Death walks through "The Book Thief," following the horrors experienced by a young girl, Liesel Meminger, in Nazi Germany. The author, Markus Zusak, uses the voice of Death to chronicle the devastation, the sickening hatred, and those moments of simple human compassion and kindness. All this is spread out upon the chaotic canvass of a world on the verge of the abyss.
It becomes a matter of whether any of the characters will survive. The daily bombings hit closer to home. Food is scarce. Everyone must be careful if they wish to avoid being drafted into the German army, or worse. Then, there's the very real danger of hiding a Jew in the basement--fulfilling a promise can be deadly-dangerous.
Amidst the chaos and devastation, Liesel finds solace and sanity in books she has stolen or salvaged from the Nazi bonfires of banned books. Those moments with dangerous books alleviate her fears when she wakes in terror, or when she sits in the shelter--with bombs falling all around her. In the end, reading allows her another outlet as well. She is able to tell her own story.
This book is a marvellous exploration of the power of words to save us from our darkest nightmares.
Amidst the chaos and devastation, Liesel finds solace and sanity in books she has stolen or salvaged from the Nazi bonfires of banned books. Those moments with dangerous books alleviate her fears when she wakes in terror, or when she sits in the shelter--with bombs falling all around her. In the end, reading allows her another outlet as well. She is able to tell her own story.
This book is a marvellous exploration of the power of words to save us from our darkest nightmares.
