Paperback, 564 pages
English language
Published July 30, 2013 by Alfred A. Knopf.
It is 1939 Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.
In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories …
It is 1939 Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.
In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
--back cover
Teil 1 habe ich gelesen, aber mich fesselt der Roman einfach nicht. Vielleicht lese ich später (in ein paar Jahren..) das Buch weiter - jetzt breche ich es erstmal ab.
"I am haunted by humans" ....Death confesses
Just a few words, to tell you about this superb book, “The book thief”. It is the story of a girl in a small town in Germany during the WWII. Death himself narrates this creative and unusual story.
I try to find the most appropriate words to describe this book. There are moments that it is funny, else it is sad and painful. Sometimes, I found it hard to go on. I had to stop reading in order to absorb all this pain, the anger, the hate, the despair.
It is also a book about love and friendship. Mostly it is a book about words and their power. Their power over people.
The author understands very well this power; he likes to play with the words and the language. The use of language, especially in the short story of Max Vandenburg, “The Word …
"I am haunted by humans" ....Death confesses
Just a few words, to tell you about this superb book, “The book thief”. It is the story of a girl in a small town in Germany during the WWII. Death himself narrates this creative and unusual story.
I try to find the most appropriate words to describe this book. There are moments that it is funny, else it is sad and painful. Sometimes, I found it hard to go on. I had to stop reading in order to absorb all this pain, the anger, the hate, the despair.
It is also a book about love and friendship. Mostly it is a book about words and their power. Their power over people.
The author understands very well this power; he likes to play with the words and the language. The use of language, especially in the short story of Max Vandenburg, “The Word Shaker” is brilliant. Authentic, honest, original, like a child's narrative.
I finished "the book thief" this morning and my heart is still sore.
