The Book Thief: a Review
The tale of a young German orphan, her new family, and their life within the heartland of Hitler’s Germany in the early years of war, which is turned on its head with the arrival of a runaway Jew
The novel is equipped with a variety of plotlines that are beautifully intertwined with one another to help create an impressively drab picture of the town of Molching: with its ever present grey skies and the dirty snow that litters the ground. The desolate setting helps animate the characters themselves who are depicted with zeal and flair, each with a satisfying sense of three dimensionality. No character seems bland, no matter the role. The multiple plots mean there is always something to be developed: whether it be Liesel’s relationship with her parents, Rudy, or Max, her school days, or her gradual forays into the world of thievery.
While Zusak’s themes appear, at first glance, liable to slipping into the pit of cliché that “quiet rebellion against oppressive regime” books have become, he has masterfully skirted them with his innovative way of presenting the tale. Though the narrator is omnipotent, we are
often drawn into the perspective of Liesel, the girl: one of blissful ignorance in which the only perceived indication of war are the pangs of hunger described in such a way the reader’s stomach will grumble in unison with hers.
By Leo Gambetta
Another of Zusak’s masterful feats lies in how he prevents a tale of oppression and pain revolving around the holocaust from becoming morbid. He does so by maintaining a steady stream of wry wit, and the occasional puddle of dark humour that can only be expected given the nature of our narrator. We are shown the story through the eyes of death (fitting, given the setting).
The narration holds the single biggest complaint I have for the book. While being told a story by a sassy and humorous angel of death is rather entertaining, his tendency to spoil almost every major event in the plot, from deaths to lucky escapes, really ruins the tension created during the narrative. For me, half the fun of reading a book lies in the potential for plot twists and unexpected deaths to keep the reader on their toes and to stoke the fire of interest that drives them to continue. While it may appear trivial I have to admit that it encumbered my enjoyment of the book quite drastically, despite most of its other elements being honed to near perfection.