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The Book Thief (2005)

by Markus Zusak

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
43,161210836 (4.36)4 / 2086
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
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  1. 649
    The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (alalba, PghDragonMan, Anonymous user)
    PghDragonMan: Both side of hiding during the Holocaust
    Anonymous user: Both are about Holocaust. The Book Thief is from German girl's perspective whereas The Diary of a Young Girl is from a Jewish girl's perspective.
  2. 445
    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (paulkid, Anonymous user)
    paulkid: There are many similarities between these books. For example, a strong father-daughter relationship, where the father teaches by example by taking the moral high ground in protecting a persecuted minority - also kids that break down the barriers between secluded and socially awkward neighbors through books and sundry shenanigans.… (more)
  3. 332
    The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (Booksloth, frsantos)
  4. 282
    Night by Elie Wiesel (Smellsbooks, Morteana)
  5. 269
    Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (weener)
  6. 181
    The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (PghDragonMan, avidmom, rhshelver)
  7. 204
    I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (whymaggiemay, rosylibrarian)
  8. 120
    Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman (kaipakartik)
  9. 90
    Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (TessaSlingerland)
  10. 90
    The Chosen by Chaim Potok (avidmom)
  11. 101
    The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen (whoot, booklove2)
  12. 91
    Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (sleepykid00)
    sleepykid00: Both taken place during WWII, but in different perspectives.
  13. 103
    The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (lucyknows)
    lucyknows: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak may linked with The Reader by Bernhard Schlink using the themes of reading, Nazi Germany and death. You could also pair it with the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. Atonement by Ian McEwan could work as well because of the young protagonists, war, and reading.… (more)
  14. 61
    The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (Ciruelo, heidialice)
  15. 40
    Edelweiss Pirates: Operation Einstein by Mark A. Cooper (davidparsons, jacobwilliams007)
  16. 51
    The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe (_eskarina)
    _eskarina: Similar setting (WWII), similar emphasis on the power of the books.
  17. 63
    Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume (Runa)
  18. 41
    The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (mrstreme)
  19. 20
    Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (tiltheworldends)
    tiltheworldends: Nonfiction about BDM that Liesel was required to attend and Hitler Youth group that Rudy belonged to.
  20. 31
    City of Thieves by David Benioff (avalon_today)
    avalon_today: Kolya reminds me of Rudy, a bit older but none wiser, with his self-assurance and confidence, ok maybe he has lost some of his sweetness, but I still see the humor and zest for life.

(see all 46 recommendations)

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English (1,971)  Dutch (31)  Spanish (28)  French (11)  German (9)  Catalan (8)  Portuguese (Brazil) (6)  Portuguese (5)  Italian (4)  Swedish (4)  Norwegian (3)  Portuguese (Portugal) (2)  Romanian (1)  Finnish (1)  Thingamabrarian (the ideal language) (1)  Arabic (1)  Danish (1)  All languages (2,087)
date ▼ | votes
Showing 1-5 of 1971 (next | show all)
Beautifully written. ( )
  NancyBookwin | Oct 2, 2023 |
my favorite book ( )
  Punka71 | Sep 28, 2023 |
20 pages in and I really cannot be bothered ( )
  Robertgreaves | Sep 20, 2023 |
When Death tells a story, you pay attention. Liesel Meminger is a young girl growing up outside of Munich in Nazi Germany, and Death tells her story as “an attempt—a flying jump of an attempt—to prove to me that you, and your human existence, are worth it.” When her foster father helps her learn to read and she discovers the power of words, Liesel begins stealing books from Nazi book burnings and the mayor’s wife’s library. As she becomes a better reader, she becomes a writer, writing a book about her life in such a miserable time. Liesel’s experiences move Death to say, “I am haunted by humans.” How could the human race be “so ugly and so glorious” at the same time? This big, expansive novel is a leisurely working out of fate, of seemingly chance encounters and events that ultimately touch, like dominoes as they collide. The writing is elegant, philosophical and moving. Even at its length, it’s a work to read slowly and savor. Beautiful and important. (Fiction. 12+)
(Kirkus Review)
  CDJLibrary | Sep 7, 2023 |
Just stunning, the way the plot was narrated and led you through the characters' lives was incredibly striking, stunning and sorrowful.

Much to my amazement, even with some changes, the movie was fairly true to the book.

Definitely a book I would have as part of my collection of 100 on a deserted island with me....

