LIESEL, DEATH AND THE POWER OF WORDS - THE BOOK THIEF BY MARKUS ZUSAK

The Book Thief 

1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.

Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH

It's a small story, about:

a girl

an accordionist

some fanatical Germans

a Jewish fist fighter

and quite a lot of thievery.

ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES

Liesel, Death and The Power of Words

I read this book out of curiosity,  since I heard about it from my students.  After reading it myself, I made up my mind to work on both book and its movie adaptation with one of my classes this year and added both to a section of my syllabus, which consists of a series of readings dedicated to the theme The Power of Words.

SUMMER READINGS WITH SOME ISSUES: DO YOU EVER WANT TO LOVE A BOOK BUT SIMPLY CAN'T?

On reading Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander saga books 4/5. Torn between love and boredom.  I know, it’s always a question of personal tastes. De gustibus.

Do I love Outander, its characters and its world? If you mean the TV series, the answer is: YES! I’M TOTALLY HOOKED! If you mean the books, instead, you must know that my relationship with Gabaldon’s saga has always been quite conflictual, complicated, with many ups and downs.

In my frenzy to discover more about the fascinating world of Gabaldon 's Outlander, after watching the TV series and reading the first 3 books (I loved Voyager),  I went on reading, enthusiastically. I wanted to know more, to discover more.  However, I started experiencing growing disappointment and came to a deadlock. I had quite a few troubles with book 4, Drums of Autumn,  but it went worse and worse with book 5. I suffered and struggled all through The Fiery Cross.

I love Jamie and Claire's relationship now they are middle-aged and live in 18th century America. To have characters growing up and developing their relationship through decades is unusual and great. Through endless (mis)adventures, troubles and ordinary issues Jamie and Claire, Roger and Brianna and their friends are tested and it is rewarding for devoted readers to get to know more and enjoy more of all of them.

BOOKS ON SCREEN: THE BOOK THIEF, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, PHILOMENA

The Book Thief

The story of a young German girl who steals books, her family and the Jewish boxer hidden in their basement as they struggle to survive in Nazi Germany. Narrated by Death, it's an unusual and affecting story, and was the top selling debut literary hardback of 2007, with sales of over 193,000 copies. Now a 2013 film  produced by 20th Century Fox. 

Review quotes

"Extraordinary, resonant and relevant, beautiful and angry." -- Lisa Hilton Sunday Telegraph 

'Unsettling, thought-provoking, life affirming... this is a novel of breathtaking scope, masterfully told.'  The Guardian