Hey guys,
So today I've decided to write about something a little bit different. The difference is that I'm reviewing the highly rated novel, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
Now, this is something I've wanted to read for a long time, but because of all of the hype that came with it, it kind of put me off and set the expectations really high so when I finally did get down to reading it I can tell you this now, I wasn't disappointed. At first, it's slow to get into, it took me a while to work out what the hell was going on - who was who and such but once I got into the swing of things I found it difficult to put down.
Not heard of The Book Thief you say? Here's just a small sample of what the blurb says: 'Here is a small fact: You are going to die. 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.'
Just this alone was enough to reel me in. It's straight to the point you know roughly what it is going to be about: The Holocaust, Nazi Germany, WW2.
The narrator is death and how Zasuk has done this - wow. It is so clever. When I first discovered this I was like 'yeah, this isn't going to be easy to pull off' but it really does work. Whether it's because it is set during WW2 so death was imminent or it was just one of those things where everything falls magically into place I don't know, but what I do know is that it bloody works.
The characters are so likeable. Sort of like Game of Thrones - you love the characters so it's inevitable that something bad must happen to them. Hans Hubermann, probably one of the most genuine, honest and nicest characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I'm trying to be super careful what I write because I don't want any spoilers for those who haven't read it, so the next couple bits are going to be a bit vague...
I'll just say this, at one point in the book (I won't say which) I was sat at work... Wait for this... Crying. Yep, I cried like a baby in the middle of a working day. It just moved me and I mean really moved me to tears and tugged on my heart strings. I got pretty mad too at some points in the book (baring in mind this involves The Holocaust) it just made me so angry to know that innocent people suffered the way they did and so many lives were affected during Nazi Germany. But I'm not here to get angry, I'm here to give my honest review of the novel. There's not a single thing I would suggest to make this book 'better' it's already at its peak. The standard of writing, the plot, the characters and their lives all intertwining, everything - spot on.
As I've said already, I've not read a book in so long that I've enjoyed so bloody much. If you haven't had the chance to read this book yet PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do. You'll thank me for it. I'm so glad I've read it now. It was interesting to see Nazi Germany from different perspectives like Death, Liesel, Max, Rudy and Hans. It shows so many different emotions - anger, hatred, loss, love, happiness. All of them. This post is getting longer and longer so I'm going to wrap this one up. I will definitely be reading this again and I can't wait to watch the film (I just hope it's as good as the book) please read this if you get the chance. If you have read it already - drop a comment below and we can discuss it! :) I hope you liked this post today and I'll write again in a couple days. Thanks for reading,
Katie x
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