The Book Thief...

This was one of those books that I keep picking up and putting down every time I find it in the bookstores. I would look at the cover and think how interesting, read the description and always decide not to buy it because of uncertainty of how the book would pan out. It took about two years and a lot of raving from various different people about how good the book is for me to finally part with what little money I have to have one I could call my own.

So the gist of the story is that it follows the life of a girl called Liesel Meminger who was a child at the untimely period of World War II in Germany. What sets the book out even more is that it is told through the narration of death. 

I think one of the problems before I bought the book was that I did not have an idea of what direction the book would veer in. That was the uncertainty that held me back. In all honesty, it took me a while into the book before I manage to find a grasp on it. I regret that I cannot be one of those people to say fantastic things about the book, I just found myself going through the story very slowly. To be fair, I was reading this in between breaks revision and during my exam period, so such a serious book would not have manage to grab my tired attention.

The first struggle was to get used to the way the story was presented. As mentioned, it was told through Death and I have never read anything else told by Death, or even Death as a person (somewhat). The next thing was that it went by pretty slow. There were not a lot of exciting events happening, much more of wartime mundanities, which are probably not that mundane at all. But it was certainly interesting if not educational.

Although what I have said so far seems to be pretty negative, I do not think the book is bad at all. In fact, I think it is really good. However, I do think that the reader needs to be in a certain time and place, and also a state of mind to be able to appreciate fully the story. It is like a work of art that needs more understanding than just the naked eye in order to have emotions stirred up. I wondered why I didn't enjoy it as much as I probably should and thought maybe its because I do not really feel such a deep connection with WWII in relation to Europe. WWII was devastating all over but people are always bound to hurt more when it comes to something close to their heart, like home. In addition, I do not really know too much about the war itself let alone its devastation and effects in Europe. Therefore it might have contributed to why I could not feel what the author probably meant his readers to feel. 

It was odd however, that I visited the Anne Frank House a few days before I finally managed to finish the book. After that visit, I did feel that the story was livelier, but at the same time, it could have been because it was the climax and would have been anyway without the visit.

The book does make you make you question certain things in life. It brings to the front human greed and faults and paints humanity in its realest picture around the time of the war. Its quite sickening to think that people would engage in war even with the devastation it brings to people not directly in contact with war. Even though the main character was a girl who had to go through tough times no one should ever need to go through, I find that Hans Hubermann intrigued me the most. I feel like he should not have been in that period and were he living in another more pleasant time, he would reflect the good side of humanity. Kind, caring, generous and loving to people in his own special way. Its such a shame how war tears apart lives that were perfectly fine to start with.

I do not think I can say too much without being inaccurate due to the fact that I started the book such a while ago and have forgotten many bits of it. But I do know that it is a good book that can stir up great emotions within some people. I liked the book and would probably re read it with a better equipped knowledge of WWII next time. Although I do not think this book as one of those with a sense of urgent need to be read, I do think that it is certainly one you should not miss.

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Would I recommend this book?

Yes, but I would suggest having a little knowledge about Nazi Germany and WWII. (Most people probably do already)

How much do I rate this book?

3.5/5

Would I read other works from this author?

Yes

Hope this helps. Thanks for reading!