The Book Thief is no light read. It's not meant to be taken to the beach or casually skimmed over during the course of a weekend. The fact that it's narrated by Death Himself should clue readers into the serious themes held within its pages. I admit that I had to be patient with the narrative at first -it seemed disjointed and difficult to get into, but the language was so vibrant and clever that the book wouldn't let me go. As a result, I was incredibly moved by the ending and can offer up the rarest praise: I will reread this book again in time. It is just that good, that powerful, and that important.

The story starts off a little slow but keep reading because it gets much better. My only disappointment was that I didn't want this book to end. Great read!!

Confusing , disorganized and disappointing. I found this bpook to be difficult to follow.I could not empathize with the main character. A waste of time.

this book was way better than i thought it would be. it starts out slow, but it becomes really good. you should read it. it is very well written and just and all around good book!!!

There are plenty of reviews telling the story line so I won't bore anyone with more. I just want to say how creative a writer Zusak is. This is the first story I've read narrated by death and I couldn't put it down. It was like reading an abstract story with the lives of people during World War II woven so beautifully together. Amazing! Different! And I have to agree with others on the fact that it doesn't read like a junior book. Don't give up on this book, you'll be glad you didn't.

The Book Thief, which is probably in the local library's "Young Adult" section, is set in Nazi Germany during WWII. Thus, it's pretty brutal at times, but it's not without redemption. Zusak uses a novel narrative approach - the story is told from Death's point of view. His sentences are spare, even choppy at times, which lends the work a clipped, regimented feel - not at all inappropriate for a wartime novel. "Young Adult," yes, but not bedtime reading. Zusak has created a powerful work, but it's somewhat disjointed at times. Good - yes. Excellent - no.

This book was fantastic!! I just got done with it, literally, and i must say it is one great piece of literature. This was a summer reading assingment and i was not looking forward to it because of it's length, but trust me, you get over that quickly. It was actually a quick read since there is much spacing in the book. Since i am a world class procrastinator i was forced to finish it in less than 5 days.

The big seller on this for me was the narrator being death during WW II. A fantastic perspective for that time, don't you think? Please buy this book, you will not be sorry! By the way there is a film coming out in 2010 so you could read the book and then compare it to the movie when it is released. Happy reading, Juan

A rare opportunity to experience the insight of Germany life during the war. It can be a little bit depressive in the beginning, but the story is extremely well developed. I hope it remains popular for generations.

I read this book over a year ago because of a review I read somewhere. It is so full of texture, of the grinding machine that is war, with the little bleeps of love and beauty that keep people plodding along. It is a wonderful book. I still think about it a year later and I immediately ordered his other 2 books. I read voraciously and this is a gem. The characters are so surprising and real. I am amazed this is a young adult book. I am aware of book clubs that have read the book and been captivated by it. It should be widely read. Where is Oprah?

I'm afraid I'm writing this review without having read the whole book. After reading the first couple chapters I became so impatient with the affected, graceless prose that I left off reading. Tries to be too cute and arty, forgets to show instead of tell.

This was an amazing story. Truly extraordinary. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars and I wish I could take the author aside, look him in the eye, and tell him how much I truly loved this book. It was haunting, stunning, sad, amazing and gripping. I didn't know it was a Young Adult book. It was so powerful. I sobbed and sobbed at the end. So beautifully written.

This book really crept up on me. I read it, I liked it and I wanted to keep going. As the story progressed, I found myself more and more engrossed and more and more attached to the characters. By the end of the book I had a lump in my throat. And although there is soul-crushing sadness, there is a beauty and lightness in the story that is nothing if not uplifting. I highly recommend this book.

This book is in my top 5 fictional books of all time, behind The Godfather, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea, and A Farewell to Arms. It is an extremely powerful and riveting book. I got it for Easter and when I got it It was my favorite book.

This book made my heart bleed a little and that is no ordinary feat. The Book Thief is incredibly heart wrenching and beautifully written with an interesting concept and colourful characters you come to care for and love.

I patiently await Marcus Zusak's next novel.

