The Book Thief

To be very honest the description of The Book Thief didn't grip me initially, the story of a young girl hiding a Jew in the basement of her adopted parents home whilst having her story narrated by death all sounded a little maudlin.

Then I watched the trailer for the movie adaptation and was intrigued enough that I decided that in my usual fashion I needed to read the book before watching the movie. It was on my to do list but wasn't pressing until I read Prisoner of Night and Fog and realised that whilst it showed what was happening inside the Nazi party prior to the war it would be nice to read about what was happening outwith in the streets of Germany during the war.

I have to be honest the first few chapters were a little unusual, death makes for a strange narrative character and he jumped around a fair bit not making much sense. However as we moved forward and we travelled with Leisel, our Book Thief of the title, to her new foster family the book became truly engaging.

It was full of really well crafted characters, not least those of her foster parents Hans and Rosa. Rather than a couple with a child forced upon them we find genuine warmth and affection for Leisel. Their beliefs are refreshing in that they don't sit comfortably alongside those of Hitler's Germany. A promise made during World War I brings a Jewish refugee to their door and there begins a dangerous time for them all.

It isn't just the story of Leisel and her friend Max whom we follow. We also fall in love with all the other colourful characters of Himmel Street. Rudy, Leisel's school friend and partner in crime. The mayors wife who gives Liesel access to her library of books. The strange lady who owns the local shop. It is a wonderful blend of stories all told in a great book.

As with any book of this time period it isn't one without great sorrow or sense of danger. Perhaps that is why Death made such a fitting narrator as it is made clear throughout that his work was never so in demand as during those terrible years of world was II.

It is a beautiful book and was a brilliant book to read after having read Prisoner of Night and Fog as it truly did move from the glamour and nievety of Hitler's Germany pre-war to the brutality, fear and sense of impending doom of the war years.

It is truly deserving of all the accolades this book has received and is a joy to read