This is a stunningly beautiful novel of a girl living in Germany during the holocaust, suitable for both teenagers and adults to read. Zusak left me breathless with his descriptions and I always felt connected to the characters in some way or another. It is educational but does not lack strong characters with which you can connect with emotionally. You are taken on a heartbreaking journey through the lives of several characters, many of which you grow to love and feel for. Several times in the book I was bawling my eyes out or crying for pure joy, it really gets to you on an emotional level. It has holocaust themes (obviously) but I would say that they are quite mild. People who are sensitive to these themes can quite easily skip over the details and continue reading on as the book will still make total sense. Reading this book my views of WWII completely changed--as this is not an Anne Frank but a dark portrayal of the poor Germans, u will find you thinking a different of life in WWII. And after u read this--well, I could just say this book can be life changing. The book has a unique narrative style. By death. Yes that is true, death does narrate--but the style is not exactly neither a narrative nor a poetic style. The genre is . Hard to point out here, and the story is quite simple: Leisel, a German girl is being adopted by a crazy woman and sweet man in Munich--as she steals books to read them to everyone. But soon you will find yourself intrigued by the complexity of this epic. A Jewish man starts living in there basement. Air raids are everywhere. Leisel has a best friend named Rudy. The Jewish man and Leisel have much in common. And many more happens in this story. But the story is not the main thing, yes, Zusak does try to make sense of the horrors of WWII--but the main thing is... the amazing writing and meaning. This book is some way you can poetic, and in many ways brutal. Sometimes the book can be dark, but at many moments you will hear yourself crying out loud in laughter explain. Overall this book is highly recommended for teens, adults, and anyone else above the age of a this is not a happy book. But it is an absolutely brilliant one. There is some language, but nothing a mature 12-year old couldn't take. If you remember this is a sad book, then you'll realize this for the classic it is. A testament to humanity. The way in which Zusak writes is quite inspiring and just reading the descriptions with no storyline or plot would be enough for me! This is one of my favorite books

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 Advertisement 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.

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.

The Book Thief is a 2005 historical novel by Australian author Markus Zusak and is his most popular work. Published in 2005, The Book Thief became an international bestseller and was translated into several languages. It was adapted into a 2013 feature film of the same name. The Book Thief centers on the life of Liesel Meminger, a ten to fourteen-year-old in Germany during World War II. Liesel's experiences are narrated by Death, who describes both the beauty and destruction of life in this era. After her 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