Goodreads Summary:
It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.
By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.
So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.
In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
My Thoughts:
This book wasn't really what I was expecting. Not that I am sure what I was expecting, I just know this wasn't it. I was pleasantly surprised. I knew enough about the book to know that it was a heavy read which is part of why I held off on reading it until my book club picked it a couple months ago.
Yes this is a heavy read, but at times it is just a story about a little girl and sometimes it was touching and other times it is funny. The perspective of Death is interesting as he is mostly detached from humanity, and death is just what Death does. This little book thief was a bright spot, someone Death didn't want to detach from. The last line of this book was the most interesting and powerful to me. "I am haunted by humans."
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
While writing this review I was listening to my coffee brew.
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