The Book Thief Review The Book Thief is a book written by Markus Zusak, shining in the brilliancy of a holocaust novel it captures the hearts of literature lovers and history fanatics both. The story takes place in holocaust Germany and focuses on the story of a girl named Liesel Meminger. The story starts with her at nine years old and when the story ends she is well in to the fourteenth year of her life. This story is the story of a girl, a girl who learns to read, a girl who learns how to hide in the shadows, a girl who stands strong in a place of mistrust and pain; this story is of the type that takes your breath away. The protagonist of The Book Thief is Liesel Meminger, a girl growing up in holocaust Germany. As the book begins Liesel is 9 years old, a girl given up by her mother to live with foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann in the German town of Molching. On the way to Molching Liesel’s brother Werner who was supposed to join her at the Hubermanns’ dies and Liesel is traumatized making the separation from her mother, her only remaining family much more painful. Thankfully the blow is softened by the love extended to her from her foster-father. Hans compared to Rosa with her gruff, loud love is just the solace Liesel needs. He is gentle and kind, patient enough to teach Liesel how to read, starting with a book she picked up at the graveyard where her brother was buried. With his aid Liesel slowly becomes more comfortable in her new life, venturing out in the neighborhood at a soccer match she befriends Rudy Steiner, a boy who falls in love with her. Over that summer they have many adventures together and the shadow of war is left in the joy of childhood freedom. A shadow, warded off for long finally falls upon Liese... ... middle of paper ... ...r them not to show it. The other character that stood out to me was Ilsa. Her sorrow is what made her a real character, love made Rosa hers and hope made Hans his, but sorrow and pain are what gave Ilsa the ability to speak to a reader. The pain she felt over the death of her son and the connection it gave her to Liesel is what made her an important character but much more stood out about her. I thought it was unique how she watched. Every day in the library she watched Liesel, taking comfort that another child was able to enjoy reading just as her son was. While all of the supporting characters sparkled, the star of the book was defiantly Liesel. Marcus Zusak defiantly choose the right character for his book to be shown through the eyes of, The way the book began as she was a girl with the innocence and naïvety of youth reminded me slightly of To Kill A Mockingbird
Book Thief is in a ‘twisted world’, it’s about a young girl, Liesel is orphan who is given new
Words, so simple, yet are the most powerful ways of communication. The weight of words is one of most impactful themes in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, and is felt throughout the entire novel. The Book Thief is a story that takes place during World War II, and follows the Hubermann family and friendships as the Narrator: Death follows them through their journey of Germany in 1939. Hans Hubermann is one of the greatest supporters of words right next to the Book Thief herself, Liesel Meminger. Words are emphasized through stolen books, spoken conversations, and thoughts of the characters. Hans Hubermann backs Liesel’s desire to read through many long nights, protects Max Vandenburg while in hiding, and consistently stands up against the dehumanization
The novel The Book Thief is a book about a young girl by the name of Liesel Meminger. Observing the life of this young girl is not easy as this is the time of Hitler’s reign in Germany. In a short period of time, this girl faces many difficulties. More than any child should ever have to encounter. She has to deal with being abandoned by her mother, the death of her younger brother, and relocation to another part of Germany. Immediately when Liesel arrives to Molching, her life is forever changed. She is forced to live with two strangers, now her new mama and papa. Liesel faces much abuse both at school and at home. At school she is made fun of for her illiteracy and at home, mama speaks very rudely to her calling her a swine and other insults.
It is the start of World War Two and a young girl has just witnessed Death for the first time, and Death has glimpsed her. Set against the bleakness of Nazi Germany, The Book Thief details the beautiful, gut wrenching story of ten year old Liesel Meminger as she tries to survive and make sense of the confusing and often cruel world that surrounds her. Through her story, and the relationships she builds, this terrible time in history takes on new depth and a true understanding of the struggles that came with living in war-torn Germany.
The Book Thief is the story of Liesel Meminger narrated by Death. It is set in Nazi Germany between the years of 1939 to 1943. Throughout the story, Liesel gains a new family and an unusual friend in the Jewish man her foster family is hiding in their basement. Liesel is then thrust into a new, dangerous, yet beautiful world. Along with Liesel 's growth and evolution, the evolution of Germany is also covered in the story. While there is various change for the best in the story, not all change was for the best.
