I experienced some difficulty getting into this but once I got past the cryptic colour introduction I discovered it was possibly one of the best books I'd read in a long time. Beautifully written, I remained glued to its every page and at 553pps that was a long read far into the night(s). Holocaust themes are making their mark as older generations are beginning to talk and that's as it should be. Fine detail has been held back for too long. Amazing stories have come from my own friends and family and it seems that hardly anyone I know has been left untouched in some way by the atrocities of the 1940s. This book is realistic and poignant with believable characters and a rivetting plot. It's narrated by Death, who comes to claim his victims and there are lots of them.At the same time, he reveals the sad story of the book thief, 9-year-old Liesel, whose parents are in a concentration camp. Fostered by a German family, she forms a strong spiritual attachment to the Jewish refugee hidden in the cellar, an attachment strengthened by their mutual love for the written word in the books she steals. It isn't a happy story but it's a story about Nazi Germany in 1939 so what more can I say?
Published by Black Swan (2007) Ideal for a book group.
1 comments:
I loved this book too Diane, lost myself in it and didn't want it to end. I also found it difficult to get going with, but persisted, and was so glad I had done. As usual I passed it on to my sister (we both love reading, and have similar tastes), and of course she loved it too.
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