The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

**WARNING** ~CONTAINS SPOILERS~

[preliminary review]

I just started this and I must say I got goosebumps. I knew where the story was going to lead up to but the way Zusak chose to narrate it just was so unique and he did such a good job leading the reader (me) to the beginning of Part 1 that I really can't wait to read the rest of the novel. The way Zusak led the colors to the Nazi flag was something that I didn't notice and thought was just brilliant. I also like the detached voice of Death that Zusak uses. Because the Holocaust has such obvious sides (the victims versus the oppressors) sometimes, I almost feel like Holocaust narratives end up taking the same tone of horror, a sense of loss and depression. I'm going to try and take it slow so as to savor it (besides I'm in the middle of like 4 other books) but I may just end up reading it all in one go.

Honestly, I'm a bit worried that this may be a typical Oh-no-the-tragedies-of-the-Holocaust-type of story. I'm not trying to discount the Holocaust and I definitely think that there are untold stories that must be told. There are many good and very necessary narratives that hopefully will carry out through history so that it is never repeated (though unfortunately there are still genocides out there in the world...). At any rate, my point is, if the writing is a piece of fiction, I feel like it's almost a cop-out to use the Holocaust because of the emotional nature of it. However, I think this novel is going to be GOOD. I hope my expectations are met.

[edit - full review]

I thought that this book was really really good. The imagery that Zusak uses are so unique yet they work so well with the novel. There were definitely some motifs that I think I missed but the idea of Death as the narrator was definitely a really unique one. I liked that he was portrayed as a 3-dimensional character and he was seen more as human. However, honestly, I don't think that it worked perfectly because there are obvious instances where there are lapses in the narrative because unless Death was there, he wouldn't be able to have made some of the statements that he did. I haven't verified this though because the way Zusak makes up for that gap is with Liesel's diary. Because the voice took on more of a third-person omniscient point of view, I'd have to say that with a close reading, there are probably going to be some lapses (but honestly, it wasn't noticeable when reading the novel..).

This book did end up being a Holocaust novel (I don't really think that you can get away from that if you're going to be talking about Nazi Germany in WWII) but at the same time, I think that it put Germans in a better light than just this evil force that went around killing everyone. I think that more than anything it was able to properly portray the horrors of war and the idea that in war, when it comes to individuals, no one really wins. The imagery was definitely pretty graphic for a younger audience but I think that this novel is labeled as a "teenager novel" which is a good age group given the things that they address. However, because the main character is younger, I can see teenagers brushing it off as a novel for younger children.

I really liked how Death would give the endings without leading up to any suspense. Even though you know that certain people are going to die, you still hope and wish that they won't. It's quite a conflicting feeling. It's like re-watching a sad romance movie where you know one of the lovers is going to die and even though you know the ending, you still watch it again to prolong the inevitable and in one way or another hope that he/she won't (but of course they still do...).

All in all, a good read though I wouldn't say it's absolutely fantastic. I feel like this novel is more about the plot than it is about any ideologies (aside from the apparent) so from an academic viewpoint I don't think there is as much to glean (which is perfectly fine). Also, the beginning was considerably stronger than the ending. I don't think that the novel ended badly and all the loose ends were tied up quite well, but I didn't get that "ah that was an excellent book" feel as I closed the book. I'm not sure if I'd pick this novel up again because it is somewhat depressing (especially the ending) but definitely something I would recommend to others.