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.
Narrated by Death, The Book Thief is a heart-breaking account of a child growing up in the midst of the suspicion and fear of the Nazi regime. Liesel arrives at her foster parents’ house after a terrible journey, and is anxious, silent and afraid. Gradually she opens up with the help of her foster-father, who teaches her to read, opening up a new world for her. Meanwhile, her foster parents hide a Jewish man in their basement, and this act of bravery comes with the perpetual fear of being discovered.
As the war progresses, the residents of Liesel’s town are increasingly often awoken at night by the air raid sirens and must evacuate to the designated shelter. The bombs drop, parts of the town are destroyed and Death comes to collect the souls of those who have been killed.
It’s easy to see why The Book Thief is so popular. The sombre storyline is conveyed in an accessible and original way. Although the narration by Death adds a more sinister side to the story, Death is benevolent and gentle and oddly comforting.
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