Name: The Book Thief
ISBN: 9781784162122

Markus Zusak

The 10th-anniversary edition of the No. 1 international bestseller and modern classic beloved by millions of readers HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall. SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH The 10th-anniversary edition features pages of bonus content, including marked-up manuscript pages, original sketches, and pages from the author's writing notebook.

The Book Thief

Werner Schuette

Reine Burton

Amalie Elisabeth

nahomi

Eilidh 

Abigail Mills

Sara Inthavongsa

Clara Concejo

Definición no encontrada en el diccionario.

No irse: acto de confianza y amor, a menudo descifrado por los niños.

He odiado las palabras y las he amado y tan solo espero haber estado a su altura 

Beautifully written from an interesting perspective.

Cassandra Tang

It is safe to say I absolutely loved this book. I do not know why it took me so long to finally read it because to me it is just everything and more that I would ever want from a historical fiction novel.

As someone who is (embarrassingly) obsessed with the history of Germany, WWII is something I have spent years of my life researching and learning about, and I just cannot stress enough how fantastically the history of this was sewn into the pages. There is the obvious, of course, with there being Nazi soldiers and Jewish prisoners of war, the death marches, rampant Nazi ideologies being pushed by tertiary characters. 

There are also subtle reminders, such as on page 34 where it says:

I thought it was such a simple and effective way of reminding the reader of what is to come, and how much darker this book will be.

I also enjoyed how obsessive people got about Nazism and Hitler throughout the book. Not in a way where I enjoyed it, of course it makes you uncomfortable, but from a historical perspective I loved that progression because by this point the German government had total control over all of the media and so the brainwashing of the general public was at it's peak. 

Another little historical anecdote I loved was towards the end of the novel, when we see how Germany is floundering because almost all of their good soldiers were dead, outnumbered or injured, that they start drafting the boys of the Hitler Youth and older men. This was something that was actually done as the Allied Forces started closing in on Germany, and I think it is a very interesting social discrepancy that we can see between Germany and the Allies. By this point the Allies had turned to women to help aid them, such as the Auxiliary Territorial Service in Britain, over 800,000 Soviet women taking main positions, becoming snipers, pilots and fighting in ground combat. This is contrasted by the German side by their reluctance to enlist the help of their women beyond support roles, and so instead turn to old and injured men, and the young boys in their school programmes to become soldiers instead. 

I understand this first half is probably not what people want to read from a review, but I am a huge history nerd and so I cannot help but indulge in well written historical fiction. It just added so much to the story for me.

But I digress, I have talked about the historical side for far too long. The writing in this novel was absolutely exquisite. Everything felt so perfectly crafted, but not in the pretentious way you sometimes see authors write when they are trying to be too poetic, but in a way where no word was spared. Every letter, every punctuation mark, every scent and feeling described were written with meaning, and that is such an impactful feat for a story. 

With the book being written from Death's perspective, there was a small sense of distance from the characters, but it did not once feel like we were disconnected from them. Not at all. Every character felt real, like they could be someone who really existed at the time. It showed a range of personalities, political beliefs, flaws and strengths, but above all else, we got to see the humanity in them when they were faced with death. For me, the scenes in the bomb shelters were my favourite. How even in some of their scariest, and potentially in their final moments, they came together as a community to support each other and care for each other, and I think it is a side of Germany's place in history that we do not get to see very often.

For obvious reasons, one would have to be careful when discussing Germany's side of WWII, but I think Markus Zusak did such a sympathetic job of it. There was condemnation where it was due, it did not shy away from the horrors that German leadership inflicted unjustifiably upon civilians, however it also brought forward the tender side of Germany at the time. It showed us the perspectives of people who cared about what was happening, people who did not agree, and the poor children who were innocent in the whole thing. Hitler Youth programmes operated from such a young age for these children that the Nazi beliefs were shoved down their throats, and I think that these characters were handled with the grace that was needed for readers who perhaps don't have a deep understanding of this history to both anathematise the ideology whilst being sympathetic towards those who had no power to change anything, and to those who genuinely just did not know better.

