A book near and dear to my heart
I've recently discovered a 560 page book I have to get my hands on. It's called: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The plot:
The narrator of The Book Thief is many things -- sardonic, wry, darkly humorous, compassionate -- but not especially proud. As author Marcus Zusak channels him, Death -- who doesn't carry a scythe but gets a kick out of the idea -- is as afraid of humans as humans are of him.
Knopf is blitz-marketing this 550-page book set in Nazi Germany as a young-adult novel, though it was published in the author's native Australia for grown-ups. (Zusak, 30, has written several books for kids, including the award-winning I Am the Messenger.) The book's length, subject matter and approach might give early teen readers pause, but those who can get beyond the rather confusing first pages will find an absorbing and searing narrative.
Death meets the book thief, a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger, when he comes to take her little brother, and she becomes an enduring force in his life, despite his efforts to resist her. "I traveled the globe . . . handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity," Death writes. "I warned myself that I should keep a good distance from the burial of Liesel Meminger's brother. I did not heed my advice." As Death lingers at the burial, he watches the girl, who can't yet read, steal a gravedigger's instruction manual. Thus Liesel is touched first by Death, then by words, as if she knows she'll need their comfort during the hardships ahead.
And there are plenty to come. Liesel's father has already been carted off for being a communist and soon her mother disappears, too, leaving her in the care of foster parents: the accordion-playing, silver-eyed Hans Hubermann and his wife, Rosa, who has a face like "creased-up cardboard." Liesel's new family lives on the unfortunately named Himmel (Heaven) Street, in a small town on the outskirts of Munich populated by vivid characters: from the blond-haired boy who relates to Jesse Owens to the mayor's wife who hides from despair in her library. They are, for the most part, foul-spoken but good-hearted folks, some of whom have the strength to stand up to the Nazis in small but telling ways.
Stolen books form the spine of the story. Though Liesel's foster father realizes the subject matter isn't ideal, he uses "The Grave Digger's Handbook" to teach her to read. "If I die anytime soon, you make sure they bury me right," he tells her, and she solemnly agrees. Reading opens new worlds to her; soon she is looking for other material for distraction. She rescues a book from a pile being burned by the Nazis, then begins stealing more books from the mayor's wife. After a Jewish fist-fighter hides behind a copy of Mein Kampf as he makes his way to the relative safety of the Hubermanns' basement, he then literally whitewashes the pages to create his own book for Liesel, which sustains her through her darkest times. Other books come in handy as diversions during bombing raids or hedges against grief. And it is the book she is writing herself that, ultimately, will save Liesel's life.
Death recounts all this mostly dispassionately -- you can tell he almost hates to be involved. His language is spare but evocative, and he's fond of emphasizing points with bold type and centered pronouncements, just to make sure you get them (how almost endearing that is, that Death feels a need to emphasize anything). "A NICE THOUGHT," Death will suddenly announce, or "A KEY WORD." He's also full of deft descriptions: "Pimples were gathered in peer groups on his face."
Death, like Liesel, has a way with words. And he recognizes them not only for the good they can do, but for the evil as well. What would Hitler have been, after all, without words? As this book reminds us, what would any of us be?
Reviewed by Elizabeth Chang
Copyright 2006, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.
So what does this book have going for it? Well, it's
A) Narrated by Death. That alone makes it stand out to me.
B) It's set in WWII-Nazi era, which, if you don't know (and you should), is my favorite historical period to study.
C) The protagonist is named Liesel, which is a name from another favorite story of mine, The Sound of Music.
D) It's about books!
So yes, if I had some spare change, I'd so pick this book up. Instead, I have to wait for the library copy.
Thank you to my entire Flist for the kind words regarding my mom. It really means a lot more than I can stress. Test results tomorrow rather than next week as I though. We're a bit nervous at my house, but we're just going to deal with whatever happens, good or bad.
Made a few more new friends today. Big welcome to bellalou and endthischapter. If I've left you out, I didn't mean to. I've been adding so many new people to my flist lately I can't keep you all straight, but... I definitely want to get to know you all.
troublecreek, I received your postcard today. Thank you!! I love your handwriting!
No big plans for the weekend. Might be going to the local county fair, but other than that... not much. I'm debating about applying to Barnes and Noble or Borders. I need money and at this point, any job will do. Working around books would just be a bonus. Unfortunately, my mom is pretty dead set against it. She wants me to use my education. Well, I do too, but the jobs I want are still out of reach.
And lastly, because I love her artwork, you have to go see reallycorking's entry at this weeks smut_wednesday. You can see the five pieces (all beautiful, but all NWS) here.
And that's it. I have a killer headache so I think I'm going to finish rewatching my Veronica Mars S1 DVDs.
I'm planning a long get to know me post because I've added so many people recently. Hopefully that will happen sometime this weekend.
