I
was looking forward to reading The Book
Thief as soon as I received it in the mail.
The title alone was enough to pique my interest because I am an avid
reader and lover of books. I had never
heard of The Book Thief before, and I
had no knowledge of the book’s content.
Reading through the prologue, I found the idea of Death narrating the
book to be a surprise. As an adult
reader, I can process this information and understand the abstract and
metaphorical language that “Death” uses throughout the book, but I find it hard
to imagine middle school students understanding and relating to this book.
Personally,
I did not enjoy reading The Book Thief. I did not like the switching back and
forth between the story of Liesel and Max.
I would have to re-read certain chapters to make sure that I understood
the new information. It is difficult to
enjoy reading the book when you must follow the storyline closely and remember
different stories at the same time. The intermixing
of certain German words (without the English translations) stopped the flow of
reading. I had to read the words and the
sentence that they were used in several times to understand the meaning. The author’s word choice and syntax made this
book a bit of a challenge to read. There were also points in the text that Death
would jump into the future, give us details about those events, and continue
the story in the present. I found these
tense changes to be disturbing and taunting.
When I read a book, I want to know the events as they happen. Do not give me surprises or knowledge of
events before they happen. This
discourages me from continuing the book.
There
are heavy themes presented throughout the book.
Death, abandonment, foster family relationships, parent-child
relationships, stealing/thievery, Communism, persecution, war, and other such topics
are found though the entire book. These
themes paint a grim, dark atmosphere as the reader journeys with the events of
the characters. Just as reality
dictates, there must be some positive events along with the negative events in
our lives. If life were composed of nothing
but dark, negative times, it would be nearly impossible for humans to
survive. It takes the positive events of
life to give us a sense of hope and encouragement to continue our journey
forward.
The
lighter, more positive themes are the use of words (learning to read), friendship,
generosity, courage, and love. Liesel
shows the reader her passion of learning to read, her friendships with Rudy and
Max, and her growing courage in the presence of danger. We, as readers, are able to view the
friendship, courage, generosity, and love of Hans Hubermann as he keeps the
promise made to a war-time friend who saved his life by extending himself to
that son, Max Vandenberg.
The Book Thief could be a great
book to use when studying about World War II.
I could see it used in a high school setting more so than in a middle
school setting. Perhaps an advanced
eighth grade literature class could use this book, but students in eighth grade
social studies do not study World War II.
It would not be possible to use The
Book Thief as a cross curricular study or as a reading across the
curriculum book.
While
I found it difficult to relate to death being the narrator, I found that Liesel
Meminger is a realistic character with whom the reader can relate. I found myself sympathizing with Liesel
through her many struggles and hardships.
I cheered her on as she found friendship in Rudy Steiner, read through
the books in the mayor’s library, and was brave enough to face her nightmares
alone. I desperately wanted to stop her
from stealing and taking part in the thievery ring of Arthur Berg. Hans Hubermann is also a character who is
relatable. He reveals a tender, nurturing
side toward Liesel that his wife, Rosa Hubermann, lacks. Hans shows bravery and generosity as he tries
to remain true to his own personal, political beliefs while he protects
Max.
The Book Thief turned out to be
quite different than I originally expected.
Even though I did not particularly enjoy it, I would recommend it to
others who wanted to know more about this time in history or to those who enjoy
studying the Holocaust and/or World War II.
Zusak, M. (2005). The book thief. New York, NY: Alfred
A. Knopf.
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