What book is good enough to follow The Book Thief?

[Beth]

The Hour I First Believed was one I liked but agree it was my least favorite from Wally Lamb. One of the best books I've read was his book I Know This Much is True. Another thick one, but I couldn't put it down and had it finished in 3 days.

If you haven't ready City of Thieves, this is another great one.

[Kerem]

Ok, i'll try and get a copy of City of Thieves and I know this much is true. Thanks for the recommendations Beth!

[Laura]

Can I please recommend The Historian? And also American Gods?
I LOVED the Book Thief also, and both of the above books I found to be similar in scope and tone.
(Also I will add another recommendation to the The Shadow of the Wind list :) )

[Kiessa]

A million and one votes for Those Who Save Us, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and Shadows of the Wind!!!!

[Kate]

Well, having almost finished The Collaborator (AKA The Soldier's Wife), I've now taken Shadow of the Wind out of the library and can't wait to get stuck into it!

[Anne]

Sarah wrote: "If you'd like to stay on theme (and you mentioned enjoying the German perspective) I'd recommend A Woman in Berlin. It's the account of an anonymous German woman living in Berlin at the end of the..."

I was thinking of making the same rec., tho it's a memoir and doesn't dance around the hardships of Berliners at the end of the war. But it's a favorite of mine. Another very readable WW11 book is A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell. Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945 by Marie Vassiltchikov is one of the best books I've read about Berlin during WW11. It's told by a White Russian Countess who escaped Russia for Germany. Also very readable.

[Laura]

Anne wrote: "Sarah wrote: "If you'd like to stay on theme (and you mentioned enjoying the German perspective) I'd recommend A Woman in Berlin. It's the account of an anonymous German woman living in Berlin at ..."

Anne wrote: "Sarah wrote: "If you'd like to stay on theme (and you mentioned enjoying the German perspective) I'd recommend A Woman in Berlin. It's the account of an anonymous German woman living in Berlin at ..."

Thanks for the recs! I'm now reading Shadow of the Wind and next is Sarah's Key thanks to The Book Thief blog...

[Robyn]

Kate wrote: "I've got 200 or so pages left of The Book Thief and I'm loving every minute of it. In the same way that I worried when I started it that it wouldn't live up to it's recommendations (but by God it ..."
Marcus Zusak's second book didn't live up to the Book Thief but I loved his descriptions of Sydney.

[Linda]

Thanks you all for the book recommendations. I just saw sarah's Key yesterday and loved the way it moved from past to present. I had not read the book. I am now reading The Given Day by Dennis Lehane. It follows 3 characters in the early 1900s in Boston. Very good.

[xfarahx]

If ur interested in WW2 fiction you should try The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society an epistolary novel and one of my all time favorite books(i actually read The Book Thief because of it.

[Danielle]

Lidia wrote: "Jane wrote: "You could also try Sarah's Key"

I loved that book! It was amazing and I read it right after the Book Thief

[Maude]

Between Shades of Grey falls into the same category as the Book Theif. Both books showed me a side of history I was never familair with. While I have read many books concerning the Holocaust, I've never looked through the eyes of a German girl during the war. I was never even aware of what Stalin did to millions of people like Lina. Both very eye-opening and life-changing books.

[Ann]

Linda: The Given Day is a wonderful book - I imagine you will love it from cover to cover! I have been reluctant to read or watch Sarah's Key... perhaps I should relent.
Linda wrote: "Thanks you all for the book recommendations. I just saw sarah's Key yesterday and loved the way it moved from past to present. I had not read the book. I am now reading The Given Day by Dennis Lehane..."

[Kate]

Interesting that you recommend Guernsey Literary.... I also read it before reading The Book Thief and loved both but thought they were such different books that you wouldn't necessarily recommend one to a lover of the other. Funnily, my sister has just finished Guernsey so I gave her my copy of The Book Thief to read saying it was the best book I'd ever read and she's really struggling with it.

[Z]

Kate! Have you tried some of Zusak's other works? I have only read one other novel by Zusak, but I loved it, albeit in a different way from Book Thief.

I am the messenger by Markus Zusak

The writing style is different, but similar. It has the lyricisim you enjoyed, but less apt on the description. Not really history rich, but I get the feeling you might enjoy the modern setting and the way it portrays regular/normal life.

In the end, I found The Book Thief amazed me in the most extraordinary way. I am messenger, however, amazed me in the most ordinary/simplest ways.

Sorry if I was too vague!

[Sam]

Milkweed is good. I hear life of pi is great, too

[xfarahx]

Kate wrote: "Interesting that you recommend Guernsey Literary.... I also read it before reading The Book Thief and loved both but thought they were such different books that you wouldn't necessarily recommend ..."

the thing is i try not to raise people's expectations of books so that they're not disappointed... but i did love them both (guernsey a bit more...)
another book that pops into my head with guernsey is The Elegance of the Hegdehog ..also impressive

[Ann]

Ed - I think that is a very well put summary of the impact of both books. I agree, I Am the Messenger and The Book Thief affected me differently, but no less for either, just differently. I can still hear Ed Kennedy's voice in my head (I listened to the audio)
Ed wrote: "In the end, I found The Book Thief amazed me in the most extraordinary way. I am messenger, however, amazed me in the most ordinary/simplest ways."

[Suzy]

I loved Markus Zuzak's other book, I Am the Messenger. Nothing at all like The Book Thief, but still very good.

[Kerem]

It's really interesting what everyone says about 'I am the messenger' I just could not get into that book! :(
And i don't know why. It might have been because i was expecting something a bit like the book thief (not the same story obviously!) but everything about that book i just didn't like. I only read about 50 pages so i want to try again in the future. Perhaps i just wasn't in the right 'place' to read it at the time.

