{Audiobook} Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Series: n/a
Narrator: Allan Corduner
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publication Date: September 12th, 2006
Source: Borrowed Audio from Library
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

It's just a small story really, about, among other things, a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist: books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids - as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

I'm a little late to the train on this one. So many of my friends have read and loved this book. Finally, I got around to it. And I can kind of see what all the rage is about. 

The Book Thief is beautiful and terrible all in one shot. The writing and story was top notch, but I did find myself bored at times. These kind of books are hard for me to stay interested in. I got the audio through my library and I had to take it back out because I didn't finish it the first time around. This story is depressing. I mean.. it takes place during World War II, so of course it's depressing. It was hard to listen to. There were moments though, moments of hope that just lit me up with warmth, and for those moments, I'm glad I listened to it.

The narrator is death! And that was pretty freaking cool. I loved how he mentioned little things early on, and you didn't get to see them play out until the end. The narrator did a fantastic job of reading death. If I could do it again, I would listen to the audio. I kind of followed along on my kindle, but mostly I stuck with the audio. 

I have not seen the movie.. but I plan to. I think I will like it. Maybe even more than the book. We will see.

Rating The Book Thief was tricky... because if I had to rate it based on my interest, it would be a 3 or 3.5, but the writing is a 5 hands down. So that brings me to a solid 4 I think. I'm glad I gave this one a shot, but I probably won't read any of his other stuff. 

About the author:

Markus Zusak was born in 1975 and is the author of five books, including the international bestseller, The Book Thief , which is translated into more than forty languages. First released in 2005, The Book Thief has spent a total of 375 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and still remains there eight years after it first came out.

His first three books, The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe and When Dogs Cry (also known as Getting the Girl ), released between 1999 and 2001, were all published internationally and garnered a number of awards and honours in his native Australia, and the USA.

Find Markus:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Labels: Audiobook, death, knopf, markus zusak, movie, reviews, the book thief, world war II

Movie Monday #14: The Book Thief

We all delight in seeing our favorite books brought to life on the big screen.  We cringe at casting.  We scoff at release dates.  All the while, we're gearing up to see if the director's vision lives up to the world we've conceived in our own imaginations.  Sometimes it does...and sometimes it doesn't.  We could lament the movies that don't measure up, or we could return to the books for a re-read, possibly with a slightly different mind-set.  All's fair when it comes to artistic vision, right?




This week, I'm featuring the following adaptation:

Title: The Book Thief
Director: Brian Percival
Stars: Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson
Release date: November 15, 2013
Based on: The Book Thief by Mark Zusak

While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refuge is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
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The 550-page, World War II-era novel, narrated by Death, tells the story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken at age 9 to live with a foster family in a German working-class neighborhood. Liesel arrives having just stolen her first book, "The Gravediggers Handbook" -- it will be the beginning of a love affair with books.

So, I didn't actually realize this movie was already a thing until I saw the trailer pop up in my inbox:

Honestly, I thought it was slated for next year for some reason, which meant I had plenty of time to read the book before the movie's release.  (Yes, I know I am probably one of the last people on Earth who hasn't read this book yet. *hangs head in shame*)  And how did I not know the book was narrated by Death?  I think I probably would have read it a lot sooner if I'd known that.  I have a strange fascination with death personified.

Not having read the book yet, I'd still like to offer up my opinion on the trailer:  it looks beautiful.  And I mean that in the way that a lot of stories set in this time period are beautiful and tragic and hopeful. However, now that I know the book is told from Death's perspective, how is that going to be executed in the movie? Or is it?  I saw nothing that made me think it would be narrated by Death.

I'll be honest, I'll probably wait until this is released on DVD/OnDemand.  It just looks and sounds like the sort of story that might make me a sniffling, snotty mess, and I hate doing that in the theater.  I much prefer emotional stories from the comfort of my own couch, with a box of tissues in hand.  Plus, that'll give me more time to read the book.  ;0)

Have you read the book?  What do you think about it being made into a film?  Do you think you'll see it? Will this adaptation do the book justice?

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Labels: all the feels, historical fiction, mark zusak, movie mondays, the book thief, tough subject, wwii