Nevertheless, this is a book I would recommend to everyone I know. I find myself uncannily crying while rereading random parts from the book despite the not-so-emotional events. If it weren’t for the sad story, The Book Thief would’ve been my No. They give you an insight of Nazi Germany, and their response to that twisted world. The characters are gorgeous and very lovable. I’ve been describing this book to my friends as “beautiful and heart-wrenching”. She finds comfort in books and brings that comfort to other people too. She understands the power of words how they can change people, like what Adolf Hitler did to the country. Liesel steals randomly at first, and later more methodically, but shes never greedy. So, in a way, they are both book thieves. She has a mind of her own and is true to herself. Set in Germany in the years 1939-1943, The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel, narrated by Death who has in his possession the book she wrote about these years. Liesel and her neighbor Rudy live in one of the poorer streets in Molching. She comes to the Hubermanns illiterate and learns to read/write from Hans at night, when she got nightmares from her brother. Liesel Meminger is 10 years old at the start of the book, and is 14 when it (sort of) ends. The story then unfolds, taking the cue from the book, to include “among other things:Ī little about the human Death is fascinated in: Rosa is a petite woman who has a face like cardboard, loves people in her own way, and does the daily washing of the families in Himmel Street. Hans is a tall man who paints seasonally. She then finally arrived at her new home with Hans and Rosa Hubermann as her new parents. Her brother died during the ride and at his funeral she stole a book from a grave-digger. Liesel and her brother were on the way to their foster parents in Molching, Germany. He is fascinated by this human and pays close attention to her life, which is frowned upon due to the nature of his work. It begins in 1939 when Death met Liesel Meminger.

Oh and he spoils everything, be careful. Now to the beginning of the story:Īs implied from the title, The Book Thief does tell a story of a book thief. As a result, he sometimes jumps around the timeline, stitching the story together more by logic than chronological. He doesn’t have to communicate or be physically there to tell the story, like a character would. He exists as an entity than a character, but expressive enough to be more than just a third wheeler. With Death, the narration is very flexible. One thing I found very different with this book is the narrator. Things that do not spoil me may spoil you, and vice versa. Today, I’m going to add my thoughts about this book, as concise as possible.ĭisclaimer: The things I’ll mention here are as good non-spoiler-y from my judgement.

The novel written by Markus Zusak tackling WWII has been a recipient of the 2007 Michael L. I’m sure you’ve heard of The Book Thief before.

The book thief summary