I also loved how grief haunted the entire narrative, especially with Liesel and her little brother who died right at the start. Several instances throughout the novel we see her almost haunted by him appearing to make her question what she was doing, and as someone who has lost a younger sibling the manifestation of your conscience as them is something deeply perturbing. I related to it quite heavily, the idea that they would be disappointed in you for your actions. 

By the time I reached the end I was full on ugly crying. I have no semi-intellectual or polite way of putting it. I was sobbing so much that my tears hit the pages, and I went to bed that night clutching the book for comfort. It just completely tore my heart out and ripped it to shreds. I genuinely have nothing else to add to that.

This next part may seem out of place, and it absolutely is, but I didn't know how to fit it into my review so you get it here. I loved how, even though a lot of what made this novel so special was lost in the translation to the movie, there was what felt like a full circle moment when Death says:

To in the movie, where when Liesel discovers Rudy at the end she says "Kiss me, Rudy, kiss me." 

I don't know what to make of it beyond that, I just absolutely loved it! I thought it was brilliant!

Overall, The Book Thief is one of the best books I've read, both in terms of historical fiction and just in general. It is intelligent, it is beautiful, and it is so incredibly human.

iris may

It is safe to say I absolutely loved this book. I do not know why it took me so long to finally read it because to me it is just everything and more that I would ever want from a historical fiction novel.

As someone who is (embarrassingly) obsessed with the history of Germany, WWII is something I have spent years of my life researching and learning about, and I just cannot stress enough how fantastically the history of this was sewn into the pages. There is the obvious, of course, with there being Nazi soldiers and Jewish prisoners of war, the death marches, rampant Nazi ideologies being pushed by tertiary characters. 

There are also subtle reminders, such as on page 34 where it says:

Perhaps he was only the last resort, the final solution.

I thought it was such a simple and effective way of reminding the reader of what is to come, and how much darker this book will be.

I also enjoyed how obsessive people got about Nazism and Hitler throughout the book. Not in a way where I enjoyed it, of course it makes you uncomfortable, but from a historical perspective I loved that progression because by this point the German government had total control over all of the media and so the brainwashing of the general public was at it's peak. 

Another little historical anecdote I loved was towards the end of the novel, when we see how Germany is floundering because almost all of their good soldiers were dead, outnumbered or injured, that they start drafting the boys of the Hitler Youth and older men. This was something that was actually done as the Allied Forces started closing in on Germany, and I think it is a very interesting social discrepancy that we can see between Germany and the Allies. By this point the Allies had turned to women to help aid them, such as the Auxiliary Territorial Service in Britain, over 800,000 Soviet women taking main positions, becoming snipers, pilots and fighting in ground combat. This is contrasted by the German side by their reluctance to enlist the help of their women beyond support roles, and so instead turn to old and injured men, and the young boys in their school programmes to become soldiers instead. 

I understand this first half is probably not what people want to read from a review, but I am a huge history nerd and so I cannot help but indulge in well written historical fiction. It just added so much to the story for me.

But I digress, I have talked about the historical side for far too long. The writing in this novel was absolutely exquisite. Everything felt so perfectly crafted, but not in the pretentious way you sometimes see authors write when they are trying to be too poetic, but in a way where no word was spared. Every letter, every punctuation mark, every scent and feeling described were written with meaning, and that is such an impactful feat for a story. 

With the book being written from Death's perspective, there was a small sense of distance from the characters, but it did not once feel like we were disconnected from them. Not at all. Every character felt real, like they could be someone who really existed at the time. It showed a range of personalities, political beliefs, flaws and strengths, but above all else, we got to see the humanity in them when they were faced with death. For me, the scenes in the bomb shelters were my favourite. How even in some of their scariest, and potentially in their final moments, they came together as a community to support each other and care for each other, and I think it is a side of Germany's place in history that we do not get to see very often.

For obvious reasons, one would have to be careful when discussing Germany's side of WWII, but I think Markus Zusak did such a sympathetic job of it. There was condemnation where it was due, it did not shy away from the horrors that German leadership inflicted unjustifiably upon civilians, however it also brought forward the tender side of Germany at the time. It showed us the perspectives of people who cared about what was happening, people who did not agree, and the poor children who were innocent in the whole thing. Hitler Youth programmes operated from such a young age for these children that the Nazi beliefs were shoved down their throats, and I think that these characters were handled with the grace that was needed for readers who perhaps don't have a deep understanding of this history to both anathematise the ideology whilst being sympathetic towards those who had no power to change anything, and to those who genuinely just did not know better.

