Author: Markus Zusak
Publisher: Knopf
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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.
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I would have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey I took with Liesel through this book. It has been beautifully written with metaphors and personification that I could have never dreamed up myself. It is told from the point of view of "Death," which really confused me at first because I had no idea who was speaking. Once you get into it though, this POV seems to be the only one that can truly tell a story in the way that it has. I'm a sucker for Holocaust novels, though sometimes I don't really know why I put myself through reading them because they always, ALWAYS end up breaking my heart. I will never understand it.
Some parts of this book were rather annoying because it kept jumping forward and telling what was going to happen at the end. It would give you a small window of the future of the story and then go back and say something like "but that is for later tellings." I do have to admit that it is a good tactic when you have the right kind of reader, like myself. It makes them eat through the book to find out the story behind what the narrator has shown me.
I found myself connecting very well with Liesel and her love for books. I have the same passion. Just being surrounded by words is an amazing feeling, even if they have not yet been read. She has this extreme hunger for them. I admired her drive and stubbornness, along with her obedience and kindness. I didn't really find myself asking "Why would you do that?" to Liesel because she always made her reasoning fairly clear. Her thoughts were displayed plainly to me and I didn't have to keep guessing a hidden meaning.
I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something with an amazing and refreshing use of words and descriptions. The pictures painted for me were more amazing and unique than any others I have read about, which to me made them that much more beautiful.
