THE BOOK THIEF

“Death, like Liesel, has a way with words. And he recognizes them not only for the good they can do, but for the evil as well. What would Hitler have been, after all, without words? As this book reminds us, what would any of us be?”

I found this provocative statement in a review of The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. For those of us who love to read, even the book’s title is titillating. What circumstances would lead anyone to steal books? World War II and the Holocaust have been common themes for writers to explore. Zusak’s book takes it to a whole different level, literally. As the narrator of the story, Death is a very relatable character who has a talent for figurative and colorful language. Kudos to Zusak for coming up with such a brilliant point of view.

His second point of brilliance is his theme of the power of words and language. The main character, Liesel, an illiterate child of nine, is the book thief. Zusak’s story hinges on how Liesel becomes engaged with other characters as she learns to read and react to the power of words. She learns how to trust when Hans, her foster parent, teaches her to read from her first stolen book. Ilsa, the mayor’s wife, develops a relationship with Liesel based on the large number of books in Ilsa’s home library. The give and take of this odd friendship turns out to be a huge blessing to both individuals.  Rudy and Liesel are partners in play and in the crimes of stealing books and apples, a means of survival for both. And then there’s Max, the Jewish man, whose life was most likely saved by Liesel’s determination to read to him. Even Death couldn't resist the power that Liesel’s own writing had, as he extracts her recently written memoir from the rubble of her bombed neighborhood.

This beautifully written tale is one that will appeal to anyone who values life, love, and reading!