I also loved how grief haunted the entire narrative, especially with Liesel and her little brother who died right at the start. Several instances throughout the novel we see her almost haunted by him appearing to make her question what she was doing, and as someone who has lost a younger sibling the manifestation of your conscience as them is something deeply perturbing. I related to it quite heavily, the idea that they would be disappointed in you for your actions. 

To live.
Living was living.
The price was guilt, and shame.

By the time I reached the end I was full on ugly crying. I have no semi-intellectual or polite way of putting it. I was sobbing so much that my tears hit the pages, and I went to bed that night clutching the book for comfort. It just completely tore my heart out and ripped it to shreds. I genuinely have nothing else to add to that.

This next part may seem out of place, and it absolutely is, but I didn't know how to fit it into my review so you get it here. I loved how, even though a lot of what made this novel so special was lost in the translation to the movie, there was what felt like a full circle moment when Death says:

Liesel rushed over.
She crouched above him.
Kiss him, Liesel, kiss him.

To in the movie, where when Liesel discovers Rudy at the end she says "Kiss me, Rudy, kiss me." 

I don't know what to make of it beyond that, I just absolutely loved it! I thought it was brilliant!

Overall, The Book Thief is one of the best books I've read, both in terms of historical fiction and just in general. It is intelligent, it is beautiful, and it is so incredibly human.

I read this in the 10th grade for our book club unit in English class. I think the book I wanted to read was taken because I came in late. I’m glad it was. This book had me dog tagging more pages than I ever did before. It introduced me to serious literature and a new perspective. I’m scared to rate anything 5 stars because of its finality but….

Sara bradfield

Allan Corduner

Amazing. Haunting. Prolific. Such a fantastic book I’ve been meaning to ready for 15 years. Absolutely 100% recommend to anyone.

Sarah Wilson

I didn't cry like I was expected too but I really attached to the characters and the story. 

Lili Airen

This book takes such an interesting perspective, written about period of history. Having Death as the narrator for parts of the story really took it to the next level; it made it utterly unique. It also created a sense of detachment from the events, and evoked the message that death is unavoidable and will eventually come for all.

Edna Aviles

A trajetória de Liesel Meminger é contada por uma narradora mórbida, surpreendentemente simpática. Ao perceber que a pequena ladra de livros lhe escapa, a Morte afeiçoa-se à menina e rastreia suas pegadas de 1939 a 1943. Traços de uma sobrevivente: a mãe comunista, perseguida pelo nazismo, envia Liesel e o irmão para o subúrbio pobre de uma cidade alemã, onde um casal se dispõe a adotá-los por dinheiro. O garoto morre no trajeto e é enterrado por um coveiro que deixa cair um livro na neve. É o primeiro de uma série que a menina vai surrupiar ao longo dos anos. O único vínculo com a família é esta obra, que ela ainda não sabe ler.

Assombrada por pesadelos, ela compensa o medo e a solidão das noites com a conivência do pai adotivo, um pintor de parede bonachão que lhe dá lições de leitura. Alfabetizada sob vistas grossas da madrasta, Liesel canaliza urgências para a literatura. Em tempos de livros incendiados, ela os furta, ou os lê na biblioteca do prefeito da cidade.

A vida ao redor é a pseudo-realidade criada em torno do culto a Hitler na Segunda Guerra. Ela assiste à eufórica celebração do aniversário do Führer pela vizinhança. Teme a dona da loja da esquina, colaboradora do Terceiro Reich. Faz amizade com um garoto obrigado a integrar a Juventude Hitlerista. E ajuda o pai a esconder no porão um judeu que escreve livros artesanais para contar a sua parte naquela História. A Morte, perplexa diante da violência humana, dá um tom leve e divertido à narrativa deste duro confronto entre a infância perdida e a crueldade do mundo adulto, um sucesso absoluto - e raro - de crítica e público.

source: https://www.intrinseca.com.br/livro/13/

A Menina Que Roubava Livros

shout out atila que me emprestou esse livro em 2016 e eu não só esqueci de devolver como só fui ler 8 anos depois

Pedro Rodarte

the book swallowed my entire being and captivated me with its lovely and inevitably pessimistic use of literary devices. It warned me of everything that would happen, yet still amazed me anyways. This book allowed me to ready my teardrops and wipe them away. Rudy's innocence was my favorite. <3

Beautiful, thought provoking, sensational 

Hayley Allen

A beautiful reminder that even the most destructive of fires gives off warmth. 

