Book 11: "The Book Thief" by Markkus Zusak

I was sure I would quit reading this book at some point. 

It was kitschy at the beginning, the narrator is Death, or the Grim Reaper. I didn't think that perspective was necessary and the narrator would constantly make dull jokes such as, "He didn't see that one coming" and "He got away from me that time!" so it was tedious. However, aside from the narrator, I more or less enjoyed the book. Quick synopsis of the story: It takes place in Nazi Germany (no new story line there). A poor German couple in Molching takes in a little girl called Leisel. Her real parents were hauled away for being Communist. Leisel is illiterate but has a book she stole at her brother's funeral. She wants to learn how to read it. Leisel gets terrible night terrors (waking up and screaming) so her new foster dad teaches her to read in the hours of the night to calm her. At some point her parents take in a Jew to hide in their basement, his name is Max. They all really like each other and things seem hard but home life is dandy. Then one day the dad Hans, helps a Jew in the street infront of Nazi's. He goes home terrified and sends Max away. The Nazi's enlist Hans in the Army as punishment. However, Hans breaks his leg and comes home. An air raid bombs Molching and kills everyone except Leisel who was in the basement writing at night. In the end she meets Max and it is implied that they live happily ever after. The end.

Here is what I enjoyed more and less about it:

What I liked more:

1. I liked the character of the foster mom Rosa Hubermann. She can never say anything nice. She is constantly in a bad mood and calling Leisel a pig. But she has a heart of gold. You see the stone turn to flesh when Leisel asks for her real mom, when Hans goes to war Rosa hugs his accordion and cries at night, when she is kind to her worst enemy when the woman's son comes home depressed.

2. I liked the idea of Leisel stealing apples with her best friend Rudy. It reminded me of my grandparents stealing oranges and avocados when they were young and in love. There is a certain magic at the age of 9-12 when you can be sneaky with your friend/12-year-old love interest and think that no one knows.

3. I liked that the author included the book burning scene because it made me think of all of the "banned books" that are so great and that I should make a point reading.

4. I liked Max, the Jew in hiding, and how the story developed him from a fist fighter, to a weak and starving man in hiding, to a fighter in his heart to keep living. I love a character who has the energy to be perceptive to know when to fight and when to be quiet and when to start fighting again. I'm glad the author chose to make him live.


What I liked less:

1. There was no plot, no climax to the story. If I could give the story a color it would be grey. The tone was very bland even in parts where it needed more emotion. The tone didn't change. It was monotone and just didn't fit the circumstances.

2. The description of Max as "The Jew." I didn't appreciate the author using this technique, or whatever he was trying, to show the "Jew". He uses derogatory words that surely were common in that time in Germany to describe Jews. This might have been understandable if the narrator had been a German who thought of Jews in a particularly bad way. However, the author was Death, so would Death talk about Jews calling them "rats"? No, I think death would be impartial. I found this distasteful. I also think that the author could have expanded the character of Max more.

3. Rudy dying without a kiss. In the story, the two best friends Leisel and Rudy are always up to no good. Rudy constantly is asking Leisel for a kiss which she denies till he dies in a bombing. When he is dead she kisses him over and over. Why? Why couldn't Markus, the author, at least have granted us readers one little kiss before death? Even with Rudy uttering, "My last wish is a kiss from your angelic face?" I mean, the rest of the story is already blandly written. Why not let two twelve year olds getting bombed share a kiss before death? Mean!

4. The Mayor's Wife. Leisel constantly climbs in the house of the mayor to steal his books. The Mayor is married to a depressed woman who seems more like a ghost than a person. She knows Leisel is stealing her books and she sits like an empty soul day after day without explanation. Why was she so empty? Why was she so depressed? Was it because she was crazy? Was it because she was in a passionless marriage? Was it because of the war or because all of her favorite stores had closed? I just want to know why she was so apathetic.

Would I recommend this book? No. I couldn't wait to finish reading it and start something else. In fact I cheated on this book pretty frequently with other books. I would have liked a little more substance. I mean, if you are going to take on writing about Germans and Jews in WW2 you better come up with a solid story. This one was not solid.

Moving along.