This book is the best book giving an image of the scene in the locality of Germany during world was II. The protogonist Liesel Meminger, is an adopted child of rosa and hans hubermann.it reveals the secrets of liesel's life and shows her ambition to read books. she starts stealing books from when her brother dies. the story triggers our emotion and makes us feel the reality of life in past.

This is a book to treasure, a new classic. I absolutely loved it. Set in Germany in the years 1939-1943, The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel, narrated by Death who has in his possession the book she wrote about these years. So, in a way, they are both book thieves. Liesel steals randomly at first, and later more methodically, but she's never greedy. Death pockets Liesel's notebook after she leaves it, forgotten in her grief, amongst the destruction that was once her street, her home, and carries it with him. Liesel is effectively an orphan. She never knew her father, her mother disappears after delivering her to her new foster parents, and her younger brother died on the train to Molching where the foster parents live. Death first encounters nine-year-old Liesel when her brother dies, and hangs around long enough to watch her steal her first book, The Gravedigger's Handbook, left lying in the snow by her brother's grave. Her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Herbermann, are poor Germans given a small allowance to take her in. Hans, a tall, quiet man with silver eyes, is a painter (of houses etc.) and plays the accordian. He teaches Liesel how to read and write. Rosa is gruff and swears a lot but has a big heart, and does laundry for rich people in the town. Liesel becomes best friends with her neighbour Rudy, a boy with "hair the colour of lemons" who idolises the black Olympic champion sprinter Jesse Owens. One night a Jew turns up in their home. He's the son of a friend of Hans from the first world war, the man who taught him the accordian, whose widowed wife Hans promised to help if she ever needed it. Hans is a German who does not hate Jews, though he knows the risk he and his family are taking, letting Max live in the basement. Max and Liesel become close friends, and he writes an absolutely beautiful story for her, called The Standover Man, which damn near broke my heart. It's the story of Max, growing up and coming to Liesel's home, and it's painted over white-painted pages of Mein Kampf, which you can see through the paint. Whenever I read a book, I cannot help but read it in two ways: the story itself, and how it's written. They're not quite inseparable, but they definitely support each other. With The Book Thief, Markus Zusak has shown he's a writer of genius, an artist of words, a poet, a literary marvel. His writing is lyrical, haunting, poetic, profound. Death is rendered vividly, a lonely, haunted being who is drawn to children, who has had a lot of time to contemplate human nature and wonder at it. Liesel is very real, a child living a child's life of soccer in the street, stolen pleasures, sudden passions and a full heart while around her bombs drop, maimed veterans hang themselves, bereaved parents move like ghosts, Gestapo take children away and the dirty skeletons of Jews are paraded through the town. Many things save this book from being all-out depressing. It's never morbid, for a start. A lively humour dances through the pages, and the richness of the descriptions as well as the richness of the characters' hearts cannot fail to lift you up. Also, it's great to read such a balanced story, where ordinary Germans - even those who are blond and blue-eyed - are as much at risk of losing their lives, of being persecuted, as the Jews themselves. I can't go any further without talking about the writing itself. From the very first title page, you know you're in for something very special indeed. The only way to really show you what I mean is to select a few quotes (and I wish I was better at keeping track of lines I love). "As he looked uncomfortably at the human shape before him, the young man's voice was scraped out and handed across the dark like it was all that remained of him." (p187) "Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day. That was the business of hiding a Jew." (p.239) "The book was released gloriously from his hand. It opened and flapped, the pages rattling as it covered ground in the air. More abruptly than expected, it stopped and appeared to be sucked towards the water. It clapped when it hit the surface and began to float downstream." (p.325) "So many humans. So many colours. They keep triggering inside me. They harass my memory. I see them tall in their heaps, all mounted on top of each other. There is air like plastic, a horizon like setting glue. There are skies manufactured by people, punctured and leaking, and there are soft, coal-coloured clouds, beating, like black hearts. And then. There is death. Making his way through all of it. On the surface: unflappable, unwavering. Below: unnerved, untied, and undone." (p.331) "After ten minutes or so, what was most prominent in the cellar was a kind of non-movement. Their bodies were welded together and only their feet changed position or pressure. Stillness was shackled to their faces. They watched each other and waited." (p.402) "People and

