Thursday, December 13, 2007

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak


A few hundred miles northwest, in Stuttgart, far from book thieves, mayors' wives, and Himmel Street, a man was sitting in the dark. It was the best place, they decided. It's harder to find a jew in the dark.
He sat on his suitcase, waiting. How many days had it been now? He had eaten only the foul taste of his own hungry breath for what felt like weeks, and still, nothing. For now, he could only sit on his suitcase couch, hands under his chin, his elbows burning his thighs.--excerpt from The book Thief
I am currently reading this extraordinary book, and keep wondering why I waited so long to read it. I read a wide variety of books, and am in my tired-of-fantasy stage. I wanted to read historical fiction, but with an edge...this is exactly what I was looking for.
First the colors. Then the humans. That's usually how I see things. Or at least, how I try. Here is a small fact: You are going to die.--The Book Thief
The narrator is none other than Death. The main character is a little orphan, German girl who loves books. Unfortunatly, she cannot aford them. I am relishing every sentence of this book, it's lovely. Wry, witty, poetic, gut wrenching. Mr. Zusak peels away the layers of the story slowly, gently, yet holds my attention. You must read this award-winning book.
Trish

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, you beat me to it! It's amazing, isn't it..ahem.
Now I have nothing to post!

Jean S. said...

Trish, I too read it. Actually, someone gave it to me to read because her (adult) book club had just read it. And I loved it, but I wondered if anyone in the Middle school where she borrowed it had read it. Would any middle schooler? So long, so dark, and rather mysterious at first. Do you know any kids who've read it?