The Book Thief was the most heart-wrenching piece of fiction I’ve read in awhile (nonfiction- The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls). It’s one of those novels packed with so much emotion and unforgettable moments that I simply don’t think I can collect all my thoughts and properly review it, and fear I’ll instead slip into a long, detailed book summary and spoil the story. Simply put, in my opinion this story is a must-read, and I’ll try to touch briefly on why without spoiling things.
The Book Thief in set in Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1943, and follows the story of a young German girl named Liesel Meminger. The book is narrated by the omniscient Death, who is portrayed not as a greedy, hateful creature, but as a curious observer of the human race with a “circular heart”. The perspective was a bit strange at first, as Death would frequently spoil the end of the story before the beginning, but the perspective worked in drawing me in to the present of the story, while placing the burden of the future forbiddingly on the horizon. Also, after having read books set from a Jewish perspective during the Holocaust, it was interesting to see Germany “from the other side”, in a manner of speaking, and see the reluctance, confusion and sorrow of the Germans as they watched former friends be hunted, gathered and marched away to concentration camps.
Death first encounters Liesel as an eleven-year-old girl traveling on a train with her mother and younger brother- and Death has come to collect her brother. Despite the busyness of his job during this time, Death looks back on Liesel, watching as she steals her first book in an effort to always remember her brother. Liesel is poor, uneducated and unaware that she has stolen The Grave Digger’s Handbook.
Abandoned by her mother, Liesel is taken in by Hans and Rosa Hubermann, an older German couple living on poverty-stricken Himmel Street in the fictional town of Molching, Germany. The author does a spectacular job of painting very real, tangible foster parents- Rosa is a loud, brash woman with a good heart but rough exterior who calls Liesel Saumensch (female swine, I believe it means). Hans is a kind-hearted painter and accordion player who develops a special bond with Liesel; he teaches her the alphabet, words, and eventually to read, sits watch over her nightmares, and turns a blind eye to her book stealing.
Shortly after meeting Hans, it should come as no surprise to readers that Hans Hubermann is perhaps the only German on Himmel Street to soon be hiding a Jew in his basement. Max Vandenburg is the son of a deceased German soldier who had saved Hans’ life in WWI, and thus Hans agrees to shelter the Jew. Max hides with the family for two years (Death spoils this early on), and in that period develops a strong friendship with Hans and Rosa, but particularly Liesel, due to their shared love of words and frequent nightmares. I’ll stop there.
The book takes a dark turn, as can only be expected when set in Germany during WWII. There is the Hitler Youth, fist fights, dying Jews being marched through the streets, recruits, air raids, bomb shelters, loss, love and sorrow. The story of Liesel Meminger is almost a world within a world for awhile, and you feel somewhat obligated to cheer along with her at each new word recognition, book acquisition, soccer game, midnight meeting and book reading. Yet the narrator does not allow you to forget the effects of the outside world marching steadily closer, determined to eliminate all happiness. It’s a somber, very real story, and powerful- definitely a read that will keep you thinking about it for days after.
(There is so much more to this story than what I have just written. Just read it. It’s worth the time.)
musings of a reader. 