Weekly Reader: The Book Thief by Markus Zusack; Heartbreaking and Beautiful Holocaust Novel About A Girl Who Steals Books and A Narrator Whose Name is Death

 

Weekly Reader: The Book Thief by Markus Zusack; Heartbreaking and Beautiful Holocaust Novel About A Girl Who Steals Books and A Narrator Whose Name is Death

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

PopSugar Reading Challenge: A book with a four or more star rating on Goodreads

Spoilers: I suppose it's fitting that in 2020,Markus Zusack's The Book Thief is the second book I am reading in which Death is the narrator. (Though the previous book, Life is Big by Kiki Denis, Death was only one of several narrators.) This year, Death has been extraordinarily busy. Of course he is busy every year, but with a pandemic and several confrontations between police and black citizens ending in unjustifiable murder, Death certainly is working overtime.

Many are contemplating their mortality and I am no different. I have been ill and while it is minor and I don't believe it to be Covid, I couldn't help but wonder if it were and what legacy that I would leave behind. I even wondered how my obituary would read.

Being surrounded by the possibility of Death causes many to wonder about their lives and legacies. One could wonder how Death feels about these humans that he takes to their Final Reward. What  makes specific humans so memorable and what stories do they leave behind?

This concept is addressed in The Book Thief. As a narrator, Death is matter of fact and compassionate but not without a sardonic sense of humor. When he first introduces himself, he says it's not really necessary. He says, "You will know me well enough and soon enough, depending on a diverse range of variables. It suffices to say that I will be standing over you as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched over my shoulder. I will carry you gently away."

Death recalls such a story that occurred during the Holocaust (another extraordinarily busy time for him) when he remembered a young girl who stole books, her accordion playing foster father, her foul mouthed foster mother, a Jewish fist fighter going into hiding, a young boy who dreams of being the next Jesse Owens, and the Fuhrer who ruined all their lives. 

The Book Thief is a beautiful heartbreaking book. With its eccentric characters, dream-like narration, unusual situations, Death as the POV character, and grim plot this book reads almost like a dark fairy tale by way of Roald Dahl. It's a dark story but has a fantastic way of telling it.

Death first encounters Liesel Meminger, the eponymous book thief, when he came for her brother as he died in a train as she, her widowed mother, and brother were bound for the village of Molching, where she was going to be taken in by foster parents and her mother was going to take whatever the Nazis have to give her. (Liesel's parents were outspoken Communists and were high up on the Nazi's "People To Kill" list) 

Liesel is fostered by Hans and Rosa Huberman, who are a study in contrasts. Hans is a quiet gentle painter who plays the accordion and loves to give his new foster daughter reading lessons. Rosa meanwhile is a loud temperamental laundress who often curses and calls her loved ones by various nasty names like "Saukerl," "Saumensch", or "Arschloch". (The first two terms are female and male terms respectively comparing the recipient to berated pigs. The third means "asshole.") Despite her ability to curse like a sailor, Rosa does have a large heart and cares for her husband and foster daughter. However,they both care for Liesel and are no friends of the Nazis as revealed when they speak to their son who is a card carrying member of the Nazi Party. 

Liesel makes a few friends in her new surroundings. One of them is Rudi Steiner, a local boy who is remembered for the "Jesse Owens Incident" in which he smeared coal black and out ran the other boys in the village. He is forced to join the Hitler Youth but his obstreperous nature and disinterest in Nazi rhetoric arouses suspicion. Liesel and Rudi share a close but argumentative relationship which evolves into a mutual crush.

Another friend is Max Vandenberg, a Jewish street fighter, who hides in the Huberman home. He and Hans are old friends so Hans agrees to keep him hidden from the Nazis. Max and Liesel develop a passion for words and share a mutual love of reading. He even writes and illustrates books for Liesel, gives her a sketchpad, and encourages her to write her own story.

Death recognizes a love of words,books, and stories in Liesel. These books serve as marks or important turning points in her life. At her  brother's funeral, Liesel picks up a copy of The Gravedigger's Handbook, dropped by a cemetery employee. It serves as the sole reminder of her late family and allows her to prepare for her future. It is the first book that she and Hans read during their reading lessons. Liesel gets so good at reading that book that when she goes to school, she is unable to read from the materials that she is assigned. But she demonstrates that she knows the Gravedigger's Handbook by heart.

Other books appear in Liesel's life showing her disdain for the Nazis and her desire to protect those books and words from the strict laws. During a book burning ceremony, Liesel manages to rescue one book, The Shoulder Shrug. Another time while accompanying Rosa to deliver laundry to wealthy neighbors, Liesel is invited to visit the library of the mayor's wife, Ilsa Herman. Liesel steals one of the books to share it with Max. Later,Ilsa writes her a note implying that she knows about the theft and hoped that she enjoyed the book.

Liesel doesn't just stop at stealing and reading books, she writes them as well. Some of the highlights are the books that Max writes for Liesel sharing their mutual love of reading and telling a good story. Fittingly, Max writes and draws upon pages of Mein Kampf as if saying Hitler's laws and rhetorics won't keep people like Max from telling their story. The book becomes a meaningful exchange between Liesel and Max. Even after Max is arrested and a violent action occurs, Liesel still retains the importance of telling her story so that she can never be silenced.

The Book Thief is a beautiful haunting book in which Death admits that he is haunted by humans, by their choices to harm others and by their desires to leave something behind to be remembered. In Liesel's case, she was remembered by the power of words that outlasted her and those she knew and loved.