My Overall Response
The Book Thief was an enthralling novel that I enjoyed thoroughly. From the very beginning to the very end, I was caught in the book's intriguing words and I never wanted to put it down, even if I had to. Mark Zusak did a great job at telling the story and did a great job of mixing in Historical references throughout the whole novel. I had great time reading the book and if I could, I would definitely read it again.
Most of the time when I read, it is usually for school and it's mandatory. Even though I have a background of not reading much, I found this book very welcoming with it's good ratings and reviews. The book seemed to be good with it's eye catching cover and prologue. After I was done reading the book, I felt very differently about reading and I was more willing to read outside of school.
I found the themes of the novel very appealing and one that stuck out the most to me was the theme of suffering. Suffering could be seen everywhere in the novel from the internal struggles of Max to Liesel's family problems. When seeing suffering in modern day times, it is also everywhere. Suffering is seen on side streets, television, and and around the world, but most people can find suffering in they're own lives. That's why I think lots of people that pick up this book will great enjoy it.
The characters in The Book Thief, I found to be quite realistic in human qualities and their ability to express emotions, but the most believable would have to be the narrator Death. Most people think of Death as always being with them and not always seen as being personified into the being we know in The Book Thief. I found Death to be as believed and heartwarming as any person that could be met in real life. Zusak did a great job at Death narrating the story especially when giving side notes of other events that happened during the time period of this novel. Death being the narrator also left me with some thinking to do since he told not only about the thousands that died in the war, but also the deaths of individuals in the story. It makes me realize that everyone has a life of they're own and any life taken or given should be one worth noting.
The story line of this novel was great, but there are a few things that I think should have been done differently. One thing that bugged me was when I was told about future events to come even if I didn't want to know. I wish Zusak didn't do this so that those future events would have more impact in the story and more emotional impact on the reader. Also the ending left me hanging at a point were I wish I could have learned more about Liesel's life about the war. Other than these few things, the novel was very well written and shouldn't be chance what so ever.
This novel gave me a closer look into what life for the German people might have been like during WWII and also gave me a history lesson over tragic happenings in Germany during WWII. I would highly recommend this story to anyone that is willing to read it, because this book is not only filled with interesting historical knowledge, but also the heart shattering story of a young girl trying to live her life in Nazi Germany. If any students have to or want to read this, I recommend doing so if you enjoy history over WWII or if you want to know more info for History class. It's also a great read in the fact it is way better than the movie adaptation and is worth reading every page
Most of the time when I read, it is usually for school and it's mandatory. Even though I have a background of not reading much, I found this book very welcoming with it's good ratings and reviews. The book seemed to be good with it's eye catching cover and prologue. After I was done reading the book, I felt very differently about reading and I was more willing to read outside of school.
I found the themes of the novel very appealing and one that stuck out the most to me was the theme of suffering. Suffering could be seen everywhere in the novel from the internal struggles of Max to Liesel's family problems. When seeing suffering in modern day times, it is also everywhere. Suffering is seen on side streets, television, and and around the world, but most people can find suffering in they're own lives. That's why I think lots of people that pick up this book will great enjoy it.
The characters in The Book Thief, I found to be quite realistic in human qualities and their ability to express emotions, but the most believable would have to be the narrator Death. Most people think of Death as always being with them and not always seen as being personified into the being we know in The Book Thief. I found Death to be as believed and heartwarming as any person that could be met in real life. Zusak did a great job at Death narrating the story especially when giving side notes of other events that happened during the time period of this novel. Death being the narrator also left me with some thinking to do since he told not only about the thousands that died in the war, but also the deaths of individuals in the story. It makes me realize that everyone has a life of they're own and any life taken or given should be one worth noting.
The story line of this novel was great, but there are a few things that I think should have been done differently. One thing that bugged me was when I was told about future events to come even if I didn't want to know. I wish Zusak didn't do this so that those future events would have more impact in the story and more emotional impact on the reader. Also the ending left me hanging at a point were I wish I could have learned more about Liesel's life about the war. Other than these few things, the novel was very well written and shouldn't be chance what so ever.
This novel gave me a closer look into what life for the German people might have been like during WWII and also gave me a history lesson over tragic happenings in Germany during WWII. I would highly recommend this story to anyone that is willing to read it, because this book is not only filled with interesting historical knowledge, but also the heart shattering story of a young girl trying to live her life in Nazi Germany. If any students have to or want to read this, I recommend doing so if you enjoy history over WWII or if you want to know more info for History class. It's also a great read in the fact it is way better than the movie adaptation and is worth reading every page