Nab The Book Thief for an Exceptional Read

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was my favorite read this year.  I am typically reluctant to attach star reviews or ratings to books immediately after reading them.  I much prefer to wait a bit, to let the memory of the book simmer on the back burner of my mind and to come back later to decide how I really think it stacks up to everything else.  This book just really moved me.  I knew it would be a favorite before I even finished it. And now, some time has passed since I finished it in August, and I am still thinking about it.

I loved the characters. I loved the story. I loved the creative use of Death as the narrator, and I thought it was very well written. The story is both tragic and uplifting, and it is immensely entertaining.

It's just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl / some words / an accordionist / some fanatical Germans / a Jewish fist fighter / and quite a lot of thievery

Zusak tells a wonderfully creative story. Liesel Meminger is nine years old and on her way to live with a foster family when she and her mother are forced to disembark from their journey to bury her little brother. Standing in the snowy graveyard, she spots and snatches up a book lying on the ground, a small souvenir of that tragic event. She can't read it, but with the help of her foster father, she learns how, and she develops a love of reading that rescues her both figuratively (at first) and literally (later) in the turmoil of war ravaged Germany.

But the characters even more than the story are perhaps what make this book so rich and wonderful. Even the smallest, least consequential of characters is layered and quirky. There's the accordionist who also happens to be Liesel's foster father, her midnight tutor, and a painter; the Jewish fist fighter who hides in the basement during the war, fights Hitler in his imagination, and paints for Liesel; Liesel's loud mouthed foster mother who feuds with her neighbor, slaves away laundering clothes to help put food (horribly cooked food) on the table, and loves her foster daughter dearly despite her cold as ice exterior; and Liesel's ragamuffin best friend who is always seeking trouble and has a soft spot for Jesse Owens.... The story is a patchwork of these fascinating small town people, most of whom are not particularly political but all of whom become caught up and molded by the war around them.

Layered on top of this wonderful story and these fascinating characters is the narrator: Death. I loved reading Death's perspective on the war and on Nazi Germany, and I loved that he complained about his job just as an accountant or lawyer might complain about the tedium of their own workday. Without the unusual narrator, this would have been a terrific book, but the creativity of this narrative device just added an extra something special that made this book excellent. Do yourself a favor and read this book.