The Book Thief is a tale narrated by Death, who tells the story of a young girl and the people in her life in Germany during World War Two,  “an attempt—a flying jump of an attempt—to prove to me that you, and your human existence, are worth it.”   In an interview, Zusak said he wanted to write a fictional account based on the stories his relatives had told him.

In such a troubled time, mortality is a prime concern for everyone in Liesel’s life.  Liesel loses her brother, then moves into a foster home with the Hubermans, and makes friends with Rudy.    As she grows from a girl to a young woman, she sees the horrors brought about by the Nazis, and as the war progresses the Hubermans then hide a Jewish man (Max) to save him.     Max lives in the basement and over time teaches Liesel to read and write and she starts to write a journal of her life.

As the war progresses, captive Jews are marched through the city on the way to Dachau.    Bombings become a regular occurrence, her Papa (Hans) is conscripted into the army, hiding Max becomes dangerous, and Liesel continues her passion for reading and writing, stealing some books in the process.

The City is bombed and all of her family and friends are killed.    Liesel survives because she was in the basement writing her journal.   She is taken in by another family, and takes up tailoring work in Rudy’s father’s shop.   In 1945 she meets Max, who has survived the war.   At the end of the book she is many decades older and at the end of her life.  Death brings her the manuscript lost in the bombing many decades earlier.    Liesel and Death agree that the lives of  humans are precious and special.

The human heart is a line, whereas my own is a circle, and I have the endless ability to be in the right place at the right time. The consequence of this is that I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both.”

This book is highly recommended.    My rating – 4.7 out of 5.0 stars4.7

An excerpt: