‘The Book Thief’ by Mark Zusak: A Book About Words
At first, I liked this book. Then I waited for it to be over. And then it made me cry.
I still had a hundred pages of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak left to read when I boarded the plane heading to the place which still feels like home to me.
When the plane took off I was annoyed with my window seat, worried about bothering other passengers every time I needed to get up. Then I started reading. And suddenly I was grateful for my window seat, which allowed me to turn my face away and take in the deep blue of the Mediterranean while I was trying to hold my tears.
I had to repeat the same routine a good number of times until the book was over. Until I read the last haunting words of a book about words.
It’s only words, I say. But “words are so heavy”, answers Liesel.
“The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn’t be any of this. Without words, the Fuhrer was nothing. There would be no limping prisoners, no need for consolation or wordly tricks to make us feel better. What good were words?” — Markus Zusak
And still, I stick to them just as Liesel, the book thief, did. Her story is told by Death, the impartial narrator of the book. I found its voice difficult…
