**THIS REVIEW IS GOING TO BE SOMEWHAT SPOILERY SO IF YOU PLAN TO READ THE BOOK THIEF OR HAVE NOT YET FINISHED IT PLEASE STOP READING AND COME BACK ONCE YOU HAVE ALSO SUFFERED EMOTIONAL TRAUMA AT THE HANDS OF A BOOK**
Oh Markus Zusak, why? Why did you have to cause me so much pain with your beautiful, beautiful book? Oh it was gorgeous, every sentence so beautifully constructed, every plot turn wonderfully thought out. But I'll give you some structure to this review rather than my mindless blathering, ok, I might still blather, but I'll try my best to keep it under control. I promise.
The book is narrated from the point of view of 'Death' or the 'Grim Reaper' as 'He' is often known. Almost like Terry Pratchett's Death but in ways very different, this Death has seen too much, he is jaded but not yet hopeless and is, as he says "haunted by humans". In Death we have an almost-omniscient narrator (as he says in the novel, humans aren't the only ones to whom God does not reply), and a narrator with the ultimate hindsight.
With this in mind, Death reveals many characters' ultimate fates as soon as they are introduced to us, when, where and often how they will die, and the deaths of others are always revealed before they happen in the narrative. This brilliant plot device removes any sense of suspense or tension when it comes to whether or not a character will survive but does not somehow relieve the whole book of an underlying sense of fear and worriment. Whereas other books, such as the Hunger Games series (although not necessarily to their detriment) leave each chapter on a cliffhanger having you desperate to read on, The Book Thief offers you breaks, and it is not a short book, but the characters rarely left my head for long.
In The Book Thief, Death follows the life of the titular 'book thief' Liesel Meminger as she grows up in Nazi Germany. At the beginning of the novel, Liesel is given up by her mother to foster parents after the arrest of her father who was a communist (although Liesel is unaware of what this means). Her foster parents, Hans (the uber-father as it were) and Rosa (the rude and often abusive woman who despite her temperament loves her family and is "a good woman for a crisis") look after her well, although she is somewhat haunted.
Liesel is a beautifully drawn character, she is brave yet often fearful, full of confidence but also self-blame for things beyond her control. She develops from a terrified, illiterate, abandoned young girl to a strong young woman, a 'word-shaker' who is willing to fight for her own beliefs regardless of the cost.
Not only is the protagonist wonderful to read about, but the cast of supporting characters are gloriously drawn, from Rudy (the Jesse Owens loving, cocky young boy with a heart, as well as hair of gold) to Max (the Jew with feathers for hair hidden in the basement of Liesel and her foster parents). We are made to care about them in their own right, they are as crucial to us as they are to Liesel.
But I would like to say a few more words about Death, he could be quite easily overlooked as a character in 'His' own right, but his personality is carefully carved in telling the story of Liesel, a supernatural being with a fascination and sympathy for humans, who struggles with the weight of his job, who describes the sky in varying terms (my personal favourite being "the sky was grey, the colour of Europe"). He cares and he hurts and yet carries on, telling Liesel's story so it shall not be forgotten. And although fictional, nor should it be.
I have read so many novels about World War 2 in my time, but The Book Thief helped me see it with fresh eyes and also broke my heart repeatedly. So beautifully crafted and written with such care, this novel deserves to be read and reread for years to come.
10/10
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