Part I: Bibliographic information
Type: Novel
Title: The Book Thief
Writer: Mark Zusak
Copyright Date:
Subject Heading: Germany--History--1933-1945--Juvenile fiction.
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, New York
ISBN: 9780375831003
Genre/subgenre: Historical fiction/wartime
Interest Age: 13+
Reading Level: Upper Grades (UG 9-12)
Pages: 552
Awards: Michael L. Printz Honor for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, 2007.
Notable Book for a Global Society award winner, 2007
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2007
Sydney Taylor, 2007
Part I: Plot Summary, Critical Evaluation, Reader’s Annotation
Reader’s Annotation -- A capricious young German girl, who does not yet read, steals a book at her brother’s funeral and goes on to find meaning in the face of human tragedy in the written word. Death narrates this tale of surviving World War II against steep odds in a small town outside of Munich not far from a concentration camp.
Plot Summary -- This novel follows fours years in the life of a German girl who is left with distant relatives in a small town near Munich during the Third Reich period. Her name is Liesel Meminger and we are introduced to her when she is about age 9 by the novel’s narrator, Death. Death tells about the train journey her mother, brother and herself as they travel to Molching near Munich. The boy falls ill on the journey and dies -- and Liesel and her mother stop to have him buried. She takes from the graveside a book and is dubbed by Death thereafter as “The Book Theif.” Liesel finds herself with strangers, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, whose own children are grown but not surprisingly has difficulty adjusting. She does not read nor realize the book she has found is titled, “The Gravedigger’s Handbook.” When Hans -- a sympathetic man who kindness contracts with his wife’s abrasive ways -- finds the book among her things, he decides to teach her to read. They use the basement as an improvised classroom but later it would go on to be the refuge of the son of a Jewish man who helped Hans life during World War II. The Jewish man stays with the family in hiding for nearly two years until circumstance forces his departure. Liesel holds this secret close not even revealing it to her best childhood friend and neighbor, Rudy Steiner. The two involve themselves in petty crime to get food and as a diversion for their wartime frustrations. Liesel steals another book and later breaks into the library of the Mayor home. She thinks she was undetected but in fact the Mayor’s wife has witnessed her left but welcomes Liesel’s interest in books and offers her to come through the door though the girl refuses. Liesel shares the books with Max who she forms a close bond with particularly after he falls gravely ill and the girl stays by his side. Meanwhile her father Hans, a musician and painter, struggles to makes ends meet and feels pressure to join the Nazi’s in spite of his objections in order to make ends meet. He later makes a poor judgement of handing a piece of bread to a Jewish prisoner as a group is marched through the streets to the nearby camp at Dachau. Their paranoia that the Gestapo will come leads them to send away Max and breaks the heart of all the family, Liesel included. The incident also leads to Hans being conscripted to military service -- and he is forced to leave Rosa and Liesel. The refusal of the Steins to send the athletic and smart Ruby to an elite Nazi school leads to his father going as well. Death meanwhile follows from an omnipresent viewpoint revealing the battles against Russia, the gassing of Jewish prisoners and the bombings that come unexpectedly as busy times for him. Liesel meanwhile brings solice in the form reading along to one neighbor in paticular whose boys are fighting in Stalingrad. One is killed and the other returns home badly injured thus bringing the horrific consequences of war closer to home . As the war turns against the Nazis, the marching of Jews to camps continues and Liesel, too, is drawn to stand her ground as she seeks to be reunited with Max. In the end, Death visits Molching often and Liesel is forced to find strength to go on despite the ever present tragedy that surrounds her. She finds inspiration in a small book that is left by Max and looks to it for meaning amidst the insanity that defines her daily life.
Critical Evaluation -- This work is deceptively simple at first glance. Death tells the story of girl who survives wartime Germany against unlikely odds. I usually don’t like books that can be summed up in a single sentence. I’ll make an exception for The Book Thief, which is weaved beautifully with layers of complexity that make up Liesel’s dance with fate. As a strong female protagonist, she is quite to have a mind of her own even before she can read. She grasps for meaning through her books, through Max, a Jew who hides in their basement, through her own fight with fate. The story moves forward with enough momentum and intrigue to make us want to keep looking at Death’s perspective, literally. The symbolism of the accordion and music as a unifier and pacifier contrasts to the ugly marching of boots that head through the small town toward the Death Camp nearby. Zusak is a relatively young writer and so you don’t expect the level of artistry with words that he brings to this work. It is reminicent of the great Russian works by Dostoevsky and Tolstoy -- that are told in the Omnipresent voice, which is the effect that using Death as the narrator has on the story. It has all the marking of a great work -- depth of character, cathartic experience, triumph over great odds. He does so with rich, thought-provoking description of a time and place most of us would care not to think about. Though it’s not yet a decade old, I rate The Book Thief among my top reads for young adults of all time for its powerful message and utter originality.
Part III: Author Info
Markus Zusak is an Australian novelist who has published five works to date and is currently working on a sixth tentatively titled “Bridge of Clay.” He started writing at 16 and spend 9 years trying to get his first work published. He is from Sydney, Australia, and now lives near the beach in New South Wales, Australia, near Sydney.
Zusak studied teaching in college and had taught high school. He is the youngest son of German and Austrian immigrant parents. He claims the best advice he ever got about writing was that it’s not easy to get published and not to expect financial success (Mark Zusak, 2013).
Part IV: Curriculum Ties, Diversity, Booktalk Ideas, Challenge Issues
Curriculum Ties, if any -- The Book Thief is a work of historical fiction that could be in conjunction with World History, World War II or the Holocaust, in particular. It explores many themes, including the reality of modern war, the effects of economic injustice and the tragedy of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism.
Diversity of Cultures -- The book investigates discrimination and extremism in the setting of World World II Germany at the height of the Holocaust. It offers a unique perspective in which those complicit with the ideology are characterized thoughtfully and from a myriad of perspective -- the orphaned girl, the mayor’s wife, the soldier, the Jewish fist fighter. In this way the work delves into the political and moral implications of oppression and war.
Booktalking Ideas -- The book is quite haunting and deals with the topic of death throughout. A good booktalking idea might be to discuss some beliefs and taboos that our culture has about death and grieving. Leisel has to mourn her brothers death as a young girl but this only sets her up for greater loss. Is she made stronger or is she wounded forever -- or perhaps both?
Challenge Issues -- This book was not written exclusively for youth and has mature themes that some readers might find disturbing. With the narrator being death, we are hearing of death and tragedy throughout. So, while this book is finding a place in the Young Adult, a librarian should be prepared to discuss the nature of the violence in the context of the author’s intent to explore a historical period with sensitivity to all involved. The potential objections might also touch on sympathy for the Nazis and their followers. However, Zusak various interviews about his intent to write about the Holocaust that would should various perspectives as well as reveal both the kindness and evil that were evident in war-torn Germany.
Part V: Reasons chosen
I really cannot say enough about this work that blends compassion for the less fortunate with indignation for injustice -- all from the eyes of Death who narrates the tale. He admires the young Liesel, a fireball of a child -- she is not afraid to stare in the face of Death and to stand up to the boots that march through her town. It sends a strong message of the power of the will and independent mindedness to overcome extreme circumstance. Yet there is a tragic component, and we see the ugliness that is neighbor pitted against neighbor as well as the willingness of neighbors to help each other. The despair that is a young child left behind due to circumstance beyond her real parents control turns to triumph by virtue of her survival. For young adults, it’s a history lesson wrapped in a human context that has not soon to be equalled.
Part VI: Citations
Biography: Mark Zusak. (n.d.) Scholastic Press. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/markus-zusak
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