The Book Thief

Before We Begin: A Little About our Book Reviews

Disclaimer: If you are looking for reviews that discuss the juxtaposition of imagery and mood, the symbolism behind the broken flower pot in the garden, and the existential interpretations of a character’s motivation then this site is NOT for you. We’re just a couple of gals who love reading and know what we like and what we don’t. Simple as that.

How We Pick Our Book Selections: Whatever we feel like reviewing. There won’t be a rhyme or reason to what we pick except that it will either be something we have read, heard about, or wanted to read. There are plenty of new book reviews out there, so we’ll probably focus more on older books. Do you have a suggestion of a book you think we should review? Let us know in the comments. Disagree with our review? Let us know in the comments – nicely, of course. (You don’t want to get Christy mad – she’s brutal.) Do you have a bottle of a good vintage Bordeaux you’d like to get off your hands? You can send that directly to Kristi.

At the end of each review will also be a Random Movie Recommendation for the month – just because. Some new releases and some oldies but goodies.

So without further ado, this month’s pick is…..

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (Possible Spoilers follow – read at your own risk)

Both C and K gave the book Georgia Peach and Kristi even moved it in her top 5 favorite books of all time – woo hoo!!!

C: I really did like the book, in fact I would almost say I loved it, but found it just so sad that I couldn’t say I absolutely loved it. But I really enjoyed the writing, the style, and the story. Yet, it was the sadness piece that keeps me from giving it the full 5 stars.

K: I thought it was sad too, but I also thought it was so beautiful. I actually thought it was a love story -- amidst the whole backdrop of the war. I think the author has the most amazing way with words. Some of his sentences stay with you long after reading.

C: I think one of my favorite parts was the Governor’s wife leaving the books for Liesel. It was such a sweet part of the story and I felt it really lent to the whole title of the book. That part was written beautifully, and I really liked the whole story within the story of that. I also really enjoyed how Liesel would read to the others in the basement of the safe house. That was another touching piece I enjoyed, but maybe it’s because I like reading books about books.

C: Why do you think this is billed as a young adult read? Is it because it is in Liesel’s perspective and she’s younger?

K: Well, yeah, the story is told from the perspective of a young adult. It’s fascinating to see war through the eyes of a young person. What impacts them is the fact that the people they love are dying around them – they don’t care so much about the ‘politics’ involved. We get so caught up in the politics side of things as we get older and often lose sight of what’s really important. This book would have been quite different if told through the eyes of an adult – it would lose a lot of its innocence.

C: This is really my first YA book and I have to say that it’s nothing that I’d expected. I really enjoyed it.

K: I admit, I was NOT wanting to read another war story but heard such great things about this book. I cried several times reading it -- like the part where the beautiful book within the book was written for Liesel.

K: It sounds like we both really enjoyed the characters: Rudy, Max, the father (Hans), the Governor’s wife. Even the mother, in her own strange way was endearing. Oh, and I loved that Death was the narrator. I found that such a unique way to narrate a book.

C: I agree. Death isn’t exactly a popular way to write a book. It was different and enjoyable all at the same time.

K: I read somewhere that the author originally wrote the book as Death reveling in his job, but then re-wrote it without Death narrating. (DISCLAIMER: I could be wrong about this. Once every hundred years, I am wrong.) The author later went back to Death as narrator, but changed it to where he was more ‘doing his job’ yet was impacted by the sadness around him. I loved that aspect -- everyone meets the narrator (Death) at some point so they are all connected to each other in some way, no matter which ‘side’ of the war they think they’re on. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this book? Really, I can’t say enough about it. It stays with you long after you finish it!

C & K: If you haven’t yet read this book, do yourself a favor and GET TO IT! Until next time…