Reviewed by: Noelle
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I have been meaning to read the Book Thief for a long time. It was first recommended to me two summers ago and since then it has appeared on countless book lists I’ve looked over, haunting me. I’ve gotten it out from the library numerous times but I never got through the first few pages (if you’ve read my other reviews you’re probably starting to notice the pattern). That’s why when I got the chance to choose a book for my book club I picked The Book Thief; this time I had every intention of finishing it.
Everyone has heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” and to my dismay that is what I did with this book. I couldn’t get past the first few pages simply because it was written with a narrator. I don’t know about you, but I find narrators irritating as they spoil the plot and make it more difficult to connect with the main character. Sadly this meant for two long years I was without the wisdom, the beauty and the life changing lessons in The Book Thief. I truly mean it when I say this book is unlike anything you have EVER read or you will read again. Simply put it is a story about a girl named Liesel, in Germany, in World War II. She is sent to live with foster parents, her mom too poor to provide for her and her brother. Soon she is left with a town full of strangers, nightmares and a small house on Himmel Street. What you ask is so special about this story? At its core: death is the narrator!
I have never quite read something like the personification of death. I loved the way it framed human life full of both suffering and joy. Seeing the world from an inhumane, immortal being such as death not only contributed to a larger message, it also brought ominous elements of foreshadowing and an entirely new perspective on death. Each page was full of figurative language, small bolded sections meant to act as facts and many other unique touches that made this novel an entirely unique read.
Two of my favourite quotes, straight from Death himself “Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die” and “I’ve seen so many young men over the years who think they’re running at other young men. They are not. They’re running at me.”
Another element of this book that completely blew me away was the characters. They are lovable, quirky and they all have so much personality. From the stern but loving Ms. Huberman (Liesel’s foster Mom), to the equal parts caring and crazy Rudy (Liesel’s best friend) to Liesel’s smart bold self; there is something to love and remember in each character. This unforgettable cast of characters broke my heart in the end.
You must be warned, reading this book will leave a mark on you. Even with foreshadowing and many hints the tragedy of the ending is still shocking and heartbreaking whichever way you look at it.
From the chapter titles to the beautiful sentence variations I could not be more impressed by the author’s writing. The only thing that I found remotely “wrong” with this book was the slow sections that depicted everyday life. I found my focus wandering and my urge to finish in one sitting fading. However, they were so full of life and raw emotion though, really they were essential to the book. Besides that sometimes I found the foreshadowing gave away a little too much but somehow the author still managed to shock me at the end even after death gave away some clues.
This was a particularly difficult book to review. The Book Thief was less fast-paced, full of no love triangles and utterly unique from many other YA books. It was more about the message in some ways, but really the people are the message so it’s a bit of a circular statement. Everything about this book screamed slow burn, the foreshadowing, the platonic and romantic relationships and the character development. Everything was carefully placed, heart wrenching and heart warming exactly when you needed it to be. Like the way your favourite song just fits. 5 stars, shining and bright for the lives, the hope and the losses we have all faced. This book will bring tears to your eyes, hope to your heart and a brand new perspective to your mind.
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