The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak is an original historical fiction novel that follows the life story of Leisel Meminger living in 1930s and 40s Nazi Germany.
The story begins with Leisel and her brother being sent to a foster family. On the way to being delivered to their new foster parents Leisel’s brother dies unexpectedly from disease. The train halts its voyage and an impromptu burial is arranged on the side of the train tracks. After the burial Leisel finds a small book called The Grave Diggers Handbook left behind in the snow. She takes the book for herself and so begins the story of The Book Thief.
The story is set throughout the years of World War II. Leisel’s transition into her new family as well as her transition from childhood to adult hood. The reader gets to see Leisel grow up and make adult decisions for herself and others. The story introduces the reader to multiple characters as the story progresses.
Hans and Rosa Huberman are Leisel’s foster parents who don’t show much compassion for Leisel at first. Eventually they all build a family bond by the end of the story. There is the Mayor and his wife, the mayor’s wife lets Leisel visit their home to read books from their library until the mayor finds out and forbids Leisel to come back. Leisel along with the help of her friend and neighbor Rudy steal books out of the mayor’s library after he kicks Leisel out.
Later in the story, the Hubermans volunteer to hide a Jew in their basement. Doing so, puts the Hubermans in a stressful situation. This causes conflict with how the Hubermans live their daily lives.
In 2013, The Book Thief was made into a major motion picture. The movie earned a 7.2 out 10 score on IMDB for staying as accurate to the book as possible.
People of high interest in the holocaust would love this book because it adds to the collection of great holocaust. Other stories would include Remember the Stars, The Diary of Anne Frank and Night. The story manages to stay historically accurate while introducing some originality with author created characters and events.
If you don’t like long stories or find history to be a boring subject then this book is probably not for you. The book is over 500 pages and will require a lot of attention to get enveloped into the story.
