This one is going to be an Outlier here because it's what many consider a "Young Adult" or "YA" novel which tend to be looked down upon by the academics, but it really should not be. I first read Markus Zusak's The Book Thief when I was a junior in High School. My copy that I still own to this day was recommended and gifted to me by my lovely Spanish teacher. Senora McCoy, if you're reading this, thank you. This book had a lasting effect on me and I still consider it to this day one of the best books for at the very least, young readers.
First some background, you know how I like to do that. There's not actually a lot I could find on Zusak, probably because he's a living writer. He was born in Sydney to a German mother and a Austrian father who immigrated here in the 50s. He has written six books, The Book Thief his most popular but he is also well known for I Am The Messenger. He studied English and History at the University of North South Wales, and has a Bachelor of the Arts.
The Book Thief in an interesting piece of Literature because of its unusual nature. Set in Nazi Germany during World War 2, it follows a little girl by the name of Liesel as she grows up on Himmel Street surrounded by friends and family. Until they all die in a bombing run except for her. The books narrator however, is not Liesel, but Death itself. Death constantly waxes philosophical on the human condition throughout the novel and uses the life and story of Liesel to show us what he means. Liesel is a young girl who at the start of the story is an illiterate. Her mother is forced to give her and her brother up after being outed as a Communist, cause you know, Nazi Germany, and she moves into Himmel Street with the Hubermans, Hans and Rosa, who adopt her. Because the narrator is Death, we are no stranger to spoilers. Death outright tells you the story is tragic at the beginning and it only gets worse from there. It's not uncommon to see a sentence like "The child's blond hair waved in the wind, like trails of sunshine it was sad when he died". Which isn't to say the impact is lessened at all as Liesel climbs out of her basement to find all of her friends and family dead by a tragic happenstance. Because after all, who would bomb a street named after Heaven?
The book is an obvious take that to Nazi Germany, book burning in particular being seen as a heinous thing. Liesel herself acquires a book, titled The Shoulder Shrug from one such burning. It's this that sparks Hans Huberman to teach her to read. The Book Thief is a perfect representation of childhood wonder put up against the backdrop of one of the most horrific time periods in human history. So often you see children running around covered in coal claiming to be Jesse Owens or Liesel herself expressing her hatred of the Fuhrer for his cruelty and machinations. As the reader we can look at this with an adult lens and feel the tension of the era. Very much so in a To Kill A Mockingbird fashion. The coming of age story of Liesel is one of the most heartwarming and tragic tales I've read in a young adult novel, and I would definitely say even if you're not in the age bracket to pick it up and give it a read. Her friendship with Max, a Jewish boxer her family is hiding during the war is an innocent ray of sunshine in this bleak world, and even when Max is later taken to a camp their reunion is a cathartic release after the tragedy of the Himmel Street bombing. Proving that happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.
Another aspect of the novel is the childhood romance between Liesel and Rudy Steiner. Rudy is a young upstart child who has a bright future and a kind heart. He is in love with Liesel and the whole book teases their marriage and happiness only to rip it from you when Rudy's body is found among the wreckage of Himmel Street. Liesel giving his lifeless body the kiss he always wanted in the ruins was actually a scene that made me tear up as a child.
If you read the Book Thief as an adult, which you might as well try to do, look at the Book Thief for its deeper themes. Look at the childhood innocence played against the backdrop of Nazi Germany. Appreciate that the characters of the novel are not treated poorly for being Germans in this era. Look at the themes of censorship, family, imagination and knowledge, especially against the grain of those who would take it from you. The Book Thief is a terrific coming of age story and is a masterpiece in its story telling, prose, and design. It takes an almost postmodern bent with Death as its narrator, one of its strongest themes, as Death is affected by Liesel's story as much as we are. Zusak not only gives life and warmth to these characters but to a concept many of us fear. And as Death cradles Liesel's soul and tells her story he says this to close
"I am haunted by humans".
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