Death tells his story (The Book Thief - Markus Zusak)

Member Name: MI9to5

Product:	The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Date:	17/10/09 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting Premise

Disadvantages: Not so interesting story

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a book that grabbed my attention the second I read the back cover and I knew from that moment that it was one I just had to read.

The blurb on the back of the book is unique in many ways as it is split into three sections entitled, 'Here is a Small Fact', 'Some Importation Information' and 'Another Thing You Should Know'. The blurb begins with the following: YOU ARE GOING TO DIE and then moves on to give us a brief plot overview. After that we are faced with the intriguing phrase THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH underneath which is a list of things that the book is about. Following on from this is the last line of the blurb: DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES.

Now you may not think that this is particularly interesting but it certainly grabbed me and I know that a lot of people purchased and read the book simply because of the way the blurb grabbed prospective readers and the announcement that the story's narrator would be death.

I suppose before I continue with my review I should give you an overview of the novels plot and I suppose that the best way for me to do this is to simply allow you to read what is written on the blurb as in this way you will be in the same situation as I was when I first picked up this book. The plot summary reads as follows:

'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 streets when the bombs begin to fall'.

I know that the above doesn't exactly sound like much but combine that with the information that the book is narrated by death and the opening statement that we are all going to die and this book certainly had be hooked.

I'm afraid to say however that for me the book just didn't live up to my expectations in any way shape or form and would I subsequently read was not something I particularly enjoyed. To begin with I found that the majority of the narrative actually lead nowhere and that a great proportion of the book seemed to be spent explaining things that just didn't seem necessary to the plot line. I was expecting to read about a street torn by war and shattered by bombs but for the most part this is not what I uncovered.

On top of this the text was often broken up by little notes, similar to those on the back cover, but sometimes more lengthy. These notes sometimes provided a different insight into the story being told but quite often they added little to the overall narrative process in my opinion. To be perfectly honest I think that the novel would have worked much better and been a much more enjoyable read had those notes not been written in.

Furthermore Markus Zusak constantly uses German phrasing and words within the novel, which can be a tad irritating. Now I understand that the novel is set in Germany but the language use just doesn't seem necessary especially when he goes on to explain what the words mean in the following sentence. Believe me when I say that I'm not saying this out of ignorance for other languages because I am myself fluent in German and therefore understood the phrases before they were explained but the majority of readers will not have a good command of the German language and therefore the phrasing will simply hinder their reading of the novel.

I will admit however that having death as the narrator of the novel did add something to it and certainly makes it stand out in places. Zusak places strong emphasis on the human side of death and the narrator comes across in a very realistic manner. I think that this is certainly something to be commended because I can't say I have ever read anything else that manages to make such a formidable character seem so approachable and at times extremely caring and loving. Some of death's phrasing is truly beautiful and the way he deals with what he sees war bringing towards him is written with a real delicacy.

Overall however I can't say that I found this book enjoyable to read and personally their weren't enough thought provoking or poignant moments in it as their should have been. Having death as a narrator is a real privilege and Zusak could have exploited this much more to have made some really memorable statements but this just doesn't occur. Now unlike with most books I finish I can't say that I'm pleased I've read this one as I don't think I've gained anything from it and I know I shall definitely not be reading it again.

The Book Thief is a book that sounded fantastic, could have been fantastic but simply wasn't.

Summary: A book that could have been fantastic but simply wasn't