In The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger feels scared rather than secretive, when she has to keep her family’s secret
n the book, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger, a nine year old girl arrives at the home of her new foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Rosa is not the type of mom that Liesel would have liked to have but Hans is almost a perfect fit for her. When Hans learns that Liesel is unable to read. He teaches her the language and she catches on quickly. Liesel grows up to love books finding one in particular left in the snow on accident at her brothers funeral, The Grave Diggers Handbook. When Liesel’s family pays a friend back who once saved Hans’ life. They hide him in their basement and give him shelter. This makes them realize they have to be more and more cautious as they live their lives. Now that Liesel can read and write she
Similar to the saying of ‘think before you speak,’ words play an important role in many human interactions. Depending on the magnitude, of one’s reaction to a conversation, the complications can and cannot be easy fixes. The strength of words is present in that of Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief. In it, Markus Zusak tells the story of a young girl, Liesel Meminger, who lives in Nazi Germany. To have her cope with her surroundings, Zusak has her read. While reading, she leans that kind words can make a huge difference in a loathsome occurrence. Of the books she reads, two of them represent this idea the strongest: The Standover Man, and The Word Shaker. Zusak uses The Standover Man and The Word Shaker to convey
Words are very powerful and can be dangerous if they are used for the wrong reasons. Many people say hurtful comments that they wish they could take back. There are many instances throughout The Book Thief where words are used as a form of control over people. The story is centered around a girl, Liesel, and her foster family, the Hubermanns, in Nazi Germany. In an anguished loss of control, Liesel Meminger launches a tirade on her friend, Frau Hermann. Hans Hubermann Jr uses his words to prove a point to his father and in turn destroys their relationship. Hitler used his words as an attempt to destroy an entire race of people. Markus Zusak illustrates the theme of how words can be used for good or evil as Liesel Meminger comes to learn the importance of words in her own life and in the people’s around her. Although words can add many positive
Markus Zusak was told first hand experiences from World War II, which gave him the inspiration for The Book Thief. In an interview Zusak talks about a story from his mother whom witnessed a teenage boy giving bread too an old Jewish man which resulted in both men being whipped. This idea of destruction and beauty inspired him to show how the world can be good one minute and then the good can be torn away. When these two mix, it shows the lives of humans, and the struggle and love that most everyone has during their life. War isn’t black and white, there aren’t just two sides to war, as shown in the interaction between the soldier, old man and teenager. There was a Jewish man and a German soldier, who were on opposite sides of the war. The teenager
The Book Thief is the story of Liesel Meminger, a nine-year-old German girl who was given up by her mother to live with The Huberman’s in the small town of Molching in nineteen thirty nine, shortly before World War II. On their way to Molching, Liesel's younger Brother Werner dies, and she is traumatized, having nightmares about him for several months. Hans is a gentle man who brings her comfort and helps her learn to read. They started with a book Liesel took from the cemetery where her brother was buried called The Gravediggers Handbook. Liesel becomes friends with a neighborhood boy, Rudy Steiner, and he falls in love with her. At a book burning, Liesel realizes that her father was oppressed for being a Communist, and that her mother was probably killed by the Nazis for the same crime. She is seen by
Words are more influential than thoughts. They are crafted and woven around the lives of every individual. Words have a powerful impact on how one interprets things, feels, and how one person can lead another person to feel. Written by Markus Zusak, "The Book Thief" is about a foster girl, Liesel Meminger, who lives in Nazi Germany and "scratches out a meagre existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she cannot resist: books" (Goodreads). As she matures and becomes a more critical thinker, she comes to understand that language can be both a dangerous weapon of control, as with the Nazi propaganda, and a gift that enables her to broaden her worldview. She evolves from a powerless to a powerful character that deeply empathizes with the voiceless through the books she steals, reads, and writes. Expressing the central theme of the novel, Zusak reveals the power of words “its beauty and ugliness“ through its impact on the characters, especially on Liesel.
In The Book Thief, there is one primary antagonist in the story, who is also consequently the inciting force for the book. That man is Adolf Hitler, who stirred up Germany into the Second World War and formed the Nazi Party. Adolf Hitler is the main antagonist in the book, from his influence and power in Nazi Germany, as well for his contrasting ideals with Liesel Meminger. In addition, he was the dictator of Germany, and attempted to create the “Perfect” Aryan race. By this, it meant to send millions of minorities, like Jews and Communists, to their deaths. This is known as the Holocaust, which is remembered throughout the world, because almost everyone who died was innocent. His rule over Germany is also shown in “The Book Thief”, where everyone is afraid of going to a
The novel “The Book Thief” is about a young girl who grows up in Nazi Germany. Her story consists of how she learned to function and act under the Third Reich. Certain characters contribute to Liesel becoming an empathic person. In the story “The Book Thief”, Liesel keeps her empathy and understanding when many people around her have lost it with the help of other characters in the
Death states 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” (Zusak 491). This book shows us human doing things that weren’t even imaginable before this point. Many people give into ideas that were lies. But, we also watch a few people go out of their way and sacrifice everything for a man they barely even know. They do everything they can to keep him safe and alive. They work harder, the get another job, and they even steal. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, death examines the ugliness and the beauty of humans.