The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (September Group Read)

[Rea, Ghost]

I pictured him as just a presence who can only stand on the sidelines and watch as events unfold, never being able to affect them in any way for better or worse. I didn't picture him so much as a solid being, or a skeleton with a scythe, as a sort of conscious energy.

[Montana]

Rea wrote: "I pictured him as just a presence who can only stand on the sidelines and watch as events unfold, never being able to affect them in any way for better or worse. I didn't picture him so much as a s..."

I agree I picture him as like a spirit or ghostly like figure.

[Heather]

I actually pictured Death as a Vincent Price look alike. Just that he existed on a the spirit plane so that is was invisible to the living but solid to the spirits. I even had him sounding like Vincent lol!

[Jeshu]

I've been so obsessed with Supernatural, that I picture Death like Tessa, the reaper who tried to take Dean to "the other side" in SE02 (I guess) XD

[Tara-Jayne (♥ I Read, I Love ♥) , The Great & Mighty Mod! :P]

I am hopefully Going to buy this soon :D Im hoping :D because i havent really heard anything bad about this :D
And Char recommended the book and i think Jeshu did too :D SO yeahh :D

[Char]

Okay here's a question: If you were in Hans Hubermann's position when it comes to Max what would you have said/done?

(view spoiler)[ I would have taken him in. I think I'd be one of the 10% of Germany. Hitler's ideals are everything I'm not. I'd want to help out the Jew. (hide spoiler)]

[Tara-Jayne (♥ I Read, I Love ♥) , The Great & Mighty Mod! :P]

I ordered the book on Amazon :D Should be here on Thursday :D Yey :D

[[deleted user]]

Char wrote: "Okay here's a question: If you were in Hans Hubermann's position when it comes to Max what would you have said/done?"

So, I just finished it and I haven't cried over a book like that since I was a kid. I seriously haven't. It was totally heart-breaking and brilliant. The foreshadowing technique was devasting but in some ways the whole book was foreshadowed by my own knowledge before I even read it. (view spoiler)[ How could a story about the second world war and the holocaust not end without most of the characters dead? Rudy was already my favourite character when I found out exactly how he was going to die and then every endearing thing he did was more and more bitter-sweet. (hide spoiler)]

Death's narration was wonderful, poetic and brutally honest at the same time. I found a quote really early on that I loved too: "I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sandcastles, houses of cards, that's where they begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate." It might be bleak but it sums up so much about human nature. We're so good at building things up and tearing them down again.

With regard to Hans Hubermann and Max: (view spoiler)[ I would love to think I would help him. In fact, I can't imagine turning him away, I just don't think I would be able to do it - but I know I would have been terrified the whole time he was with us too. (hide spoiler)]. On the flip side do you think you could have done what Max did (view spoiler)[ and leave your family, knowing what was going to happen to them? His guilt over that and for imposing himself on the Hubermann's was the first thing that got me really choked up. (hide spoiler)]

[Char]

I know what you mean. I think a lot of people are loving Rudy. I adored him.

I agree, there are lots of quotes that I love I love the very last line: I am haunted by humans. I thought that was really poignant. I mean who thinks about how Death copes with us. It's all about how we cope with it.

I can see where you're coming from with that point of view and I can see why you would feel like that. That's actually a good question. (view spoiler)[ I think if I was Max, I'd want to live for my family. I'd want to try to make it through the war and live to an old age for them. I know. He felt so guilty. I wanted to hug him so badly. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Absolutely, being Death would be a thankless task. No holidays, just an endless stream of sadness.

(view spoiler)[ Survivor guilt is a renowned thing for anyone who survives a major trauma where others aren't so lucky and I think the holocaust was the first event that truly brought that to light. It seems crazy that any any Jewish person could possibly feel guilty for managing to survive such an atrocity but the question was always, why me? Why not my mother/brother/sister etc.

In a way, I actually think Max choosing to go, to leave them, was a brave thing - I think I would be too scared to leave my family for all sorts of reasons. Fear of never seeing them again, fear of always wondering what happened to them and not ever finding out, fear of getting caught anyway and dying on my own. I can't imagine having to make those kinds of decisions. (hide spoiler)]

[Char]

I know. I'd hate to be Death.

(view spoiler)[ I never thought of it like that if I'm honest. I just thought that I'd live for them and in a way it did happen in the book. I mean Frau Holtzapfel's son killed himself because he wanted to live when his other brother had died. So it's not just something that happened to Jews it happened to everyone. I think it was just more thought of for the Jewish community because they went through more.

Again I didn't think of it like that. I mean he left everything he knew, everyone he loved and he probably never saw them again. I'd love to say that I'd be able to go but a part of me would be scared. He made a hard decision and I hope that he didn't regret it. I realise he's just a character but... I loved him, he was real to me! (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Char wrote: "I know. I'd hate to be Death.

[spoilers removed]"

I know what you mean about the characters being real to you. They were all portrayed so well, they were so rounded, they absolutely felt real. I loved Max and Hans too! They were all so brave and kind in their own ways.

