Finally, feeling guilty because my librarian, who is an awesome human being who does so many good things for my students, had recommended it and said it was her most favorite book on the planet, I picked it back up. I was going to finish this book!
I still couldn't read it. I only got about 30 more pages in before it was dropped on my desk at school, unfinished and still unimpressive.
Then one day just before Thanksgiving, in walked one of my students -- a nice kid, but kind of a slacker: she doesn't do much homework, doesn't turn in essays, and especially does not like to read. I can get her to focus generally for about 35 mins of a 49 minute period. She took one look at the "I am currently reading..." sign on my door, the sign that had said The Book Thief for almost two months, and said this: "OMG, The Book Thief is my favorite book OF ALL TIME. I normally don't like to read at all, and it's a really long book, but I LOVED IT."
I was hesitant. "It's kind of boring," I told her. "I'm not really into it and I'm around page 150 of 500."
"It gets so much better," she insisted. And that was it -- if this slacker kid who hated Language Arts could read this book and not only enjoy it but love it, I was in. I had to finish it.
And I did. While I can safely say it's not my favorite book of all time, my student was right: it did get better, and it did turn out to be quite good.
First: It's a Holocaust book, there is no getting around that. By "a Holocaust book," I mean that it's a World War II book that's not about soldiers and involves Jewish people/the Holocaust in some way. (In my experience, that seems to be all that defines a Holocaust book to modern culture. See: The Reader.) But The Book Thief is an important Holocaust book, much more so than The Reader (which I happen to despise, though I know I'm in the minority).
Told from the perspective of Death, this novel tells the story of a poor German family living under Hitler. This perspective gives the subject matter a somewhat-new life; the whole War gains a kind of sympathy that isn't often present from the German side. The main character, Liesel Meminger, is a young girl of about ten whose brother died and mother left her with the Hubermann family in an attempt to give her a better life. At the scene of her brother's death, Liesel's book-stealing antics attract the attention of Death, a surprisingly serene presence within the novel.
As the story unfolds, it gradually gains in complications and depth, though it never quite got to that "can't put it down" level for me. Liesel's foster family is of course anti-Hitler/Nazi (her family hides a Jewish man in their basement for over a year, for example), but in the quiet way that characterizes many Holocaust stories.
Like I've said, this was not my favorite book. But I understand why it's a popular book, why it's a valuable book. That slightly different perspective provides a level of realism that I don't often find in these Holocaust books. I know it sounds terrible, but not every WWII Holocaust book can be about people hiding others from the Nazis. The Diary of Anne Frank did it first, and truly did it best because that was the truth. The more novels that capitalize on the destruction of a people, the more it seems like just taking advantage of a tragedy. So many seem forced, seem like they're there just to cover the territory. I don't like that, which is probably why I don't like reading that style of novel.
But this novel feels real. The characters Zusak has created in Liesel, in her quiet foster father Hans, in her overbearing foster mother Rosa, in her devoted neighbor Rudy, all of them comes to life from this book. The events are not particularly engaging, at least not for me, but the characters are beautifully rendered. Each time Rudy begs Liesel for a kiss, I cheer him on. Each time Hans manages to scrounge another book from his meager wages, my heart breaks for his poor family. Every time Liesel steals another book, I bite my nails waiting to see if she gets caught. They all take care of each other, they find ways to cheer themselves and others up, they live their lives in ways that feel so real. There was nothing I could do to keep from falling in love with these characters.
In addition, though I won't ruin the twists or endings of this novel (as there are several), I will say this: the ends of this book are just as realistic as the characters. The narrator (Death, remember?) hints at the end long before the reader gets there, and there are no happy endings. There is no "we were secretly fine" ending (trust me, when you read the book, you'll know that from the beginning).
Their stories are so real, so focused on individual moments, so like the actual world, that I was indeed drawn into them.
Both the most interesting and more disappointing part of this novel is its narrator, Death. Really, he (she? unknown) is just another character in the novel; he is one of the few first person semi-omniscient narrators I've encountered. Most first person narrators don't see much beyond their own worlds, but offer depth into themselves -- hence the choice to have a first person narrator. But Death is somewhat omniscient; he can see around the world, so he can see into the interactions of people and their consequences. The only thing he cannot understand are humans, their emotions and how they interact. He watches Liesel, the book thief, in order to learn about those things he cannot understand.
Death provides an interesting addition to this story of perspectives. He is obsessed with colors; they trigger the deep memories he carries of all the horror humans have inflicted upon each other. His ideas are largely questions and observations, thoughts he is playing with as he tries to make sense of the world he watches over. And his interest in this one person, this book thief, brings a powerful serenity to the idea of death, even as Death watches Liesel's world self-destruct under World War II.
As he says at the end, Death is haunted by humans.
Perhaps I will enjoy the movie more than the book. That's not a common occurrence for me, but a lot of people around me want to see the movie, so perhaps I will tag along. If the movie-makers can translate the depth of the characters to the screen, if it can include the power of Death and his narration, then it will be a success.
