Product Description

The story of a young German girl who steals books, of her family and the Jewish boxer hidden in their basement as they struggle to survive in Nazi Germany when the bombs begin to fall.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Synopsis
1939 - Nazi Germany - The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall. Some important information - this novel is narrated by death. It's a small story, about: a girl; an accordionist; some fanatical Germans; a Jewish fist fighter; and quite a lot of thievery. Another thing you should know - death will visit the book thief three times.

From the Back Cover
`Brilliant and hugely ambitious' New York Times

`Extraordinary, resonant, beautiful and angry'
Sunday Telegraph

HERE IS A SMALL FACT

YOU ARE GOING TO DIE

1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.

Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION
THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH

It's a small story, about:

a girl

an accordionist

some fanatical Germans

a Jewish fist fighter

and quite a lot of thievery.

ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW
DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES

About the Author
Markus Zusak, a prize-winning author, lives in Sydney with his wife and daughter. The Doubleday hardback of The Book Thief , published at the beginning of January 07, stayed in the top ten of the Sunday Times bestsellers for nine weeks. It was published to critical acclaim in Australia and in America where it reached No. 1 on the The New York Times bestsellers list. Film rights have been optioned by the makers of The Devil Wears Prada.

Customer Reviews

The Emperor has no clothes
So many five star reviews. So few that say: Wait a minute; What's all the fuss about? If it weren't for the hype surrounding this book and the overexposure given to it by every bookseller imaginable, then I might have enjoyed it better. Perhaps I was expecting too much. This book has the bones of a good story, but my overall impression was that style took precedence over substance. Having the book narrated by death, and sown with little headlines and lists and with unlikely similes and metaphors are not intrinsically bad ideas, but when they take the place of characterization and storytelling, then they become a distraction. I would rather have done without them in exchange for tangible, believable characters and places. I came to the end of the book with no sense that I had got to really know Liesel, Rudy, Max or any of the other characters, or of the time and place where they lived. But the idea behind the book was good. It seems to have been aimed at a young readership, so perhaps one of my problems is that I'm a bit long in the tooth for it. I hope that a lot of young people do read it, as it tells of a time when life was much more stark and elemental and conducive to the development of strong characters, good or bad. I often think that we are as pygmies compared with the generation that lived through those times, so have no complaints that her is yet another new novel set in WWII. Perhaps another problme for me was that I read this book on my summer holiday. This is a dark, damp, cold book, probably best left until January or February if you want to feel its full effect.

Stunning...
The first book to get me back into reading - extremely innovative, Zusak is an amazing writer; empathetically and very gracefully written, "The Book Thief" is easy to follow and will not fail to move you. Devastatingly beautiful.

hard to finish
usually i would read a book of this length in a couple of days. I have been trying to finish this book for three weeks but will not be defeated with just seventy pages to go. I was impressed by the reviews and was excited to receive this book but it has not been for me. It is long and very boring - very disappointing.