Colleen's review
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
i have to disagree with you that books written for young people aren't good. well-written, engaging young adult fiction is quite possibly the best way to get young people to love reading. Madeleine L'Engle's Time series were written for the young adult crowd and they are as sophisticated and entertaining as any adult novel. Megan McCafferty's novels about Jessica Darling are classified as young adult but are enjoyed and related to by adults.
i disagree, too, that the worst thing that one can say about the holocaust is that we don't need to hear any more about it. i do agree it is depressing and i don't want to surround myself with it, but we cannot forget. as long as genocide perpetrates, we cannot forget about the Holocaust, the Kurds, Cambodians, Somalis, etc.
Points taken. Thank you for your thoughtful response and attention.
I actually read somewhere that the book wasn't written for young adults, but the US publisher thought it would sell better if they marketed it that way. I think they did it a big disservice.
You're right, Melissa. It was marketed as a YA book in Australia, Zusak's homeland. Then, when published in the US, it was slated to be an adult book, but was switched to YA at the last minute. I agree that this was a shame.
Actually, I don't really avoid YA books-- after all, kids and teens have very active imaginations, which keep authors on their metaphoric toes.
Another interesting tidbit: several of the events in the story were taken directly from Zusak's grandparents' stories of wartime Germany. Write what you and/or your ancestors know, eh?
Duh, dude.
These days, young adult fiction is where it's at.
No other writing truly cuts to the chase of major issues in such an enticing way.
If you ignore the "teen" books at the big box book store (walk right by the "IT" girl series) and read between the shelves, you will find more jewels than in any other section.
Wake up and smell the sickly smell of James Patterson!
Moving on to Paul Zindel and Go Ask Alice!
It's not marketed as a YA book in Australia, although Zusak's other book is. It's actually in Angus and Robertson's Top 100 book list (A&R are an Australian bookshop chain, and the Top 100 is voted by customers).
The thing about good YA books is they so rarely have the literary pretensions that books written for adults do. They set out to tell a good story, and although they sometimes have all those "good-triumphs-over-evil" type moralising, they don't try to impress people with their prose, which removes the self-concious "literary" aspect that I find in a lot of adult books.
I am a huge YA fiction fan and it always saddens me when people assume that because it's YA, it can't be good. I hope your experience with the Book Thief will convince you to try other YA books, there are some awesome ones out there.
I think Hitler was born in Austria, incidentally.
I'd like to add to my review by saying that this book changed my (obviously narrow-minded) view of YA reads. I loved the book, and have since found awesome books in this genre. :)
Strange about the birthplace... perhaps I misread it and the town was actually his hometown, ie, where he grew up.
hitler was born in austria and educated in vienna, but back then the ties between austria and southern germany were very tight. plus, "germany" was a brand new nation-state when hitler was born, because the franco-prussian war had basically just ended and created a unified germany under bismark. the dual monarchy was a much better place to be growing up. also, munich was where hitler started his political career, and it's the birthplace of nazism, so to speak, starting with the munich beer hall putsch in 1923.
so while munich was not *his* birthplace, it was technically the birthplace of the hitler we know - where he wrote mein kampf, etc.
(interestingly, hitler was in high school with wittgenstein. crazy, right?)
and YA is crazy good these days - though i agree, i think the book thief should not have been marketed as YA - not because this type of quality can't be found in YA, but because it's a pretty sophisticated book in terms of style and literary techniques, and i do think a lot of people are turned off by the label when they would otherwise enjoy it.
YA books are actually pretty similar to adult books, with the exception of Gossip Girl and Clique books. They are still excellent and I enjoy them just as much as adult books. I think the Book Thief falls into both categories, just like Harry Potter.
The Book Thief rocks!!!
Colleen's review
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Colleen's review
rating:
recommended for: People who want a fresh angle on the Holocaust.
I put off reading this book for the library book club. Here are my three reasons for doing so:
1) It's a Young Adult Book. I am an Adult. It can't be that good if it's written for young people.
2) It's about the Holocaust, and I think we've all heard enough about that. The author will probably even focus on colors among the grays, as in "Schindler's List."
3) I have WAY too many other books to read.
After avoiding the book for as long as possible, I sat down, hoping to enjoy it enough to gain some clever comments for the book group.
Turns out, most of my concerns were right. But one other thing was also true: THIS BOOK ROCKS.
