies and difficulties, making friends and enemies along the way.  Among her adventures are various episodes of book stealing, from which Liesel gets her alter ego and the book its name.  The Book Thief is a touching story of enduring friendship, strength, love, and survival.

Zusak, M. (2006). The book thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

My impressions
I think that this may be one of my favorite books of all time.  The fact that Death acts as the narrator gave the book such a unique feel and tone.  There was enough humor interspersed throughout the book to keep it from being too depressing.  Yet I couldn't help but be moved to tears as the story continued and Liesel and her family suffer through seemingly never-ending tragedies.  One thing that I liked in particular about this book was that it gave the perspective of everyday Germans living through World War II.  I haven't found this perspective in many books, and it was refreshing to explore the complexities of the characters and their struggles.

Reviews
The Book Thief. (2006). Publishers Weekly, 253(5), 70-71.
This hefty volume is an achievement--a challenging book in both length and subject, and best suited to sophisticated older readers. The narrator is Death himself, a companionable if sarcastic fellow, who travels the globe "handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity." Death keeps plenty busy during the course of this WWII tale, even though Zusak (I Am the Messenger) works in miniature, focusing on the lives of ordinary Germans in a small town outside Munich. Liesel Meminger, the book thief, is nine when she pockets The Gravedigger's Handbook, found in a snowy cemetery after her little brother's funeral. Liesel's father--a "Kommunist"--is already missing when her mother hands her into the care of the Hubermanns. Rosa Hubermann has a sharp tongue, but Hans has eyes "made of kindness." He helps Liesel overcome her nightmares by teaching her to read late at night. Hans is haunted himself, by the Jewish soldier who saved his life during WWI.

The Book Thief. (2006). Kirkus Reviews, 74(23), 26.
Said Kirkus, "When Death tells a story, you pay attention." More so when he's got a mordant sense of humor and a pathological fear of humans, like the narrator of Markus Zusak's elegant story of a young German girl's small rebellions against the Nazi government. "I just thought of the old theory that war and death are like best friends," says the author. "So why not use Death to narrate a novel set during war--since he was everywhere during that time." In his many travels around the continent, Death becomes mesmerized by Liesel Meminger after her brother dies and she's given over to a foster father (who's also hiding a Jewish man in his Munich basement). Watching her steal books from Nazi book-burnings and tend to her hidden refugee, Death attempts to understand the dueling human compulsions toward great evil and great generosity. It's Death's vulnerability that appeals to Zusak: "As soon as I thought that Death would be afraid of humans because of what we do to each other, I had the voice I needed," he says. "I also loved the irony that Death would be afraid of us." "Philosophical and moving," said Kirkus. "This big, expansive novel is a leisurely working out of fate, of seemingly chance encounters and events that ultimately touch, like dominoes as they collide… even at its length, it's a work to read slowly and savor." 

Suggestion for library use
Given the great difference between the portrayal of Germans living through World War II in this book versus others, it would be nice to explore that difference in more detail.  After reading The Book Thief, students could compare and contrast the normal ways that Germans in this time period are portrayed versus the way they are depicted in the book.  This could also lend itself to a discussion of the way our own perspectives are shaped by these portrayals.