( )
  schoenbc70 | Sep 2, 2023 |
date ▼ | votes
Showing 1-5 of 1971 (next | show all)
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▾Published reviews
The Australian writer Markus Zusak's brilliant and hugely ambitious new young-adult novel is startling in many ways, but the first thing many teenagers will notice is its length: 552 pages! It's one thing to write a long book about, say, a boy who happens across a dragon's egg; it's quite another to write a long, achingly sad, intricately structured book about Nazi Germany narrated by Death itself.
added by Lman | editThe New York Times Book Review, John Green (May 14, 2006)
 
The book's length, subject matter and approach might give early teen readers pause, but those who can get beyond the rather confusing first pages will find an absorbing and searing narrative.
added by stephmo | editThe Washington Post, Elizabeth Chang (Apr 2, 2006)
 
"The Book Thief" attempts and achieves great final moments of tear-jerking sentiment. And Liesel is a fine heroine, a memorably strong and dauntless girl. But for every startlingly rebellious episode... there are moments that are slack.
added by Shortride | editThe New York Times, Janet Maslin (Mar 27, 2006)
 
Writing fiction about the Holocaust is a risky endeavor. Most children learn about it in history class, or through nonfiction narratives like Eli Wiesel's "Night." Zusak has done a useful thing by hanging the story on the experience of a German civilian, not a camp survivor, and humanizing the choices that ordinary people had to make in the face of the Führer. It's unlikely young readers will forget what this atrocity looked like through the eyes of Death.
added by stephmo | editSan Francisco Chronicle, Reyhan Harmanci (Mar 26, 2006)
 
The Book Thief is unsettling and unsentimental, yet ultimately poetic. Its grimness and tragedy run through the reader's mind like a black-and-white movie, bereft of the colors of life. Zusak may not have lived under Nazi domination, but The Book Thief deserves a place on the same shelf with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel's Night. It seems poised to become a classic.
added by stephmo | editUSA Today, Carol Memmott (Mar 20, 2006)
 
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▾Other authors

» Add other authors (12 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Markus Zusak—primary authorall editionscalculated
Corduner, AllanNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ernst, AlexandraTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Girod, Marie-FranceTraductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Giughese, Gian M.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lodewijk, AnnemarieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
White, TrudyIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
▾Series and work relationships
▾Awards and Honors

Awards

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▾Common Knowledge
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For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
The Book Thief
Alternative titles
Original publication date
2005
People/Characters
Liesel Meminger
Death
Hans Hubermann
Rosa Hubermann
Rudy Steiner
Important places
Molching, Bavaria, Germany
Dachau, Bavaria, Germany
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Important events
World War II (1939 | 1945)
Holocaust (1939 | 1945)
Related movies
The Book Thief (2013 | IMDb)
Awards and honors
Ena Noel Award (2008)
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (2006)
Kathleen Mitchell Award (2006)
ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2007)
Book Sense Book of the Year (2007.4 | Children's Literature Winner, 2007)
Epigraph
Dedication
For Elisabeth and Helmut Zusak,
with love and admiration
First words
First the colors. Then the humans. That's how I see things. Or at least how I try.
Quotations
Five hundred souls, I carried them in my fingers, like suitcases; or I'd throw them over my shoulder. It was only the children I carried in my arms. For some reason, dying men always ask questions they know the answer to. Perhaps it's so they can die being right.
In Liesel's mind, the moon was sewn into the sky that night. Clouds were stitched around it.
When the train pulled into the Bahnhof in Munich, the passengers slid out as if from a torn package.
A bathrobe answered the door. Inside it, a woman with startled eyes, hair like fluff and the posture of defeat stood in front of her.
The reply floated from his mouth, then moulded itself like a stain to the ceiling.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Information from the Italian Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Frassinelli
Sperling & Kupfer
Blurbers
Original language
English
Canonical DDC/MDS
823.92
Canonical LCC
PZ7.Z837 Boo 2007
▾References
▾Book descriptions
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

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▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description
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 Jew 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.
Haiku summary
An accordion
There was once a strange, small man
Liesel Meminger

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WorldCat

Genres

Melvil Decimal System (DDC)

823.92Literature › English & Old English literatures › English fiction › Modern Period › 2000-

LC Classification

PZ7.Z837Language and Literature › Fiction and juvenile belles lettres › Fiction and juvenile belles lettres › Juvenile belles lettres

Rating

Average: (4.36)
0.5 15
1 111
1.5 15
2 293
2.5 60
3 1140
3.5 305
4 3300
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