The Book Thief in Aussie Readers

Jul 12, 2007 Magdalena rated it it was amazing

Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief has one of the most original and striking narrators since Julian Barnes introduced us to the canny perspective of a woodlice in History of the World in 10½ Chapters. There’s no caginess about it. The first word of the first chapter’s title makes it clear that the narrator is a personified Death: the not so grim reaper. Having Death as the narrator for a book set in Germany at the start of World War II starts the book on exactly the right blackly humorous tone which Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief has one of the most original and striking narrators since Julian Barnes introduced us to the canny perspective of a woodlice in History of the World in 10½ Chapters. There’s no caginess about it. The first word of the first chapter’s title makes it clear that the narrator is a personified Death: the not so grim reaper. Having Death as the narrator for a book set in Germany at the start of World War II starts the book on exactly the right blackly humorous tone which continues throughout. It’s a very Jewish type of humour. I’m thinking of the classic Borsch belt comedians like Sholem Aleichem, Milton Berle or perhaps even later comedians like Billy Crystal or Woody Allen. As Harvard Professor Ruth Wisse quoted in her Radio National piece on Jewish Humour, Saul Bellow calls “characteristically Jewish” a story in which laughter and trembling are so curiously mingled that it is not easy to determine the relations between the two, or as Death puts it: “A final dirty joke. Another human punchline.” (12) This is part of the power of what Zusak does in The Book Thief.

Although The Book Thief succeeds on the most post-modern of levels, its impact on the reader is as much due to superb old fashioned plot and characterisation as anything else. It is, afterall, simply a beautiful and painful story of a young girl as she deals with an important and tragic point in history. Liesel is nine and her younger brother six, when her mother takes her and her brother to Munich to be given to foster parents. En route her brother dies: “When the coughing stopped, there was nothing but the nothingness of life moving on with a shuffle, or a near-silent twitch. A suddenness found its way onto his lips then, which were a corroded brown colour, and peeling, like old paint.” (20) Liesel is then thrust into a nightmare/dream existance which involves the thieving of a book, the development of a relationship with her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Huberman, and her growing sense of self as she ages during this period. Liesel’s coming of age is a key part of the plot, and it is possible to read the book as simply the story of Liesel. Certainly Liesel’s characterisation is enough to carry the story. When Liesel arrives at the Hubermans she is scared, almost mute, and refuses to get out of the car or into a bath, but we have already begun to love her through the lens of Death’s sympathy

Death’s own role as a character is a strong one, and he hints at a conflicted inner life. In some ways he makes himself a slave of humans – dealing with the impact of their wars and atrocities: “The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more.” An afterlife is hinted at very subtly, but never clarified – bodies go cold and melt and sometimes warm again as their souls are gently removed. That’s all the reader gets. The rest is left open to imagination, as is the direction that Death as character might be moving in. He’s allegorical in one sense, but so real in his sensations, longings and emotions, that it isn’t hard to imagine some kind of progression for him. As character, he may not be nice, but he has his charms, as typified by the last line in the book. Death’s most striking punchline is delivered at the very end. And like the best Jewish humour, it works by turning both fear and convention on its head, in this case, making humans the ‘other’ haunting entity. It also places the final spotlight directly on life, and the celebration and triumph of it, even in the face of man-made hatred and horror. The Book Thief is a wonderful book, full of beauty, pain, longing, joy, and sensuality. It never skirts the horror of war, death, or pain, nor does it flinch at the very real tragedy it immerses itself, sometimes graphically, in. But even at its ugliest, this is a story of the beauty and celebration, however fleeting, of human life. ...more

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May 23, 2009 Nicki Markus rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-historical

I loved this book from start to finish and was keen to get through as much as possible everytime I had chance to do some reading!

The story is compelling, the characters well written and engaging and the style highly readable yet still interesting and varied at times.

I enjoyed every minute of this book and would highly recommend it to anyone.

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Jun 02, 2008 Georgina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historicalfic

I adored this book, didn't want to stop reading once I'd started. I thought I'd read enough Holocaust/World War II novels to last me a lifetime, but it was so different, I really appreciated the perspective of non-Jewish Germans during the war, it's something we don't really hear about (in Australia at least).

I didn't even realise it was a 'young adult' book until I came in here and read the reviews, while I would certainly recommend it to young adults it's far from what I would call light read ...more

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Oct 20, 2008 Steven rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I really enjoyed The Book Thief which was completely unexpected. Beginning in 1939, The Book Thief focuses on topis I’m not keen on reading about including history, war and Nazi Germany.

From page one I was intrigued; the story is narrated by death who is speaking directly to the reader. The story does jump back and forth in time a little but the order of events is easy enough to follow.

As you would expect with a history/war/Nazi story there is death and loss throughout but it is absolutely wort ...more

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Mar 29, 2008 Peter Macinnis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, military-war, human-dignity, religion

One of my wife's friends rang tonight -- she was the one who recommended the book to us. She lives nearby, and attended a talk given by Zusak at the local library (he lives in our city, and is of Austrian-German parentage).
It seems the book was originally to be a short story and then a novella about the true incident of the man who gave bread (I am trying not to create a spoiler here), but then he extended it, all before finding the perfect narrator.
It is indeed a perfect book. ...more

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Aug 15, 2009 Tracey rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: australian, fiction, 2009

I read it and the first couple of hundred pages were okay and it was not until the last couple of pages that I enjoyed the book. Then it just wrapped up really quickly and was like wtf.

I was not expecting anything and if the big hoo-ha about the book is who the supposed author is then it was not a big deal from my point of view.

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Apr 01, 2010 Jackie Tritt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The trouble with a good book is that it pulls you in to the world of its characters, really makes you care about them, and then subjects them to the unspeakable. It upset me a lot, but I'm very glad I read it. Not the sort of book you can forget. ...more

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Jul 09, 2007 Jyv rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish

I just couldn't get into this book. I didn't like the style at all. It seemed disjointed and pointless. I tried to persevere but after 100 pages I still hadn't got involved and gave up. ...more

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Jun 11, 2008 Kerry rated it it was amazing

Shelves: my-all-time-favourite-novels

One of the best things I have read in a long time. Beautifully written. Will be aiming to put it onto our Grade 9 Reading list next year! Don't miss it! ...more

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