Frederik De Bosschere

Get ready to be destroyed. Such a good book but truly heart wrenching. The audiobook done by Allan Corduner was perfection. There were certain things in the beginning that I didn’t love about the author’s style, but he more than makes up for those things with his imagery and detail. He pulls you in and you can just see everything unfolding in your mind. I laughed, I cried… such a moving story. 

Jessy Tatum

A book everyone needs to read at least once in their lives, no matter who you are, this book will change something in you.

Sajiya Chaudhary

I had read an excerpt of this book years ago and it was so beautifully written, I never forgot these lines, "Yes, it was white. It felt as though the whole globe was dressed in snow. Like it had pulled it on, the way you pull on a jumper. Next to the train line, footprints were sunken to their shins. Trees wore blankets of ice. As you might expect, someone had died."

This whole book was like poetry. It had such beautiful comparisons, things you often see and think but can never put in words, like this, "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 amongst the redness." 
I don't want to put any spoilers here, but more books should have such amazing narrators, ones with whom you can't relate, but want to. It gives a different perspective of looking at the world, the happiness and misery alike. It was definitely a loooooong book! But totally worth the time I spent enjoying it.

Never has a book grabbed me in such a way The Book Thief has. It literally made me able to imagine everything that was going on and made interesting and meaningful characters. The writing style is beyond beautiful. It connected me so well into the characters that I felt I knew them personally. (view spoiler)[ I EVEN FRICKING CRIED AT THE END WHEN THEY ALL DIED. THE ENDING WAS AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND MAJESTIC AND CRIED EVERY MINUTE OF READING IT.  (hide spoiler)] In the end, I LOVED IT. I would definitely be rereading this again in the future.

Anna 

Vypravěčkou tohoto příběhu je Smrt. Smrt je zdánlivě nezúčastněný divák, s dokonalým odstupem, s osobitou perspektivou; má všechny předpoklady pro to být svědkem a vypravěčem. Ale příběh Liesel Memingerové je tak mimořádný, že i Smrt si musí přiznat zájem o živé lidi, dojetí z jejich utrpení, hořkost a úlevu z konců. I Smrt má srdce.
✩
Když jsem poprvé otevřela tuto knihu, nedokázala jsem se od ní odtrhnout. Liesel je úžasná dívka s úžasným srdcem. Její příběh je neskutečný. Je v něm utrpení, láska, dobro a odhodlání. I když má kniha 520 stran, přečte se velice rychle. Smrt nádherně popisuje bytí a umí dokonale vyprávět. Kniha se mi moc líbila, a doporučila bych ji úplně všem, kteří se zajímají o druhou světovou válku z hlediska života obyvatel. Ale i když vás to tolik nebere, přečtěte si to také. Neočekávejte ale nějaká veliká dobrodružství. Je to jen příběh o jedné dívce, která si užívala života, jak jen to šlo.
✩
5*/5*

Kath

I like that this book will challenge your mind in a good way. I thought I would not understand and like this book when I started reading it. But as I continued reading it, I realized that it was more than just a novel. Somehow, I felt like I was educated about history in a very creative way—and devastating as well. This book made me think that I need to read more books in this genre.

PS. I'd like to tell Rudy that LIESLE KISSED YOU!

La ladrona de libros

Michelle Garcia

amé este libro pero nunca en mi vida lo quiero leer de nuevo

Makes you care then causes you so much pain. Crying by the pool rn.

Chloé

In the nicest way… FUCK THIS BOOK!

Makes you care then causes you so much pain. Crying by the pool rn.

this was one of the best and saddest things I’ve read 

amelia <3

elizabeth

I read this back in eighth grade when we were able to write a book report about any book we wanted. I loved it then. And I loved it now, with twice the life experience under my belt. 

