Book Log: The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak
Mar. 15th, 2007 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grammargirlHoly crap, you guys. Read this book. READ IT NOW.
The Book Thief is phenomenal. It almost made me cry on two different forms of public transportation this week, and then it actually made me cry as I finished it at lunch today, sitting in the crowded cafeteria and ineffectually wiping at my eyes with a napkin.
I don't know where to begin talking about this book. I could tell you that it's the story of Liesel Meminger, who is sent at the age of nine to live with foster parents in Molching, a tiny town in the heart of Nazi Germany; that she and her new family hide a Jewish fist-fighter named Max in their basement; that the book is narrated by Death; that it is ultimately about the power of words to save and to destroy. I could tell you about Liesel's papa's accordion, or her best friend Rudy's lemon-colored hair, or how Max whitewashes Mein Kampf and then writes his own story over it.
Or I could give you a brief sample:
The last time I saw her was red. The sky was like soup, boiling and stirring. In some places, it was burned. There were black crumbs, and pepper, streaked across the redness.
Earlier, kids had been playing hopscotch there, on the street that looked like oil-stained pages. When I arrived, I could still hear the echoes. The feet tapping the road. The children-voices laughing, and the smiles like salt, but decaying fast.
Then, bombs.
...but really, you should just read it for yourself. Read it now. Trust me.
The Book Thief is phenomenal. It almost made me cry on two different forms of public transportation this week, and then it actually made me cry as I finished it at lunch today, sitting in the crowded cafeteria and ineffectually wiping at my eyes with a napkin.
I don't know where to begin talking about this book. I could tell you that it's the story of Liesel Meminger, who is sent at the age of nine to live with foster parents in Molching, a tiny town in the heart of Nazi Germany; that she and her new family hide a Jewish fist-fighter named Max in their basement; that the book is narrated by Death; that it is ultimately about the power of words to save and to destroy. I could tell you about Liesel's papa's accordion, or her best friend Rudy's lemon-colored hair, or how Max whitewashes Mein Kampf and then writes his own story over it.
Or I could give you a brief sample:
The last time I saw her was red. The sky was like soup, boiling and stirring. In some places, it was burned. There were black crumbs, and pepper, streaked across the redness.
Earlier, kids had been playing hopscotch there, on the street that looked like oil-stained pages. When I arrived, I could still hear the echoes. The feet tapping the road. The children-voices laughing, and the smiles like salt, but decaying fast.
Then, bombs.
...but really, you should just read it for yourself. Read it now. Trust me.
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Date: 2007-03-16 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-16 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-19 08:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-19 05:58 pm (UTC)This book sounds absolutely incredible, and I will be purchasing a copy at my earliest convenience.
Thanks :).