The Book Thief | Markus Zusak | Book Review

“Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness.” 

― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

The Book Thief is about a young girl, Liesel, growing up in Germany during World War II. Liesel is living with foster parents, Hans and Rosa. Throughout the story, Liesel steals many books. At first, she doesn't even know how to read, but she knows that the book is important. Hans notices and teaches her how to make sense of the letters. 

Hans and Rosa are not Jewish, but they do not agree with the Nazi regime and privately fight against it by hiding a Jewish boy, Max, in their basement. Their anti-Nazi sentiments remain a secret until one day Hans helps a Jew who is struggling to keep up with the group as they're being marched to a concentration camp. In response, the soldiers whip both Hans and the man he helped. 

Hans is worried that this incident will draw suspicion to his family and that Max is no longer safe in his basement, so he sends him away. After Max leaves, Liesel is given a book he made her, 'The Word Shaker,' which he wrote about their friendship and a promise that they will be reunited. Hans is then drafted into the German army where he ends up breaking his leg and is sent home to recuperate. 

Unfortunately, Max was not able to escape the Nazis, and Liesel sees him being marched through town one day on his way to the concentration camp. As the war continues, Liesel is given a blank notebook to write her story in. She names it 'The Book Thief.' 

One day her neighbourhood is bombed, and Hans, Rosa, and her friend Rudy are all killed. In the rubble, Liesel leaves her book behind. After the war ends and the Jews are freed, Max goes back to find Liesel, and they are happily reunited. The book ends with Liesel moving to Australia, having a family, and living at a ripe old age. 

The plot of the book was amazing and to me portrayed another level of seeing what it was like in the war at that time. There isn’t much I can say about it as it just all felt so real and I kinda feel bad for saying the plot was good then when in fact this crap was happening and it was beyond shitty.