Book Thief Paperback – Big Book, 8 September 2016

I'll admit it, I saw the movie first. After seeing it I went straight to the library and borrowed the book. I have always been meaning to buy it, and when I saw this unusual cover art I knew that I had to have it.....the image of Liesel dancing with Death is a very powerful one. The book itself is a fast read, but there are times when you just have to stop for a minute and take it all in (good times and bad). It's heart-wrenching though, so although I don't read it often I do think that it is a very well-written novel, and it is one of my favorites.

The Book Thief is such an amazing book, I’m envious of people who have not read it, because they are in for a great book! The book is written very cleverly. The subject is dark, and very touching. God bless all of the people touched by that war. Hoping that wars cease to exist.

This is a beautifully written book. The imagery is unique and made me feel like I was there, living in the dusty streets of Himmel. My daughter was given this as a summer reading assignment. I decided to read it first and I'm so glad I did. It has become one of my top 10 favorite books of all time.

A vivid narration by Death Himself, this book chronicles the life story of a German girl (the eponymous Book Thief) during the WWII..yes, the Nazi era. Each book she steals depicts an important point in her life in her own history, an important lesson learned, a challenge overcome by her or an important person in her life. This is not a story of a revolution caused by some great name, but a simple story of a child who shakes the simple lives around her with her simple words in a tremendous way. The perspective of the story is to highlight the suffering of the poorest sections of the Nazi society through the eyes of Death with the clear focus being this child who happens to be a book thief. But this thief is remarkable- from her struggle to let go of the grim dreams seeded from her brother's death and mother's abandonment to her growing love for her foster parents, from her gradual victory over the words that were once her enemy to her beautiful friendship with Rudy and Max. She grows so much throughout the book and survives so much that slowly you start suffering everything with her, with Death. Whatever I write in the review cannot justify the way the narration touches you. Just go and read it, you will understand what I mean.On an end note, Death, you are some narrator!

Firstly I'll get my negative comment out of the way! If you want a fast paced novel with lots happening then this book won't give you that. However on a positive note it is well worth sticking with it. Many books have been written about war, and this one deals with Word War Two. However it deals with the subject from the perspective of a few families in a fictitious town near Munich detailing their daily, often mundane, lives. No big events are mentioned much in the book, but it gives an insight into the personal tragedy of war and how it affects just these few families. Basically it puts names (albeit fictitious ones) and a very human face onto the statistics of war. So often we read of hundreds of victims, thousands killed in a bombing raid and so on, but this book makes it personal.I also loved how it was narrated, but I won't spoil it by naming the narrator.I would highly recommend this book.Tony W