Saturday, July 01, 2017

The Book Thief - Book Review



It’s been a long time since I’ve written a post here. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that took me a year to get into, but then held me enthralled until the very last page. It ended far too quickly. Not because it’s a happy book to read, but because of the way it is written.
Because of the writing I couldn’t “get” into it until almost half way through, but once I got on board the author’s rhythm and allowed myself to just read, I “got” it. I felt so much a part of the story that I didn’t have to work at anything to believe, to feel, to follow, even though I thought I wasn’t going to like the ending much. The writer is thankfully kind, and not in the normal (Hollywood) way, but in the way of life, the reality of being human. I guess “gentle”, as in “letting down gently” is the way to describe how I felt the writer took me on this journey. No one was perfect. Everyone was human and yet in such a way as to show the real story of love with all its “human-ness”.
I won’t give any spoilers. I won’t tell you to read this or not, but “The Book Thief” pulled me in and held me like no other book that I’ve read recently, in years I would say. I’ve read very good books lately so it was a shock to feel this way.
If you choose to read The Book Thief, please take the time to find the author’s voice and let it speak to you. Life is relationships. Life is about having them and what you do if you do or don’t have them. This book to me is all about relationships.
In the movie trailer they say this story is about a girl and how she changes the lives of those around her. But I wouldn’t put it that way. I would more likely say she is changed, she grows because of her relationships, and the people in this tale are changing as she is because of what is happening to and around them, and because they all allow the relationships to happen. Not on purpose, but because in many ways there is no other choice.
Thank you, Markus Zusak, for sharing your vision. It was an eye opener and a beautifully told tale…

4 comments:

  1. I've read some books that were hard to get into, but somehow held my attention. I guess I just like the unusual. Sometimes life is too easy, and books can be that way too. Good thing you stuck with this one.

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  2. Hi Lisa - good to see you ... The Book Thief has been so well received ... I've seen the film, but not read the book - I can still 'see' the film (parts of it) ... I agree with you - that it is a tale of change and how they all grow and understand what is happening around them - some will grow, escape and live on ... others will remain and revert ,true to as they are expected to be at the time of War ... I'm so glad you enjoyed it ... cheers Hilary

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  3. Sounds intriguing! I've been wanting to read this one. There are some books worth the trouble of getting into them. I recently read Homegoing: A Novel by Yaa Gyasi and had the same feeling. I struggled with it because the writing style didn't fit into my norms of what a novel "should" be. Each chapter was a different generation, so there wasn't one protagonist, and it messed with my brain. I ended up loving it.

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  4. Thank you very much for sharing the interesting review about the book that will help me to have the best information about the book. Can you share link to buy it online?
    Emma Charlotte | TheAcademicPapers.co.uk

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