This book made my heart bleed a little and that is no ordinary feat. The Book Thief is incredibly heart wrenching and beautifully written with an interesting concept and colourful characters you come to care for and love.

I patiently await Marcus Zusak's next novel.

The Book Thief is one of those children's books that has crossed over into the adult market and become subject to incredible word-of-mouth marketing. To be honest, I let it languish on my nightstand for 12 months, because I wasn't sure it would live up to the hype. I've read my fair share of books about the Holocaust and wasn't sure this one would tell me anything I didn't already know.

But the author, Markus Zusak, has created a wholly original story. First, the narrator is death, who talks in a kind of roundabout language, part all-knowing, part creepy, part loving.

And second, the main character is an ordinary German girl growing up in Nazi Germany who must confront many personal difficulties and traumas during the course of the Second World War. This is not so much a book about the extermination of the Jewish race under Nazi occupation, but the ways in which many Germans went about their ordinary lives at the time and the extraordinary lengths some of them went to save their Jewish friends.

The story begins with Liesel Meminger, a traumatised nine-year-old girl. It's 1939 and she has just witnessed the death and burial of her younger brother enroute to her new foster family in a town called Molching. During the burial Liesel picks up an object she finds in the snow -- The Gravediggers Handbook -- which sets up a lifelong love of books, even if she has to beg, borrow or steal them.

Her foster father, the kindly accordion-playing Hans Hubermann, teaches her how to read, and together the two of them pass many hours pouring over the pages of the gravedigger's instruction manual. Later, when the family takes in a Jewish man, Max Vanderburg, and hides him away in their basement, Leisel shares her love of words with him, too.

Desperate for new reading material, Liesel -- with the help of her blonde-headed friend Rudy -- rescues a book from a Nazi book-burning pile. Later she is introduced to an amazing private library, owned by the mayor's wife, which allows her to momentarily escape the dismal poverty of her ordinary day-to-day life.

But when the Nazis discover her foster father handing out bread to a march-through of Jews on their way to Dachau, their lives suddenly take on a more sinister, darker twist -- which no amount of book thievery can alleviate. When the Allied bombs begin to fall on their street, things get even worse and death begins to close in on Liesel, her family and friends...

The Book Thief is, without a doubt, an incredibly memorable story. The narrative voice is unique, and the style, which double-backs on itself and occasionally jumps backwards and forwards in time, is interesting if somewhat confusing at times (Would kids get this? I kept asking myself). Initially the staccato rhythm of Death's voice jarred, but I soon learnt to appreciate its whimsical charm. However, I enjoyed the story much more when Death kept his mouth shut and simply let Liesel get on with things.

The characters are great, too. Liesel starts off as a rather weak-willed creature, too terrified to even step out of the car when she first arrives at her foster family's home, but over the course of the war she turns into a feisty, courageous tom-boy, who isn't scared of tackling anyone who bullies her. And her best friend Rudy, who has an obsession with Olympic athlete Jesse James, is a suitable, dare I say lovable, ally.

I was not as convinced about the foster parents who seemed a little stereotyped -- the kindly, loving father; the foul-mouthed, bullish mother -- but I can understand that younger readers would enjoy the "good cop, bad cop" personalities.

The Book Thief is a deeply unsettling story and a truly moving one. I teared up over so many scenes that I couldn't bare to list them here for fear of running out of room! The ending is of the typical grab-your-tissues-and-sob-your-eyes-out ilk. But in reading this very long book -- perhaps a fraction too long, in my opinion (it meanders a lot in the middle) -- I never once thought I was being emotionally manipulated. Zusak does a nice line in letting actions speak louder than words, so that the reader gets to join the dots rather than have every little thing spelt out for them. I like this approach, if only because he treats the children to which this book is aimed with intelligence rather than patronising or speaking down to them.

A delightfully human book, haunting, wise and joyous by turn. I don't know why I waited so long to read it.

The Book Thief is one of those children's books that has crossed over into the adult market and become subject to incredible word-of-mouth marketing. To be honest, I let it languish on my nightstand for 12 months, because I wasn't sure it would live up to the hype. I've read my fair share of books about the Holocaust and wasn't sure this one would tell me anything I didn't already know.