The first thing any review will say about this book is that it is narrated by death. So, I might as well get it out of the way. Death, the Hooded One, the Angel of the Night, narrates. He is very busy during the war years, as you might expect. Some people claim this is a mere gimmick, and that the story is strong enough as it i...more
1) It's a Young Adult Book. I am an Adult. It can't be that good if it's written for young people.
2) It's about the Holocaust, and I think we've all heard enough about that. The author will probably even focus on colors among the grays, as in "Schindler's List."
3) I have WAY too many other books to read.
After avoiding the book for as long as possible, I sat down, hoping to enjoy it enough to gain some clever comments for the book group.
Turns out, most of my concerns were right. But one other thing was also true: THIS BOOK ROCKS.
The first thing any review will say about this book is that it is narrated by death. So, I might as well get it out of the way. Death, the Hooded One, the Angel of the Night, narrates. He is very busy during the war years, as you might expect. Some people claim this is a mere gimmick, and that the story is strong enough as it i...more
i have to disagree with you that books written for young people aren't good. well-written, engaging young adult fiction is quite possibly the best way to get young people to love reading. Madeleine L'Engle's Time series were written for the young adult crowd and they are as sophisticated and entertaining as any adult novel. Megan McCafferty's novels about Jessica Darling are classified as young adult but are enjoyed and related to by adults. i disagree, too, that the worst thing that one can say about the holocaust is that we don't need to hear any more about it. i do agree it is depressing and i don't want to surround myself with it, but we cannot forget. as long as genocide perpetrates, we cannot forget about the Holocaust, the Kurds, Cambodians, Somalis, etc.
Points taken. Thank you for your thoughtful response and attention.
I actually read somewhere that the book wasn't written for young adults, but the US publisher thought it would sell better if they marketed it that way. I think they did it a big disservice.
You're right, Melissa. It was marketed as a YA book in Australia, Zusak's homeland. Then, when published in the US, it was slated to be an adult book, but was switched to YA at the last minute. I agree that this was a shame.Actually, I don't really avoid YA books-- after all, kids and teens have very active imaginations, which keep authors on their metaphoric toes.
Another interesting tidbit: several of the events in the story were taken directly from Zusak's grandparents' stories of wartime Germany. Write what you and/or your ancestors know, eh?
Duh, dude.These days, young adult fiction is where it's at.
No other writing truly cuts to the chase of major issues in such an enticing way.
If you ignore the "teen" books at the big box book store (walk right by the "IT" girl series) and read between the shelves, you will find more jewels than in any other section.
Wake up and smell the sickly smell of James Patterson!
Moving on to Paul Zindel and Go Ask Alice!
It's not marketed as a YA book in Australia, although Zusak's other book is. It's actually in Angus and Robertson's Top 100 book list (A&R are an Australian bookshop chain, and the Top 100 is voted by customers).
The thing about good YA books is they so rarely have the literary pretensions that books written for adults do. They set out to tell a good story, and although they sometimes have all those "good-triumphs-over-evil" type moralising, they don't try to impress people with their prose, which removes the self-concious "literary" aspect that I find in a lot of adult books.
I am a huge YA fiction fan and it always saddens me when people assume that because it's YA, it can't be good. I hope your experience with the Book Thief will convince you to try other YA books, there are some awesome ones out there.I think Hitler was born in Austria, incidentally.
I'd like to add to my review by saying that this book changed my (obviously narrow-minded) view of YA reads. I loved the book, and have since found awesome books in this genre. :)Strange about the birthplace... perhaps I misread it and the town was actually his hometown, ie, where he grew up.
hitler was born in austria and educated in vienna, but back then the ties between austria and southern germany were very tight. plus, "germany" was a brand new nation-state when hitler was born, because the franco-prussian war had basically just ended and created a unified germany under bismark. the dual monarchy was a much better place to be growing up. also, munich was where hitler started his political career, and it's the birthplace of nazism, so to speak, starting with the munich beer hall putsch in 1923. so while munich was not *his* birthplace, it was technically the birthplace of the hitler we know - where he wrote mein kampf, etc.
(interestingly, hitler was in high school with wittgenstein. crazy, right?)
and YA is crazy good these days - though i agree, i think the book thief should not have been marketed as YA - not because this type of quality can't be found in YA, but because it's a pretty sophisticated book in terms of style and literary techniques, and i do think a lot of people are turned off by the label when they would otherwise enjoy it.
YA books are actually pretty similar to adult books, with the exception of Gossip Girl and Clique books. They are still excellent and I enjoy them just as much as adult books. I think the Book Thief falls into both categories, just like Harry Potter. The Book Thief rocks!!!
