Markus Zusak’s book, The Book Thief, is a novel that will immediately catch the reader’s attention. It’s a beautiful story that lingers with you long after the final page is read.
While reading the book, the reader will find that they are in a cocoon full of imagination and questions. The well-developed characters feel so multi-dimensional, it's as if they could walk right out of the book and you would already know all about them. Every word and every character is created with purpose. The readers will feel that their time was well spent when the story comes to a close.What I love most about The Book Thief is Zusak’s brilliant choice of a narrator. “When death captures me,’ the boy vowed, ‘he will feel my fist on his face.
’ Personally, I quite like that. Such stupid gallantry. Yes. I like that a lot. ” By allowing Death to narrate the story and giving him the ability to create a connection to Liesel, it brings a haunting and heartbreaking quality to the novel. Death, as the narrator, becomes capable of feeling emotion and he seems to know that we, the readers, need to make a connection and become familiar with Liesal.
Even though The Book Thief is a novel that I do truly enjoy, I believe that Markus Zusak could have included a few more things to fully satisfy the reader. I felt many of my questions unanswered as I finished the book. For example, while reading the book, I often asked myself “How did Death become the narrator? Was Death a human before? ” I believe that those questions could have been answered by including more of Death’s past in the novel. Markus Zusak could have also included more detail in the connection between Hans, Rosa and Max.This will allow the reader to feel the amount of affection that they had for each other.
Overall, I highly recommend Markus Zusak’s, The Book Thief, to any reader that enjoys a story that leaves them mesmerized and speechless as they are reading the final pages. I would put this novel at a solid 4 ? out of 5 stars. The reader truly has to appreciate the amount of detail and thought that Markus Zusak has put into each individual character and their connection to one another.