[Char]

They were. I also loved Rosa. I thought she was awesome. I loved how she pretended to be angry with everyone even though she loved them intensely. Hans was amazing. (view spoiler)[ The scene with the bread I just wanted to scream "WTF are you doing?! You're putting Max at risk!" (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Char wrote: "They were. I also loved Rosa. I thought she was awesome. I loved how she pretended to be angry with everyone even though she loved them intensely. Hans was amazing. [spoilers removed]"

I know. She epitomised the beauty of understatement. (view spoiler)[ The way she acted so fierce all the time made it all the more poignant when Hans was gone and she was just sitting there with his accordion. No big melodramatic words, just the image of her, trying to be close to him, feeling the emptiness he left behind.

I know. It was so terrible, like watching a car crash in slow motion, but it just showed how much heart he had. All he wanted was to ease that man's suffering and then they didn't even search the house. The note Max left was just another point where I cried. So tragic to think that people had to ration their kindness in order to make it worthwhile. Have you ever seen Schindler's List? (hide spoiler)]

[Char]

She really did. (view spoiler)[ I will admit I had a tear in my eye at that point. It was at that moment when I fell in love with Rosa Hubermann. I also thought it just proved how good a writer Zusak is. So many authors would have tried to describe it all with big words and he's just got her sitting in silence with an accordian. It was genius.

I know. He was a wonderful man. I know, that made it even worse. He let Max go and he could've stayed. In a way though it was better for Liesel that he went. Can you imagine what would have happened to her if they'd found Max with her in the basement? No I haven't. It's a film isn't it? (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Char wrote: "She really did. [spoilers removed]"

Sheesh, I didn't even think of that with regard to Max! That's so true - it would have been terrible.

Schindler's List is a film based on a true story. I was going to make a parallel to something that happens in that film at the end but I thought I would check whether you had seen it first or not. (I know how you hate spoilers!) I shall say no more...it's quite a long film but if you ever get a chance to watch it, I think it's worth it. (And remember to have the tissues handy).

[Char]

It just came to me then! It would have been awful for both of them!

I doubt I'll watch it if it's a long film. I can't sit down for long enough. (I do hate spoilers. They ruin the experience.)

[[deleted user]]

Char wrote: "I can't sit down for long enough."

So do you read standing up? Lol, I'm just kidding. Do you find you get absorbed more easily in books or do you read a chapter, go do something, come back and read another chapter etc?

My boyfriend bought Pirates of the Caribbean 4 yesterday so I watched it with him but my mind kept wandering because I just wanted to be reading The Book Thief! That must be the sign of a good book if it can distract me from Johnny Depp!

[Char]

Lol, if the book is good the time slides by but if it isn't I find I can switch it up and do something else. You can't really stop a film in the middle can you?

Wow! You got distracted from Johnny Depp? You really did like the book!

[[deleted user]]

Char wrote: "Lol, if the book is good the time slides by but if it isn't I find I can switch it up and do something else. You can't really stop a film in the middle can you?

Wow! You got distracted from John..."

Especially not if you're at the cinema - the rest of the audience might have something to say about that, lol.

I know, hard to imagine isn't it? The fourth film isn't as good as the others so I just sort of glazed over, enjoying the view while my brain was thinking about other things!

[Char]

I know. I think there'd be a few objections. Also I may do it if I ever get rich and can afford to bribe the cinema owner! xD

Aaah, that explains it. At least you got to enjoy Mr Depp in all his gorgeousness.

[MaraC]

Umm, how do I do the spoiler thing?

[Jeshu]

You use < spoiler >...< /spoiler > (without the spaces) and insert your text between them.
(view spoiler)[This should be the final result! :D (hide spoiler)]

[MaraC]

Thanks Jeshu! I couldn't figure it out! lol

I have a tear in my eye just reading this discussion from today! (view spoiler)[ The first thing I thought when I read them finding her in the basement was that it was a good thing Max wasn't there anymore afterall. It was heart wrenching when he left but then you see the bigger picture that it was a good thing that he had. I hate to think what would have happened to her! (hide spoiler)]

As for as what I thought Death looked like: I pictured a transparent, gaunt, but not quite to a skeleton, being with sad, haunting eyes. He is clothed in plain, dirty and worn, clothes in earthy tones. A being that could blend in anywhere (almost) if you could actually see him. I really am not sure why this is the image I saw since it is really different from what most think of Death looking like. (view spoiler)[ I guess the sadness and compassion he showed to the souls he would take in his arms to show them the way had me giving him a more human likeness.
(hide spoiler)]

[Jeshu]

MaraC wrote: "Thanks Jeshu! I couldn't figure it out! lol"
You're welcome! :)

[Laura]

I read this book about a year ago. It is on my top 20 list of books. There is just so much going on in thsi book on several levels the author allows for lots of speculation. This happens in part because the of the main characters age. I look forward to the discussion.

