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!

  

The Empathic Civilization by Jeremy Rifkin

Well -- the only way I'll ever get through this book is to give myself permission to read it a little bit at a time -- an ongoing historical romp while I continue to read my novels and less intimidating books along with it.

Rifkin's stated purpose it to rewrite the history of human civilization through the lens of empathy: "...In short, it is the extraordinary evolution of empathic consciousness that is the quintessential underlying story of human history, even if it has not been given the serious attention it deserves by our historians."  And in a mere 615 pages, Rifkin will  lay out his thesis -- "...Empathy is the very means by which we create social life and advance civilization."

This could take awhile!!!

A Memoir of Wayfinding

I wrapped this book up by skimming the last few pages pretty quickly.  Nothing new -- no unique wisdom beyond the middle of the book.  

I had hoped to find this book inspiring and maybe a little motivational.  But it really was just a story of a middle-aged woman learning to live on her own by finding her way through the woods - literally.  I can only read about so many hikes and scrapes with being lost in the woods.  

I did appreciate her tenacity and problem-solving skills.  The one take-away -- we're never to old to learn!  But then, I suspected that already!!!

Moving on through my list.  Next up -- I think it'll be The Empathic Civilization

Straying from the list

It's time to fess up.  I haven't been reading as much as normal -- and not anything from my TBR list!  I've decided not to review the few books I've read during the last few weeks -- but I'll list them here:

Gray Mountain by John Grisham -- ok, but not his best
Missing You by Harlan Coben -- awful, should have abandoned  it
Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good by Jan Karon --  standard Mitford Series.  Simple plot and easy to read, but enjoyable characters 
An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine -- halfway through it now.  It's terrific!

Time to get back to the challenge!  Still working through Game of Thrones -- but might not make it through the whole series!!!

I was looking forward to reading this since it's been on my shelf for so long. Alas, I'm just not at all impressed with Wallace's 1972 best seller. The subject, publishing a New Testament Bible, is intriguing...but the writing style and characters are completely boring. I found myself saying, "Blah, blah, blah, and skimming ahead. So after 80 pages I've decided I've got lots better books to tackle and will not plod through the remaining 500 pages. Big relief to take this one off my shelf! So, Janice, you can roll the dice for my second list.

THE GRAPES OF WRATH  by John Steinbeck

I wish Mr. Steinbeck was alive today to continue his assessment of the marginalization of the economically oppressed in our society. Instead of reading this classic, I listened to an abridged audio production. It was delightful to hear the different voices of each character, although I'm sure in doing so, I missed some powerful and emotional passages. The message is no less important today than it was 75 years ago, in fact, it is perhaps of greater importance since the gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen.

The plight of the Joad family as they traveled from Oklahoma to California looking for a better life, was filled with hope and despair. From Ma Joad, who always believed that one should never lose hope, to Rose of Sharon, the pregnant and abandoned daughter-in-law, who never was able to see a way out. However, Steinbeck created a bizarre twist at the end of the novel that gives the reader a sense that there is always something that can be done to make life a little better.

The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought by Marilynne Robinson

This book is a gift for the mind!  I always enjoy reading Marilynne Robinson -- I love her thinking!  And this collection of essays was food for my own thinking -- it challenged, affirmed, and enlightened!  These essays push boundaries -- warning off complacency by encouraging engagement in our world -- a world with its myriad challenges!  

I guess my biggest takeaway is the importance of staying informed -- of receiving information from primary sources and not accepting sound bites that diminish meaning.  She warns us that the ideas which informed and emboldened our founders and shaped our nation have been diminished and erroneously summarized through the years. We should not trust the conventional wisdom we learn of thinkers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards but we should take responsibility by reading what they actually had to say!  Robinson bemoans our willingness to abdicate responsibility for the health of our environment as well the spiritual health of our citizens.

"The assumption of present responsibility for the present state of things was a ritual feature of life in this culture for two and a half centuries, and is entirely forgotten by us now."

I'm always stretched by the thinking of Marilynne Robinson -- and I'm especially happy that I  found my way back to this book via our TBR challenge!!!