Narrated by Death, The Book Thief is the story of Liesel Meminger, a nine-year-old German girl who was given up by her mother to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann in the small town of Molching in 1939, shortly before World War II. On their way to Molching, Liesel's younger brother Werner dies, and she is traumatized, experiencing nightmares about him for months. She is no longer a little girl, but now she has to grow up and be alert, secretive, and careful. Hans,her foster dad is a gentle man who brings her comfort and helps her learn to read, starting with a book Liesel took from the cemetery where her brother was buried. Liesel befriends a neighborhood boy, Rudy Steiner, who falls in love with her. At a book burning, Liesel realizes that her father was persecuted for being a Communist, and that her mother was likely killed by the Nazis for the same crime. She is seen stealing a book from the burning by the mayor's wife Ilsa Hermann, who later invites Liesel to read in her library. Now keeping a promise he made to the man who saved his life, Hans agrees to hide a Jew named Max Vandenberg in his basement. Liesel and Max become close friends, and Max writes Liesel two stories about their friendship, both of which are reproduced in the novel. But Max must leave. Hans is drafted into the military at a time when air raids over major German cities were escalating in terms of frequency and fatality. Liesel next sees Max being marched towards the concentration camp at Dachau. Liesel loses hope and begins to disdain the written word, having learnt that Hitler's propaganda is to blame for the war and the Holocaust and the death of her biological family, but Ilsa,the mayor’s wife encourages her to write. Words comfort Liesel – she spills them out into her diary, and laps them up in book after book. Liesel writes the story of her life in the Hubermanns' basement, where she miraculously survives an air raid that kills Hans, Rosa, Rudy, and everyone else on her block. Liesel survives the war and so does Max. She goes on to live a long life and dies at an old age. There is one thing for certain. One doesn’t just read The Book Thief but lives through The Book Thief. One feels Liesel's emotions, her anger, frustration, love, confusion and sorrow. One sees Rudy's lemon-coloured hair. One smells the paint and tobacco lingering on Hans Hubermann's clothes. And one hears the voice of Death narrating the story, right from the beginning.It was so beautiful, moving and emotional, and it left me convinced that I had read one of the best books I would ever read in my life. Markus Zusak led me on a journey that you can only experience in the most wonderful books.

This totally amazing book by Marcus Zusak, is a story of a girl who first finds a book in the leftovers of the Nazi raids. She falls in love with the books and its words, and begins hunting for more. Soon, she is stealing books from everywhere, including the mayor's wife's library...and to know more about the story, please read the book, guys..if I tell you I will end up spoiling your fun of reading the book..

There aren’t many writers who could get away with the idea of death, the Nazis, and the burning of taboo books in one novel, but Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief, seems to achieve just that. The book is narrated by Death himself, about the story of a young girl called Liesel, who is the epynonymous book thief. She lives with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Liesel cannot read but, with the support and guidance of Hans, teaches herself to read a whole manner of things, and when her curiosity is not satisfied she takes to stealing the books . As the novel reaches the end, you see Max leaving the family for his and their own safety, leaving Liesel alone with her words. If you can see the end of the novel through your tears, you’ll find that the family Liesel had carefully crafted for herself is slowly torn apart, as Death claims the members of her family for himself. The humour in the novel stops it from being morbid, but it definitely leaves you feeling both raw and cleansed. If you can see the end of the novel through your tears, you’ll find that the family Liesel had carefully crafted for herself is slowly torn apart, as Death claims the members of her family for himself. The humour in the novel stops it from being morbid, but it definitely leaves you feeling both raw and cleansed.

The state of Israel gives non-Jews who saved Jewish lives, or attempted to save Jewish lives, the formal recognition of being Righteous Among the Nations. In the introduction to his 2002 book The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust, Martin Gilbert quotes Baruch Sharoni, a member of the committee that recognises the Righteous, as writing "[S]o many more who could have contributed to the rescue did not ... I see the savers as true noble souls of the human race, and when I meet with them I feel somewhat inferior to them. For I know that if I had been in their place I wouldn't have been capable of such deeds." It is this sentiment which resonates as one reads Markus Zusak's truly remarkable novel. In The Book Thief, the man hiding a Jew named Max Vandenburg is decorator and part-time accordion player Hans Hubermann. One of the reasons why he's hiding this particular man is because Max's father saved his own life when they were both German soldiers in the first world war. He and his wife Rosa have also adopted a girl named Liesel, the main character of this tale. The growing relationships between Hubermann and Liesel and, later, Liesel and Max Vandenburg are central to the plotTo reveal that the story is told by Death himself may well conjure up images of Terry Pratchett's Death, in the Discworld novels, or even seem distasteful or wholly inappropriate considering the subject matter. In Zusak's hands, this narrative device is none of these things. It gives a unique and compassionate voice to a narrator who can comment on human's inhumanity to human without being ponderous, "worthy" or even quite understanding us at times. This is a beautifully balanced piece of storytelling with glimpses of what is yet to come: sometimes misleading, sometimes all too true. We meet all shades of German, from truly committed Nazis to the likes of Hans Hubermann. Zusak is no apologist, but able to give a remarkable insight into the human psyche. In addition to Liesel, the book thief of the title, characters who particularly stand out are Rudy Steiner, a close friend who is obsessed with the black athlete Jesse Owens; Ilsa Hermann, the mayor's wife, who has never recovered from the loss of her own son; both of Liesel's adoptive parents; and Max himself, who writes and illustrates a strangely beautiful short story for Liesel over whitewashed pages from a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf Zusak, an Australian author, has said that writing the book was inspired by two real-life events related to him by his German parents: the bombing of Munich, and a teenage boy offering bread to an emaciated Jew being marched through the streets, ending with both boy and Jewish prisoner being whipped by a soldier. It is, however, the way in which Zusak combines such terrible events with such believable characters and the minutiae of everyday life in Nazi Germany that makes this book so special. A number one New York Times bestseller, The Book Thief has been marketed as an older children's book in some countries and as an adult novel in others. It could and - dare I say? - should certainly be read by both. Unsettling, thought-provoking, life-affirming, triumphant and tragic, this is a novel of breathtaking scope, masterfully told. It is an important piece of work, but also a wonderful page-turner. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

