The Book Thief in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Aug 05, 2008 Jaspreet rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I was excited to be able to pick next selection for the DC area book club I joined when we came to the area. When The Book Thief by Mark Zusak came out a few years ago, I read lots of wonderful reviews around the blogosphere. As I was browsing the Regulator book store in Durham one fine day, I saw the Book Thief had come out in paperback and I made the purchase! I was excited and curious to finally begin this novel to see if it lived up to the buzz. After reading quite a few "okay books," I was I was excited to be able to pick next selection for the DC area book club I joined when we came to the area. When The Book Thief by Mark Zusak came out a few years ago, I read lots of wonderful reviews around the blogosphere. As I was browsing the Regulator book store in Durham one fine day, I saw the Book Thief had come out in paperback and I made the purchase! I was excited and curious to finally begin this novel to see if it lived up to the buzz. After reading quite a few "okay books," I was thrilled that the Book Thief stole my heart immediately and kept me wanting more as I turned the pages. As soon as I started, I was drawn into the book. I found the story of Liesel very compelling. The book made my commute seem short and when we had long flights and a layover on a recent trip to Jamaica, the story made the time go quickly.

One of the things which made the story so compelling to me is that the story is told from the perspective of death. Death gives us insight into Nazi Germany, war, and anti-semitism. However, death makes the experience more human and accessible by sharing with us the story of Liesel. I loved her relationships with her foster parents, her best friend Rudy, and Max, the Jewish person her family hid in the basement. Another central part of the story is Liesel's relationship to books and how learning to read saves her life. I found it so poetic and tear inducing that each book theft was connected to a significant event in Liesel's life. At various points in the book, I found myself crying at the sweetness of interactions between the characters-- Liesel and Rudy, Liesel and her papa, Liesel and her mama, Liesel and Max.

Another aspect of the novel I really enjoyed is the way in which the complexity of the characters is developed. The conflict between wanting to fit in with the majority so as to not be harassed and following your conscious comes across in the decision of Liesel's parents to take in a Jewish person. I also loved the stories that Max shared with Liesel and the scene where she steps into the parade of Jewish people marching through her town is heart breaking. Many points in the book illustrate how even in the worst of times, the best of the human spirit emerges.

I am looking forward to the book club discussion of this book. ...more

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Jul 14, 2008 Rebecca rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bookclub-read

On Friday, my book club chose this book for March, and I picked it up on Saturday at the library. It is now Sunday, and I finished the book this afternoon. I was taking a break this weekend before writing two more papers and a take-home final and I thought, it’s been a really long time since I just got lost in a book for a day or so. So I did.

Besides the fact that I do NOT like sad books, I had been putting off reading this book because it was about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. I feel like t ...more

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Jan 02, 2009 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, popular-fiction, world-literature

I loved this book. For some reason, even though this book has been on my radar for a while I was always a little hesitant to read it. I think I wasn't in the mood for the heaviness of a Holocaust book. However, I wish I had gotten there sooner. I was finally inspired after I had to read one of Zusak's other books (I Am The Messenger) because it was assigned to my students for summer reading. Growing up I always knew about the Holocaust but I'm not used to hearing a story from the perspective of ...more

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Oct 18, 2009 William rated it liked it · review of another edition

It kills me sometimes, how people die.

At first I thought this was going to be another of those woe-is-me type stories of somebody living with abusive foster parents. Fortunately it turned into something much more than that, although it never reached the heights it could have.

Having Death as narrator was nice although I felt more could've been done with this; at times you completely forget and it's just like a random third person narration.

Things started to tail off into the realms of boredom aro ...more

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Jul 24, 2009 Alison rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, bookclub

An interesting YA novel set at the start of WW2 in Germany. We follow Leisel, a young German girl, and her family. I liked this because it offers another perspective than the Holocaust works I'm familiar with -- we see how it affects regular Germans, as opposed to seeing things from a Jew's point of view. ...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Shannon rated it really liked it

At first I found the writing style a little hokey, but it grew on me, and I came to appreciate it, as well as the unique perspective of the narrator, as an effective device for portraying the basic sentiment of the book: that there can be glimpses of light and air even in an impossibly heavy environment.

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Sep 29, 2008 Kristen rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, drama, 2013

I do not know what the big deal is with this book. It was kind of boring to me, and I hated the writing style. It wasn't *bad* but I don't think it deserves the crazy hype it's been getting. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood to read a book about WWII. ...more

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