The Book Thief

The Book Thief is written by Marcus Zusak, who is an Australian author.

It is written from the viewpoint of death. This is one of the many things which makes the book extraordinary as it is original and gives the reader an alternative viewpoint of life (and with it death.)

It is set in Germany during World War Two and, though it is narrated by death itself, the book is about the child Leisel Meminger. When she can no longer be cared for by her mother she gets sent off to live with a German couple. During her enticing journey of living with them she learns to read, befriends a Jew and copes with the struggles and hardship of living in Germany in WW2.

This books gives the fresh view of  the war and shows that there is power contained in words and as 'everybody die's', we are all ultimately the same. This provides the message of equality within the book, along with family, love and heartbreak. This supports the time of which it is written in as instead of discriminating it shows some outbreaks of togetherness

The book got me hooked and, though the topic was difficult to digest at times, it was an easy and flowing read. I even got so absorbed into reading that, during the difficult points, I may even have let out a tear or two (which is very unlike me.)

Due to the book being unlike any I have read before, it is one of my favourites. Therefore, without a doubt, I strongly recommend it (in fact I am currently lending it to a friend and have recommended it to many others including my Dad.) This just shows it is a great read for numerous ages as it is written in such an amazing way. However for those of a younger age it may not be that suitable as it does contain emotional distress.

So, it is not a light-hearted read although it does contain snippets of humour. It will make you smile, cry and worry but more importantly engage you into reading more. If I could rate it out of 10 it would be a definite 10.

Please read - it could change your viewpoint of life!


The Movie:

Due to it being and international best selling book, of which it is worthy, it has also been made into a film. It is due to watching this film today that I have written this review. All I can say is it too made me shed a few tears as it was magical representation of the amazing book. Therefore I also recommend.

However, as it was an adaptation, some important scenes from the book had been reordered or completley left out (slightly disappointing me). For this reason if you are thinking of both reading the book and watching the film, I definitely recommend reading it first. However as I said it was still magical as I don't think any film (not even The Fault in our Stars) has made me cry. The actors were amazing and they portrayed the characters brilliantly. Their is Sophie Nélisse (Leisel), Geffrey Rush (Papa), Emily Watson (Mama), Ben Schnetzer (Max) and Nico Liersch (Rudy.)

Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=92EBSmxinus

Please Watch

Sam x

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