The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My mind is still whirling from this novel. The subject (World War II) is not one that I like to dwell on, because I can't understand why so many people went along with Adolph Hitler. Or why, even today, so many people hate groups of people (like Muslims or Hispanics). Even if a person doesn't believe that we are all children of God, how can they not understand that each person deserves a chance? People should not be judged based on others of their faith or ethnic background. I'm not a fan of war, and the hatred (and power seeking) that is behind it.

I'm pretty sure this is the only book I've ever read where Death is the narrator. Being WWII, he is quite busy. While collecting a soul in Germany, Death takes notice of a young girl that shouldn't be on his radar. He tells us her story, and it's very interesting.

I'm a little at odds with myself, because I found Death to be likeable. But, then again, Death was just doing his job. He wasn't the killer, just the collector. And, he always carried the children's souls in his arms.

The way the story was told was very unique. Not just that it was told by Death, but that Death gave spoilers. I'm still not sure how I feel about that. At least one of the spoilers bothered me because I really wanted something to happen, but I knew that it wasn't going to.

The events in the story weren't told sequentially. I typically don't love jumping around, but it was ok here. I also am not a fan of swearing, but I guess it didn't really bother me in this book because for the most part it was in German.

All in all, I was moved by this story. I am happy for the goodness in people.