The Book Thief

The book arrived in good time and in excellent condition. It is a remarkable read.

I teach a college class on young adult literature, and that is what led me to this book. While this book is perfectly acceptable as young adult, I'm afraid that classification will scare away a lot of adult readers who would enjoy this book. In fact to truly appreciate it, you might benefit from a more complete knowledge of WWII than a lot of young people have. The style of the writing is unconventional and that might also make it more appealing to sophisticated readers of any age. I'm not certain the sylistic quirks such as the bold face listing are necessary or affectations. All that aside it is a fascinating story with interesting characters that defies preconceptions and works on many levels. For me it addresses the question of how the people under Hitler's rule could allow such a thing to happen. The power of books and words, the definition of family, sense of identity, and ownership are other themes that are explored.

This is a powerfully moving story, beautifully written. Your heart will break by the end, if it wasn't already broken before that. The writing, oh, the writing. Exquisitely told by the sensitive, omniscient Death, who is haunted by us humans.

"Summer came. For the book thief, everything was going nicely. For me, the sky was the color of Jews. When their bodies had finished scouring for gaps at the door, their souls rose up. When their fingernails had scratched at the wood and in some cases were nailed into it by the sheer force of desperation, their spirits came toward me, into my arms, and we climbed out of those shower facilities, onto the roof and up, into eternity's certain breadth. They just kept feeding me. Minute after minute. Shower after shower." p.340

This novel is an eye opener about what life was like for Germans under Hitler during WWII. Clearly the Huberman family was extremely ordinary and yet wonderfully out of the ordinary at the same time. This ordinary German family had a son fighting on the Russian front while they simultaneously hid a Jew in their cellar. The power of this book lies in its out of the ordinary perspective (as told by the grim reaper)about very ordinary people. And ordinary people can do exceptional things, accomplish extraordinary feats, and make one proud to be a member of the human race. Under Hitler, life was hell in Germany for many good Germans, too. This powerful novel explores in depth the life of one of those remarkable families. Like Bernhard Schlink's "The Reader," "The book thief," makes one rethink one's stereotypical image of the heartless, guilty Germans of WWII. It offers an explanation for why condeming an entire people for any reason is not acceptable. Good souls exist in all settings in virtually all times.

I loved this novel, and I must confess that I had serious reservations about it. I mean, it was hard for me to imagine being sympathetic with a German family in the midst of WWII. But I was wrong--the family is wonderful, the characters memorable. I especially loved the way the story was told--through the voice of Death. I definitely would recommend this novel. It's an anti-war book, which we certainly need right now.