The Book Thief

By Markus Zusak

Completed on March 25, 2018

If you strip “The Book Thief” of all the themes on war, relationships, and childhood, it is a essentially a tale about words. It’s about how words can make an entire nation go to war, but it’s also about how words can help you find light in a dark basement.

“I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”

When I read “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank, the plight of Jews in Hitler’s Germany was starkly evident. Here, you notice how even the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Germans were warring on two fronts: the wars such as in Stalingrad which took their fingers and their dreams; and the war back home, where they writhed in the agony of waiting.

The choice of narrator is interesting, at the very least. The story is beautiful without a doubt, but the narration elevates it. It is satirical at times and wonderfully poignant at others. You are often told what is coming upfront, and yet it breaks your heart when it does arrive. “How about that kiss, Saumensch?”

The characters are painstakingly etched out, and even those like Ilsa Hermann, who feature in only a handful of scenes and have very little dialogue, make you feel the effects of a war.

It is also a story about friendships. A friendship forged over an accordion and some champagne; a friendship that transforms into love; a friendship that has few words spoken out loud. Markus Zusak is amazing with words, and he is a downright genius in penning relationships without exposition.

But at its very core, it is about words.

“I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.”