[Laura]

MaraC wrote: "Yes, it was stunning. Even with all the hints death gives you about what is coming it doesn't take the emotion out of it. It's like they became family to me. Even with some of the characters flaws ..."

MaraC wrote: "Yes, it was stunning. Even with all the hints death gives you about what is coming it doesn't take the emotion out of it. It's like they became family to me. Even with some of the characters flaws ..."

Your comment made me try to think of what kind of theivery would be acceptable. I'm thinking that if someone came into my house and stole my books (which I cherish) I would like to think that they need them more than I do. That is how I think of Leisel.

[Laura]

Char wrote: "I agree Mara, I thought Death telling what happens would ruin the effect of the book but if anything it makes you crave that just this once Death is wrong and that it won't happen.

The character ..."

I didn't really picture a physical aspect to "Death more like a "voice" over and above the picture. Sort of like a narration in a documentary. If I had to draw "Death: Ithink I would make it black whispiness floating through the air.

[Sharon]

I read it a month ago and I found it one of the best books I have read. I like it that it is told from the view of 'death' and that it is about a German girl during the war.
And although you have a feeling it is going to end bad, you still hope it will have a happy ending.

[gwen_is_]

Actually I agree with Char. I always saw the "reaper" style Death as being cold, maybe even uncaring... that wasn't our narrator. By the middle of the book I imagined him like a ghost.

[Jessi]

Hey everyone,
I'm only on page 25 so far but I'm finding this book to be very boring & slow. I'm having a tough time understanding what it's supposed to be about as well. Does it get better? Does it pick up more? Will I understand what is going on more soon? Really need some encouragement to get through this. Usually by now in a book I'd just stop reading it. Thanks =)

[Char]

Jessi wrote: "Hey everyone,
I'm only on page 25 so far but I'm finding this book to be very boring & slow. I'm having a tough time understanding what it's supposed to be about as well. Does it get better? Does i..."

Jessi! Don't give up on it! Seriously, it's a great book.

[Rea, Ghost]

The start is a little weird as the scene is set, but once it gets going, it really grips you and sends you through a very wide range of emotions! If you manage to get into it, have a box of tissues at the ready.

[Tara-Jayne (♥ I Read, I Love ♥) , The Great & Mighty Mod! :P]

Hey.. hopefully it will be here tomoz :D I only just found out.. my sister has tried reading this before, but just couldnt get into it. So.. now i feel a bit upset. coz me and her normally like the same books. Hopefully this is one wear i like it. and she dont :D

[Jessi]

I will read a bit more of it & see how it goes thanks Rea

[Tara-Jayne (♥ I Read, I Love ♥) , The Great & Mighty Mod! :P]

I just started this :D Im now on page 53 :D

Its so different from all the other books ive read :D

I already Like Death :D

[Char]

I think Zusak's portrayal of Death is different to anything I've ever read before. I was sympathising with him and I never thought that would happen. I think it was an interesting way to narrate the novel and I'm so glad this group made me read it. xD

[Tara-Jayne (♥ I Read, I Love ♥) , The Great & Mighty Mod! :P]

Im also glad This group made me read it :D

And after everyone saying it was great i had to :D

[Jeshu]

I'm glad that you are enjoying it Tara :)

[Jeshu]

I finished it.
I... don't know what to say that would make justice to the book. It's beautiful, overwhelming, sad, but with happy moments that make you think that it isn't that horrible...
I'm overwhelmed by a lot of different emotions and tears :(

[Char]

Aww. It's one of the best books I've ever read. *hugs*

[Jessi]

I'm still having a tough time getting through it. The book description sounds so cool & so does the book jacket but I cannot get used to how this author writes. The way things are pointed out by death bother me. There isn't much description from what I've read so far. I guess I just expected a lot more. I'm on page 88 and still trying to talk myself into keeping it up.

[Rea, Ghost]

Oh dear, Jessi, I'm sorry to hear that. No book can please everyone - maybe this just isn't the style of narration for you. I was completely engrossed by page 88.

[Jessi]

Well I asked some friends about it & they said it was slow for them at first too but to keep with it so I am =)

[Rea, Ghost]

I hope it catches your attention soon then! It was one of those "life changer" novels for me when I read it.

[Cynjit]

Okay...I just got it from the library...had to reserve it so it took a few weeks..Read two pages...the point of view is awesome... I love unique perspectives. I hope it lives up to my expectations. I need to read a fulfilling book...

[Jessi]

I'm starting to get a bit more into it. I can't stand the character of Rosa though. Does she get any better?

[Char]

Jessi wrote: "I'm starting to get a bit more into it. I can't stand the character of Rosa though. Does she get any better?"

I took a while to warm up to Rosa. Once I'd really figured her out and why she does what she did I fell in love with her. There are some really touching bits with her further on in the book. :)

[Jessi]

Nice to have something to look forward to thanks Char =)

[Char]

Not a problem Jessi :)