"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak [Book Review]

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It took many pages to get "into" this book. Markus Zusak's style of writing, however, kept me intrigued. His writing is genius and after recognizing this from the first few pages, where I realized the narrator was death, I didn't want to put it down. I will be forever grateful I kept reading because those first few chapters I struggled to read and understand were all made clear the farther along I read. So much so that when I finished the last few chapters, I went back and reread the beginning. I highly recommend you do the same, especially the chapter titled, "The Flag". I have no doubt that if you take this book on with the same reverence as I did to the author's brilliance, you will, like myself, grow to love the book and the characters in it. I liked it so much, in fact, that it took days to write this review. I simply had no words.

How could I give words to the book thief's grief (the book thief = Liesel)? I can't even begin to tell you how much I actually liked her cantankerous "mama" or how much I loved her "papa" or enjoyed seeing the relationship unfold with Frau Holtzapfel or the mayors wife. How could I describe the impact Max's Standover Man or his story of The Word Shaker had on me? How could I even talk about Max without tears? In fact, how could I talk about any one of Liesel's loved ones without tears? Especially Rudy. No, especially papa. Zusak brilliantly gives life to German citizens living their life in the heart of Nazi Germany. Such life, that I don't have the words to describe how much I liked this heartbreaking book. Before this book I felt disdain for German citizens who simply stood by and watched the Holocaust, but now, thanks to Zusak, I don't have words because I know, that despite this book being fictional, it isn't far from the truth.

Thank you Markus Zusak.

It made my top ten list and I'm 110% sure that no amount of "reviewing" on this book could fully detail the impact Markus Zusak's words, descriptions and stories had on my heart. I found it inspiring. I found it unforgettable.

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Stay tuned for my favorite quotes from this incredible book!

I'm still debating on whether or not I want to watch the movie. Books are always better. Because there's just something about words...