The plot:
The narrator of The Book Thief is many things -- sardonic, wry, darkly humorous, compassionate -- but not especially proud. As author Marcus Zusak channels him, Death -- who doesn't carry a scythe but gets a kick out of the idea -- is as afraid of humans as humans are of him.
Knopf is blitz-marketing this 550-page book set in Nazi Germany as a young-adult novel, though it was published in the author's native Australia for grown-ups. (Zusak, 30, has written several books for kids, including the award-winning I Am the Messenger.) The book's length, subject matter and approach might give early teen readers pause, but those who can get beyond the rather confusing first pages will find an absorbing and searing narrative.
Death meets the book thief, a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger, when he comes to take her little brother, and she becomes an enduring force in his life, despite his efforts to resist her. "I traveled the globe . . . handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity," Death writes. "I warned myself that I should keep a good distance from the burial of Liesel Meminger's brother. I did not heed my advice." As Death lingers at the burial, he watches the girl, who can't yet read, steal a gravedigger's instruction manual. Thus Liesel is touched first by Death, then by words, as if she knows she'll need their comfort during the hardships ahead.
And there are plenty to come. Liesel's father has already been carted off for being a communist and soon her mother disappears, too, leaving her in the care of foster parents: the accordion-playing, silver-eyed Hans Hubermann and his wife, Rosa, who has a face like "creased-up cardboard." Liesel's new family lives on the unfortunately named Himmel (Heaven) Street, in a small town on the outskirts of Munich populated by vivid characters: from the blond-haired boy who relates to Jesse Owens to the mayor's wife who hides from despair in her library. They are, for the most part, foul-spoken but good-hearted folks, some of whom have the strength to stand up to the Nazis in small but telling ways.
Stolen books form the spine of the story. Though Liesel's foster father realizes the subject matter isn't ideal, he uses "The Grave Digger's Handbook" to teach her to read. "If I die anytime soon, you make sure they bury me right," he tells her, and she solemnly agrees. Reading opens new worlds to her; soon she is looking for other material for distraction. She rescues a book from a pile being burned by the Nazis, then begins stealing more books from the mayor's wife. After a Jewish fist-fighter hides behind a copy of Mein Kampf as he makes his way to the relative safety of the Hubermanns' basement, he then literally whitewashes the pages to create his own book for Liesel, which sustains her through her darkest times. Other books come in handy as diversions during bombing raids or hedges against grief. And it is the book she is writing herself that, ultimately, will save Liesel's life.
Death recounts all this mostly dispassionately -- you can tell he almost hates to be involved. His language is spare but evocative, and he's fond of emphasizing points with bold type and centered pronouncements, just to make sure you get them (how almost endearing that is, that Death feels a need to emphasize anything). "A NICE THOUGHT," Death will suddenly announce, or "A KEY WORD." He's also full of deft descriptions: "Pimples were gathered in peer groups on his face."
Death, like Liesel, has a way with words. And he recognizes them not only for the good they can do, but for the evil as well. What would Hitler have been, after all, without words? As this book reminds us, what would any of us be?
Reviewed by Elizabeth Chang
Copyright 2006, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.
So what does this book have going for it? Well, it's
A) Narrated by Death. That alone makes it stand out to me.
B) It's set in WWII-Nazi era, which, if you don't know (and you should), is my favorite historical period to study.
C) The protagonist is named Liesel, which is a name from another favorite story of mine, The Sound of Music.
D) It's about books!
So yes, if I had some spare change, I'd so pick this book up. Instead, I have to wait for the library copy.
Thank you to my entire Flist for the kind words regarding my mom. It really means a lot more than I can stress. Test results tomorrow rather than next week as I though. We're a bit nervous at my house, but we're just going to deal with whatever happens, good or bad.
Made a few more new friends today. Big welcome to bellalou and endthischapter. If I've left you out, I didn't mean to. I've been adding so many new people to my flist lately I can't keep you all straight, but... I definitely want to get to know you all.
troublecreek, I received your postcard today. Thank you!! I love your handwriting!
No big plans for the weekend. Might be going to the local county fair, but other than that... not much. I'm debating about applying to Barnes and Noble or Borders. I need money and at this point, any job will do. Working around books would just be a bonus. Unfortunately, my mom is pretty dead set against it. She wants me to use my education. Well, I do too, but the jobs I want are still out of reach.
And lastly, because I love her artwork, you have to go see reallycorking's entry at this weeks smut_wednesday. You can see the five pieces (all beautiful, but all NWS) here.
And that's it. I have a killer headache so I think I'm going to finish rewatching my Veronica Mars S1 DVDs.
I'm planning a long get to know me post because I've added so many people recently. Hopefully that will happen sometime this weekend.