As an adult this time, I caught more. I could put two and two together to better understand characters’ motivations that I think flew over my head at 14. I remembered this book as being overwhelmingly about Leisel, but on this read, the stories of the adults around her seemed just as alive and prescient. Their experiences were nuanced and confronted me with the question of how I choose to rebel against and disrupt oppression and violence. 

But I think even at 14, I understood the important stuff, the top tier of themes in the book: words are important, books are powerful, and life is not black and white (maybe more importantly, neither is death). 

It’s touching, illuminating, dark, and beautiful.

Monicap

I need to have words with the person who told me to read this.
One of my real-life friends, who I am now calling the Recent Destroyer of My Happiness.

She made me read this! Introduced me to my true love knwoing full well he would die a short 512 pages later!

I'm gonna go cry some more and possibly come back with a real review later.

Paula Plaza Ponte 

There's something about the way Zusak used metaphors to develop character, setting, plot and theme.

When I realized that death is the narrator of the story , I knew this book would break me into pieces. And yes, this book shattered me in every possible way, yet somehow, I found myself deeply enamored with it. I have a bittersweet  love-hate relationship with this story, and that's what makes it so compelling to me. 

While this may be historical fiction, it's widely understood that Liesel's story is not just her story, but rather representative of the countless individuals who endured the hardships of wartime.  It took me around a month to finish the book as I slowly devoured each word like a form of meditation. 

The narrative style, the little stories woven throughout, the remarkable quotes—everything about the book captivated me from beginning to end. And I have no words to express how much I am affected and haunted by The Book Thief. 

Senali Senanayake 

When I realized that death is the narrator of the story , I knew this book would break me into pieces. And yes, this book shattered me in every possible way, yet somehow, I found myself deeply enamored with it. I have a bittersweet  love-hate relationship with this story, and that's what makes it so compelling to me. 

While this may be historical fiction, it's widely understood that Liesel's story is not just her story, but rather representative of the countless individuals who endured the hardships of wartime.  It took me around a month to finish the book as I slowly devoured each word like a form of meditation. 

The narrative style, the little stories woven throughout, the remarkable quotes—everything about the book captivated me from beginning to end. And I have no words to express how much I am affected and haunted by The Book Thief. 

Fu a nove anni che Liesel iniziò la sua brillante carriera di ladra. Certo, aveva fame e rubava mele, ma quello a cui teneva veramente erano i libri, e più che rubarli li salvava. Il primo fu quello caduto nella neve accanto alla tomba dove era stato appena seppellito il suo fratellino. Stavano andando a Molching, vicino a Monaco, dove li aspettavano i loro genitori adottivi. Il secondo, invece, lo sottrasse al fuoco di uno dei tanti roghi accesi dai nazisti. A loro piaceva bruciare tutto: case, negozi, sinagoghe, persone... Piano piano, con il tempo ne raccolse una quindicina, e quando affidò la propria storia alla carta si domandò quando esattamente la parola scritta avesse incominciato a significare non solamente qualcosa, ma tutto. Accadde forse quando vide per la prima volta la libreria della moglie del sindaco, un'intera stanza ricolma di volumi? Quando arrivò nella sua via Max Vandenburg, ex pugile ma ancora lottatore, portandosi dietro il "Mein Kampf" e infinite sofferenze? Quando iniziò a leggere per gli altri nei rifugi antiaerei? Quando s'infilò in una colonna di ebrei in marcia verso Dachau? Ma forse queste erano domande oziose, e ciò che realmente importava era la catena di pagine che univa tante persone etichettate come ebree, sovversive o ariane, e invece erano solo poveri esseri legati da spettri, silenzi e segreti.

La bambina che salvava i libri

Paolo Genta

Questo libro mi รจ piaciuto, ben scritto, una storia interessante, narrata da un punto di vista... particolare. 

Secondo me poteva essere molto piรน corto, ma la lunghezza passa in secondo piano leggendo la fine del libro, che รจ un vero pugno nello stomaco che mi ha fatto lacrimare gli occhi e che mi ha fatto dire.. peccato sia finito!

The Book Thief

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