The author has an exceptional grasp over the English language and his words bring Liesel and her world to existence. The Book Thief will move the reader to glee and sadness, frequently at the same time. This is a memorable story about the capability of books to feed the soul even in the most frustrating times.overall great book and a must read

The Book Thief was published as Young Adult novel. Don’t you believe it. This is a wonderful novel, appropriate for adults of young, middle and advanced years.It’s much easier to review something you love, or something you hate, rather than something you’ve half-forgotten before you even get to your local library’s return box.So this book is fine. Fine. It’s the story of a young German girl caught in the path of the advancing Nazi regime during World War II.

great book i just want to say that this book is very nice and great.it touched my mind and heart both.this book is all about a book thief and how he steel the books and read about that book greatly.this book touched my heart .everyday i talk about this book with my family , families ,friends , class teaches , class mates and even with my school principle .every day i talk about this book . everyday i read this book . i was whole excited for this book when i ordered this book from scoolastic the book fear . my friends also want to buy this book from me because they all searched all the book store but they did not get this book so i finally decided to give this for just Rs 700 that all my experience about this book

It is a very beautiful book. It tells us about loss, hurt, but most of all it tells us about life. Liesel is book reader she loves to read books she finds pieces of herself in each book she reads. The war talks about the sacrifices everyone makes and how much discrimination was going on during that time. The way liesel describes the view of outside to the jewish man was just mesmerizing.

It’s a story about a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . . Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

After Liesels brother's death, Liesel arrives in a distraught state at the home of her new foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. During her time there, she is exposed to the horror of the Nazi regime and struggles to find a way to the innocence of her childhood in the midst of her destructive surroundings. As the political situation in Germany deteriorates, her foster parents hide a Jewish man named Max, putting the family in danger. Hans, who has developed a close relationship with Liesel, teaches her to read in secret. Recognizing the power of writing and sharing the written word, Liesel begins to not only steal books the Nazi party is looking to destroy, but also write her own stories and share the power of language with Max.

"It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . . Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul."

With a prodigious use of allegory, Marcus Zusak has written an enthralling human story of ordinary people caught in the trauma of Second World War Germany. In each of the captivating pages of The Book Thief, an ethos and optimism arises from the hearts of children, momentarily displacing the horrors of the war. Zusak chose Death, The Grim Reaper, as the narrator of his story. The protagonist is a young girl, Liesel Meminger, handed off by her mother to German foster parents after Liesel's brother dies in her arms on the floor of an unheated rail car. At her brother's burial Liesel recovers the only memory available, an abandoned copy of The Grave Diggers Handbook. Thus The Book Thief is born. This is a story of words, an accordionist, fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, thievery, friendships, love and family and above all a relationship between a daughter and step-father. The Book Thief is a portrait of how war and the Holocaust causes ordinary people and families to reshape their lives to survive. Meet Liesel's step-father and mother Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her best friend and partner in book thievery Rudy and the Jew Max, hidden from the Nazis for two years in the basement of the Hubermann home. Zusak is such a marvelous story-teller that the journey is never predictable, even as death himself narrates the tale. The story is told so beautifully that the reader may consider clearing the time for the final 200 pages in one sitting. A word from the Narrator: "I wanted to tell the book thief many things about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant."

"It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . . Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul."

10-Jun-2015 The book Thief This book is the best book giving an image of the scene in the locality of Germany during world was II. The protogonist Liesel Meminger, is an adopted child of rosa and hans hubermann.it reveals the secrets of liesel's life and shows her ambition to read books. she starts stealing books from when her brother dies. the story triggers our emotion and makes us feel the reality of life in past.