Critical Analysis Of The Book Thief

To what extent is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak worthy of being deemed ‘Great Literature?’

The Book Thief is a relatively recent fictional novel written by Markus Zusak which tells the story of Liesel, a young German girl, and her life throughout the Second World War. Wrought with tragedy, the narrative is told from the point of view of Death, offering a unique insight into human life. Despite how contemporary the novel is, it has received droves of critical acclaim and is often considered to be one of the best books of modern times. But can it be considered ‘great’ literature?

There is often debate about what ‘Great’ literature actually is, which is important to consider. For the most part, however, based upon the canon, great literature

However there are many issues with the canon as, although it provides a foundation of what ‘great’ literature actually is, it is widely outdated and is therefore not representative of the rapidly evolving writing styles of present day authors, as well as the habits of readers and the types of novels they enjoy. It becomes even more irrelevant when the fact that ‘great’ literature will not be the same for everyone as different people will have different opinions about whether or not a piece of work can be considered ‘great’ literature.

The Book Thief shares a lot of themes with many classic literary novels and indeed those which are relevant to all society. Death is present both in the physical sense of the end

Because of this, the novel has not yet been proven timeless and if its popularity or critical acclaim dies within the next few years it could not be considered ‘great’. Regardless many of its themes are those which are likely to have timeless relevance to society such as war and love, which it also shares with the novels that are generally assumed to be ‘great’ literature, implying that it possesses timeless characteristics as well as the fact that various other aspects suggest that it should be considered ‘great’