Ein Wort und Sterben Sie
Not a word.
Kein Wort.
You cannot say anything.
Absolut nichts.
One word will send your soul to the mercy of the executioners outside your house. You are not safe... anywhere. One word, spoken or found, that does not match up perfectly with what the soldiers are brainwashed to believe is true will get you and everyone you love sent to their deaths in a matter of seconds.
World War II Germany brought so much secrecy, terror, and uncertainty to the individuals inhabiting the country, especially the good samaritans who chose to save lives rather than take them. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is an excellent fiction novel that portrays so many aspects of the war and the strains on everyday livelihood in Germany during these desperate times.
While I have read a few war novels now, The Book Thief still stands as my favorite of them all. Zusak is able to create and connect a plethora of occurrences, each portraying a different story of the victims of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. What makes this particular book my favorite is for three main reasons - amidst the hundred other reasons. These three reason include the narrator, the main character, and the style of this piece.
The narrator of Zusak's novel, unlike many others, is death itself. This narrator is able to possess a level of mystery and omnipotent understanding that the reader can notice. As Death speaks, an aura of bone-chilling intrigue encroaches on the emotions and minds of the readers, knowing that the source about to envelope our characters is the one speaking the words directly to the reader.
While there are a bunch of powerhouse characters in this novel, the main character Zusak chose to emphasize in The Book Thief is a young orphaned girl named Liesel. As death tells the overarching story of World War II, he also entwines the story of Liesel's adjustment into her new family, her new school, the neighborhood to which she now belongs along with all of her neighbors and her new best friend, Rudy. Little Liesel not only shows her youth as she learns and begins to understand the reality and dangers of a Nazi-occupied and monitored life, but she also learns to be courageous, taking the things she needs in her life - as the title of this novel depicts - conspicuously at first, then directly to the heart of the source - the wife and fellow book-lover of a prestigious and important German official.
The style of this piece is one with which I have fallen in love. The simplicity of the writing, the ease at which one can dance through sentences, paragraphs, pages, and chapters of this book provide encouragement to continue reading and running through the events of the story with little to no hesitation. Additionally, hints of the German language are interspersed into the book, making the reader truly feel as though they are living the life of a war-stricken victim of overpowering Nazism.
Marianne Brace, a writer for the newspaper, Independent, writes: "The Book Thief has an innocent sensibility. There are no hidden depths. It wears its heart on its sleeve, which feels entirely appropriate for a novel about a child."
Brace's review is very accurate, especially when it comes to the novel "wearing its heart on its sleeve." By the end of this book, because of the strong bonds the reader creates with their narrators, heart strings will be tugged and tears will be jerked as the voice of Death haunts you for days afterwards.
Kein Wort.
You cannot say anything.
Absolut nichts.
One word will send your soul to the mercy of the executioners outside your house. You are not safe... anywhere. One word, spoken or found, that does not match up perfectly with what the soldiers are brainwashed to believe is true will get you and everyone you love sent to their deaths in a matter of seconds.
 |
| This image of Nazi-occupied Germany is provided by WWII Hitler Third Reich History. |
World War II Germany brought so much secrecy, terror, and uncertainty to the individuals inhabiting the country, especially the good samaritans who chose to save lives rather than take them. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is an excellent fiction novel that portrays so many aspects of the war and the strains on everyday livelihood in Germany during these desperate times.
While I have read a few war novels now, The Book Thief still stands as my favorite of them all. Zusak is able to create and connect a plethora of occurrences, each portraying a different story of the victims of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. What makes this particular book my favorite is for three main reasons - amidst the hundred other reasons. These three reason include the narrator, the main character, and the style of this piece.
The narrator of Zusak's novel, unlike many others, is death itself. This narrator is able to possess a level of mystery and omnipotent understanding that the reader can notice. As Death speaks, an aura of bone-chilling intrigue encroaches on the emotions and minds of the readers, knowing that the source about to envelope our characters is the one speaking the words directly to the reader.
While there are a bunch of powerhouse characters in this novel, the main character Zusak chose to emphasize in The Book Thief is a young orphaned girl named Liesel. As death tells the overarching story of World War II, he also entwines the story of Liesel's adjustment into her new family, her new school, the neighborhood to which she now belongs along with all of her neighbors and her new best friend, Rudy. Little Liesel not only shows her youth as she learns and begins to understand the reality and dangers of a Nazi-occupied and monitored life, but she also learns to be courageous, taking the things she needs in her life - as the title of this novel depicts - conspicuously at first, then directly to the heart of the source - the wife and fellow book-lover of a prestigious and important German official.
 |
| This image provided by mirror of erised. |
Marianne Brace, a writer for the newspaper, Independent, writes: "The Book Thief has an innocent sensibility. There are no hidden depths. It wears its heart on its sleeve, which feels entirely appropriate for a novel about a child."
Brace's review is very accurate, especially when it comes to the novel "wearing its heart on its sleeve." By the end of this book, because of the strong bonds the reader creates with their narrators, heart strings will be tugged and tears will be jerked as the voice of Death haunts you for days afterwards.
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