willemite

The book 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. My wife was shedding copious tears as she finished reading the book, and insisted that I read it immediately. How could I not? I was prepared for a moving read and was not disappointed.

The main character is Liesel Meminger, just shy of ten years old when we first meet her. It is pre-WW II Germany. Her father has been transported for being a “Kommunist.” While en route with her mother and brother, Werner, to be handed over to foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her brother dies. At his burial, she retrieves a book dropped by one of the gravediggers, a connection to her brother, and begins her career as a book thief. The Hubermanns live on Himmell (heaven) Street in the town of Molching, outside Munich. Rosa is a coarse, foul-mouthed woman. Hans is a warm, supportive papa. They come to form a very devoted, loving family. The story follows Liesel’s coming of age, meeting other children, particularly her bff Rudy, making friends, seeing reflected in the actions of her peers and the events that occur in the town the horrors of the age. But there is much more to this portrait of a German town than the bullies one expects to grow into the expected abusive stereotypes. There is hope, as well, for those who are dragged into the military against their wishes, for those who harbor fugitive Jews at great personal risk, for those who stand up against the abuse of the weak, for those who share a love of knowledge with those eager to learn. There is sadness, as some cannot live with what they have seen, what they have lost.

The Book Thief is populated with a klatch of wonderful characters. The spirited Liesel will win your heart, as will her friend Rudy, Hans and even Rosa. There are other characters who will also pluck those strings. You will be rooting for this one or that one, cheering victories and weeping at defeats. Having characters one comes to care for is one of the great strengths of this book.

Over all is an appreciation for words, their power for both good and evil, the magic of language, books as a source of both damnation and salvation. Liesel steals her first book as a way of maintaining a connection with her dead brother. Later, learning to read and continuing to steal books gives her a feeling of power. The impact of Mein Kampf receives much attention as does book burning.

Zusak uses an unlikely narrator for his tale, Death, who speaks to us as a reporter, an observer of events, not as someone who causes death, but as one who gently carries off the souls of those who have passed. While I have no problem with this device, and while I was charmed by the characterization, I was not convinced that it was entirely necessary. One could have just used a more usual third-party narrative to tell the tale. I thought about whether a screenwriter would keep or discard this part of the book, and my bet is on it’s absence in cinema.

Zusak takes a lot of stylistic chances here, from his selection of a narrator to the incorporation of a few illustrated tales within the larger whole. They did not all work, but most did, and I appreciated his willingness to draw outside the lines.

The Book Thief accomplishes a very lofty goal. It is both intellectually and artistically daring and satisfying while offering up an emotional punch second to none. The Book Thief will stimulate your brain and it will, at the same time, steal your heart.