[Ann]

Try the audio Kerem!
Kerem wrote: "It's really interesting what everyone says about 'I am the messenger' I just could not get into that book! :(
And i don't know why. It might have been because i was expecting something a bit like t..."

[Kerem]

Ann wrote: "Try the audio Kerem!
Kerem wrote: "It's really interesting what everyone says about 'I am the messenger' I just could not get into that book! :(
And i don't know why. It might have been because i ..."

Ha ha! Yeah, that's a good idea actually. Will try it!

[Gilly]

I have to say that The Book Thief is also one of my favourite books also loved Those Who Save Us. I struggled through Shadow of the Wind.

[Kristy]

Between shades of gray is a must read for EVERYONE!! The book is very similar and just as good as the book thief...both books are on my top 10 list. I also enjoyed city of thieves and winter garden by Kristin Hannah.

[Laura]

I just re-read The Book Thief (only the second book I have ever read more than once...too many good books in the world!!!) It didn't disappoint...lyrical writing, memorable narrator (Death), engrossing characters, layers of themes AND so life-affirming. Reading over these discussions, two things: 1) I want to reiterate In My Hands: the story of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdike (with Jennifer Armstrong) as another superb Holocaust story. 2) What happened with Zusak's A Bridge of Clay? Has it come out? Is it a bomb? I'm having a hard time finding anything about it.

[Lisa]

I disliked the Book Thief. I also HATED The Shadow of the Wind which reminded me of the Book Thief. I am thinking if you like one, you might like the other one.

If you have not read it, I found The Good Earth to be a great book.

[Dusty Bibliophile]

I liked Taylor Stevens' The Informationist. Set in Africa, it provides an international flair to the thriller genre. The Dog Stars by Heller, a post apocalyptic tale of a man seeking meaning, was also good and very moving.

[LindaJ^]

Kate,
Given what you said you liked about The Book Thief (which is one of my all time favorites), and because Shadow of the Wind has already been mentioned (another all time favorite), I would recommend The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. It also is an all time favorite!

[Dara S.]

Sarah's Key is a great book.

[Mariela]

I think The Fault in Our Stars is a good choice.

[Rebecca]

I absolutely loved The Book Thief, and Shadow of the Wind (both of which are probably in my top 10 favourites of all time, so agree with Lisa - if you like one, you may well like the other.

Like you, I enjoy books which take me into another world/country/era, and so would also recommend Snowflower and the Secret Fan, and also the Glassblower of Murano - both beautiful, evocative and poignant.

[Julia]

yes, i also agree with 'shadow of the wind' and 'the angel's game' - also on my top list.

also try jane hamilton - she is one of my favourite authors.

[Lauren]

The History of Love.

[Melinda]

Dee wrote: "I would absolutely recommend Sarah's Key. Read the book when it came out and just saw the moview last week, terrific! I would also recommend Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum. About what a woman do..."

Just saw your post and absolutely agree. Three of my favorite books. Also, "Crossing the Borders of Time" by Leslie Maitland.

[Brenda]

By all means, The Help, if you haven't already read it!! Two of our book clubs' favorites!!

[Julia]

oh yes, 'the help' - you have to ..!!

[Jenny]

Silent Night - for that 'other' perspective of WWII. I'm not a fan of 'the war' but, in a similar vein as The Book Thief, this is about ordinary people (adults in this case), not warfare. Highly recommended, gripping, a real page-turner.

[Suzy]

Have you read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie? A very different book than the Book Thief, but wonderful nevertheless. Also I Am the Messenger, also by Markus Zusak.

[Marie]

Book thief is really awesome book! :) I would recommend you every single book by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, but my favourite is The Shadow of the Wind. If you liked Book thief, you will love this one too :)

[Ruth]

Try Two Brothers by Ben Elton. Similar subject matter, with characters so real and human they almost jump off the page. I know it's only February but this is a contender for my book of the year.

[Michael]

morris gleitzmans books are great to read after book theif

[April]

The Boy in the Stripe Pajamas by John Boyne and Someone Named Eva by Joan M Wolfe are both YA novel told from German perspective. While I don't feel they are on part with The Book Thief in writing, I do feel they are worth reading for their uniqueness.

[Chris]

A book this reminds me of is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay which is just brilliant. It's about two guys who form a comic book company. One of them is Jewish and a lot of his background involves WW2. It won the Pulitzer.

[Chris]

Marie wrote: "Book thief is really awesome book! :) I would recommend you every single book by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, but my favourite is The Shadow of the Wind. If you liked Book thief, you will love this one too :)"

Oh, agreed. Shadow of the Wind is a masterpiece. I just started reading The Angel's Game by Zafon and it's great so far.

[Meliksah]

i think that catch-22 would be a great follow up to this

[Sher]

The Bakers Daughter
The Lotus Eaters

[Gail]

Kate, Try Nicole Krause's History of Love. I felt that the Book Thief has a very different rhythm that made it interesting. I had that same feeling with History of Love. I also loved-loved-loved Suite Francaise. Sarah's Key is simplistic compared to the books you say you like. Think twice about that one. (Oh, and I cried, too. Caught me by surprise.)

[Laurie]

Melissa wrote: "Hm.. As John says, difficult to know what your taste is, but since The Book Thief is on my "Books I adored" list, I can try to recommend you a couple of other things from there...

1. In terms of g..."

[Nancy]

If you want another novel from the German perspective, try STONES FROM THE RIVER by Ursula Heg

[Stacielynn]

Laura wrote: "Wally Lamb's writing in The Hour I First Believed turned me off! Depressing and drivels on and on! I probably won't try another Wally Lamb. However, I second votes for City of Thieves. And so m..."

I was scrolling through this waiting to see if someone would suggest Stones from a River. It's the one that I think of first in relation to my reaction to The Book Thief.