In this book, death is our narrator. He introduces us to the main character, Liesel as she, as a nine- year-old child, watches her six-year-old brother die. Set in Hitler’s Germany, we see the events of that dark time from the eyes of Liesel and her lower class German family. We watch her grow to young adulthood and grow with her. The book is classified as young adult fiction, but certainly good reading for adult readers, as well.
What I loved about the book:
1) The characters. How I loved Liesel, Rudy, Max, and Hans, oh Hans. I even grew to love Rosa, but wanted to know more about her and why she was the way she was. I wanted her in more depth. I think we had depth with Liesel and Hans and Rudy and even Max, but I think that was lacking with Rosa. I wonder why? We understand even Ilsa, a seemingly minor character, better than we do Rosa.
I finished the book late last night, and woke up this morning missing my friends in the book. I feel sad I won’t hear about them any more. Quietly courageous Hans goes on my all- time list of literary heroes.
2) The relationships. I loved how we got to watch the relationships develop between the loved characters. As Liesel grew to love Hans, so did we. As she grew to love Rosa, Rudy, Max, and Ilsa, so did we. Brilliant writing! I love that their relationships make me want to hold those I love more dear.
3) I loved how much Liesel loved books. More than loved them, she cherished them. They were in a figurative and in a very literal way, her salvation. I love that books meant that much. I loved how the power of reading the books aloud healed, comforted, and transformed people throughout the book. Books are gentle power.
What I didn’t like about the book:
1) I’ m not sure I liked death as the narrator. I actually think it got in the way of the story. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of using an unlikely narrator. I was enthralled with “Miss Hickory" (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71760...) and have even attempted the technique in some of my own writing (see http://kenandkayhinton.blogspot.com/2010...) But in this case, I think the narrator hindered the story and caused inconsistencies in the story. I really didn’t like his voice and couldn’t see his purpose at all until the very end. I did think he helped wrap things up in the end, though I’m not sure any better than a third person omniscient narrator would have.
2) Though there was much foreshadowing throughout (and Death even admits in his narration that he’s doing that to soften the blow), I still felt the ending was painful and abrupt and a bit unsatisfying. I guess the author felt the story was over, and it was time for it to end, but I would have loved to know more of Liesel’s adult life and to watch her make sense of the tragedy of those terrible years. I didn’t think we even successfully got through the tragedy years. The ending was too abrupt.
3) Now, a message to Mr. Zusak: Why? Why pepper the language of these people we love with blasphemies and obscenities? It was difficult to read, especially out of the mouths of the young. That would be the third thing I would change about the book. For me, the language brought my rating down a full star.
It took me awhile to read this book. I was scared of it. I admit it. I would read for awhile and then put it down; afraid of what was next. I honestly think I would enjoy a second reading more, just for that reason. I wouldn’t feel so afraid. Also, it was a dark book. It was about one of the darkest periods of human history, so it’s going to be dark. But there are glimmers and even brilliant rays of light in this book and I feel that they make it worth stumbling through the darkness.
What I loved about the book:
1) The characters. How I loved Liesel, Rudy, Max, and Hans, oh Hans. I even grew to love Rosa, but wanted to know more about her and why she was the way she was. I wanted her in more depth. I think we had depth with Liesel and Hans and Rudy and even Max, but I think that was lacking with Rosa. I wonder why? We understand even Ilsa, a seemingly minor character, better than we do Rosa.
I finished the book late last night, and woke up this morning missing my friends in the book. I feel sad I won’t hear about them any more. Quietly courageous Hans goes on my all- time list of literary heroes.
2) The relationships. I loved how we got to watch the relationships develop between the loved characters. As Liesel grew to love Hans, so did we. As she grew to love Rosa, Rudy, Max, and Ilsa, so did we. Brilliant writing! I love that their relationships make me want to hold those I love more dear.
3) I loved how much Liesel loved books. More than loved them, she cherished them. They were in a figurative and in a very literal way, her salvation. I love that books meant that much. I loved how the power of reading the books aloud healed, comforted, and transformed people throughout the book. Books are gentle power.
What I didn’t like about the book:
1) I’ m not sure I liked death as the narrator. I actually think it got in the way of the story. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of using an unlikely narrator. I was enthralled with “Miss Hickory" (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71760...) and have even attempted the technique in some of my own writing (see http://kenandkayhinton.blogspot.com/2010...) But in this case, I think the narrator hindered the story and caused inconsistencies in the story. I really didn’t like his voice and couldn’t see his purpose at all until the very end. I did think he helped wrap things up in the end, though I’m not sure any better than a third person omniscient narrator would have.
2) Though there was much foreshadowing throughout (and Death even admits in his narration that he’s doing that to soften the blow), I still felt the ending was painful and abrupt and a bit unsatisfying. I guess the author felt the story was over, and it was time for it to end, but I would have loved to know more of Liesel’s adult life and to watch her make sense of the tragedy of those terrible years. I didn’t think we even successfully got through the tragedy years. The ending was too abrupt.
3) Now, a message to Mr. Zusak: Why? Why pepper the language of these people we love with blasphemies and obscenities? It was difficult to read, especially out of the mouths of the young. That would be the third thing I would change about the book. For me, the language brought my rating down a full star.
It took me awhile to read this book. I was scared of it. I admit it. I would read for awhile and then put it down; afraid of what was next. I honestly think I would enjoy a second reading more, just for that reason. I wouldn’t feel so afraid. Also, it was a dark book. It was about one of the darkest periods of human history, so it’s going to be dark. But there are glimmers and even brilliant rays of light in this book and I feel that they make it worth stumbling through the darkness.
1 comment:
Wow. A fantastic review. I think I agree with everything you said-- the characters were so real and likeable, even Rosa, but I agree that the ending was abrupt and left it feeling unfinished. I read some articles about the author, and he explains better why he chose to use Death as his narrator. He started out wanting to do short stories, and wanted Death to tie them all together as the theme, but fell in love with Liesel and decided to focus the novel on her. Bad language in books always drives me crazy. SO unneccesary!!
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