An endearing story of love, hope and friendship: My Review of The Book Thief

There are some reviews that you’re just itching to write, you want to tell the world what you’ve got to experience and you want them to experience the same thing that you did as well. This review of the Book Thief by Markus Zusak is one of them. Among the many reasons I absolutely loved this book was that it showed me how incredibly wrong I was. Let me explain – I have (“Had” after I read the book) a policy that I wouldn’t read a book if I’d seen the movie version of it already. It makes sense right? When you know how the story is going to end then you lose the suspense factor. Well that’s where I was so wrong. This book shows that there are just some things that can’t be said in a movie. You can’t always express the feelings of your heart through expressions. You can do that through words. The Book Thief does that better than most books I’ve read and that led me to finding my next 5 star book and my current favourite book of the year.

The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak is a story narrated by Death about a girl called Lisel Memminger. Set in Nazi Germany, the story follows Lisel’s younger days when she moves in with a foster family. The backdrop is the World War II and the persecution of the Jews. Despite the grim backdrop, the story is one of hope and of love which leaves the reader with a sense of pure joy when reading this book. Like my last 5 star book (To Kill a Mockingbird), I’m going to structure this review as a character analysis of my four favourite characters. Now I must warn you beforehand, my love for this book is so much that I may just end up giving out spoilers in this review. So if you’d rather read the book first and then come back and read this review, then please be my guest. So here’s what I think of my four favourite characters in ascending order of how much I liked them.

Rosa Hubermann – Rosa Hubermann is Lisel’s foster mother and one of my favourite female leads among all the books I’ve read. She is one hell of a woman. On the exterior she’s like a cactus who pricks everyone who comes in contact with her but on the inside she’s a wonderful person who cares deeply for all the people around her. She isn’t someone who pays attention to niceties and calls everyone either Saukerl, Saumensh or Arschloch (translated from German as Male Pig, Female Pig and Asshole). She often beats Lisel and keeps berating her for various things and this initially creates a sense in the reader’s mind that she isn’t quite likable. But there are a few instances in the book which shows that this is just Rosa Hubermann’s exterior. When Hans Hubermann brings home a Jew, she doesn’t ask a single question and gets down to the task of ensuring that he is well taken care of. Her love for Max (the Jew mentioned before), Hans and Lisel is also displayed consistently through the second half of the book. This dual natured character portrayed by her makes her exceedingly interesting and made for some very funny scenes.

Lisel Memminger – Lisel Memminger is the main character of this book and the story is a story that follows her life. Right from when she was a child, Lisel has faced situations that no child should have to face but despite all of that she grows up as a person who has an amazing heart and is not influenced by the prejudice around her. The moments she has with Rudy (her best friend) and Hans (her foster father) are among the best moments in the book. Her love for books and reading is what forms the backbone of this story. Because she is poor she often ends up having to “steal” her books and that’s what ends up earning her the title of the book thief. She shows us all just how powerful words can be. They are powerful enough to determine the course of a nation and also powerful enough to form friendships and bring peace to people when hope seems hard to come by.

Hans Hubermann – A couple of days back I read an article about top literary fathers and I was so happy to see Hans Hubermann right up there on that list along with Atticus Finch (from To Kill a Mockingbird), who is another favourite of mine. Hans Hubermann is one of those human beings that you’ll automatically fall in love with. Since I had seen the movie earlier I always pictured Geoffrey Rush as Hans Hubermann in my head. His soft soothing voice and a heart-warming smile fit in perfectly with the character of Hans. Hans Hubermann is one of those exceptionally kind hearted souls that are so rare in this world. As a father, his relationship with Lisel was the highlight of the book. He’s there whenever she needs him, without question and without complain. He’s the reason she grows up without prejudice and into a kind hearted woman. His love for humanity shines through in the way he deals with Max and in his dealings with his fellow men despite the consequences of doing so. Hans is sure to go down in literary history as one of the most loved men of all time.

Rudy Steiner – Oh Rudy! My heart swells with love for him. By no means is he the lead character in this story but the love that he has for Lisel is among the best love stories that I’ve ever come across. The purity of it just blew me away. Here’s a quote which I loved - “In truth, I think he was afraid. Rudy Steiner was scared of the book thief's kiss. He must have longed for it so much. He must have loved her so incredibly hard. So hard that he would never ask for her lips again and would go to his grave without them.” What makes Rudy Steiner so extraordinary is that he’s just so ordinary. The emotions that he feels are emotions that we all feel and yet there’s just something about him that just wants to pick him up and give him a hug. Rudy is one of those literary characters that will remain with you for years and years and one whom you’ll fondly remember when you think of true love. Rudy Steiner gives us all relationship goals to aim for despite the fact that he never did quite get his fairytale ending.

I can’t begin to explain to you the joy with which I write this review. The love I feel for this book is just immense. It isn’t merely the story (which is fantastic by the way) but the writing style that blows you away. The style is very simple and just uses words so beautifully. Not an extra word is used here or there. The ending of the book is just so tragic that it makes you want to bawl like a baby and crawl under a blanket. I know a few of my readers hate such sad and morose parts but please please don’t let this stop you from experiencing a literary marvel like this. Make no mistake, this book is just as much about hope and friendship and love as it is about all the nasty stuff like the holocaust. I apologise for this extremely long review but it is just a testament to how much I love this book. Please grab a copy and read it as soon as possible.

My Rating: 5/5