An Unexpected Steal

By Sahil M.

Many books have been written about the Holocaust, but The Book Thief by Markus Zusak takes a unique approach. This historical fiction novel is written from the perspective of Death himself and follows the story of a young girl named Liesel Meminger. Liesel is a foster child who grows up in a starving city outside of Munich in the midst of World War II.

Liesel moves to a town called Molching shortly after her brother unexpectedly dies on the train ride. Molching is exactly what one would expect of a town suffering during a war. There are many starving kids running around playing soccer on the streets while parents scrape by trying to make a living. In her new home, she is raised by two foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. The former being kind and sympathetic while the latter is often abusive yet caring. She is soon enrolled into school where she is teased by kids for her lack of education. During the day, she fights with school children or plays soccer with them, and during the night, she is haunted by the death of her brother. One night, while her father is trying to comfort her, he finds a book hidden in the sheets of her bed. Liesel stole this book during her brother's funeral. Realizing Liesel can barely read, Hans begins to teach her how to read. This is the beginning of a long journey which includes book burnings, stealing from the Mayor's house, a Jewish man named Max, and a budding friendship with a boy named Rudy.

Zusak's descriptions of scenes are often done beautifully and his depiction of  struggling people outside of war is done nicely. He sometimes uses Death's omniscient viewpoint to add to the novel, however, I feel he could have used this perspective more effectively by switching away from Liesel more and exploring the death of other places during the war. The plot of the story is constructed beautifully and there are many points in the novel that make the reader rethink humanity. However, the pacing of the book is quite slow at sometimes and the novel can be considered quite long.

This novel is great for a variety of readers, not just ones who are interested in historical fiction. I was not interested in historical fiction previously but I still greatly enjoyed The Book Thief due to its gripping story and the lessons it taught about humanity. If you are willing to put in time and dedication, I would definitely recommend this book.