But the author, Markus Zusak, has created a wholly original story. First, the narrator is death, who talks in a kind of roundabout language, part all-knowing, part creepy, part loving.

And second, the main character is an ordinary German girl growing up in Nazi Germany who must confront many personal difficulties and traumas during the course of the Second World War. This is not so much a book about the extermination of the Jewish race under Nazi occupation, but the ways in which many Germans went about their ordinary lives at the time and the extraordinary lengths some of them went to save their Jewish friends.

The story begins with Liesel Meminger, a traumatised nine-year-old girl. It's 1939 and she has just witnessed the death and burial of her younger brother enroute to her new foster family in a town called Molching. During the burial Liesel picks up an object she finds in the snow -- The Gravediggers Handbook -- which sets up a lifelong love of books, even if she has to beg, borrow or steal them.

Her foster father, the kindly accordion-playing Hans Hubermann, teaches her how to read, and together the two of them pass many hours pouring over the pages of the gravedigger's instruction manual. Later, when the family takes in a Jewish man, Max Vanderburg, and hides him away in their basement, Leisel shares her love of words with him, too.

Desperate for new reading material, Liesel -- with the help of her blonde-headed friend Rudy -- rescues a book from a Nazi book-burning pile. Later she is introduced to an amazing private library, owned by the mayor's wife, which allows her to momentarily escape the dismal poverty of her ordinary day-to-day life.

But when the Nazis discover her foster father handing out bread to a march-through of Jews on their way to Dachau, their lives suddenly take on a more sinister, darker twist -- which no amount of book thievery can alleviate. When the Allied bombs begin to fall on their street, things get even worse and death begins to close in on Liesel, her family and friends...

The Book Thief is, without a doubt, an incredibly memorable story. The narrative voice is unique, and the style, which double-backs on itself and occasionally jumps backwards and forwards in time, is interesting if somewhat confusing at times (Would kids get this? I kept asking myself). Initially the staccato rhythm of Death's voice jarred, but I soon learnt to appreciate its whimsical charm. However, I enjoyed the story much more when Death kept his mouth shut and simply let Liesel get on with things.

The characters are great, too. Liesel starts off as a rather weak-willed creature, too terrified to even step out of the car when she first arrives at her foster family's home, but over the course of the war she turns into a feisty, courageous tom-boy, who isn't scared of tackling anyone who bullies her. And her best friend Rudy, who has an obsession with Olympic athlete Jesse James, is a suitable, dare I say lovable, ally.

I was not as convinced about the foster parents who seemed a little stereotyped -- the kindly, loving father; the foul-mouthed, bullish mother -- but I can understand that younger readers would enjoy the "good cop, bad cop" personalities.

The Book Thief is a deeply unsettling story and a truly moving one. I teared up over so many scenes that I couldn't bare to list them here for fear of running out of room! The ending is of the typical grab-your-tissues-and-sob-your-eyes-out ilk. But in reading this very long book -- perhaps a fraction too long, in my opinion (it meanders a lot in the middle) -- I never once thought I was being emotionally manipulated. Zusak does a nice line in letting actions speak louder than words, so that the reader gets to join the dots rather than have every little thing spelt out for them. I like this approach, if only because he treats the children to which this book is aimed with intelligence rather than patronising or speaking down to them.

A delightfully human book, haunting, wise and joyous by turn. I don't know why I waited so long to read it.

This is the most lyrical, yet sparely written book I've read in years - it's astonishingly powerful, and ought to form part of any intelligent reader's library.

Death is the narrator in this haunting tale of the young book thief - a German girl thrust into foster care following the arrest of her Communist father and the sudden death of her starving brother. While she copes with such devastating losses, Death describes the troubled relationships she forms with her foster father, best friend, and a Jewish man the family finds itself hiding, as well as the various people lives around. The characters are honest, blemished, and timeless. With its odd choice of narrator, this is probably going to be a love it or hate it book, more appropriate for a teen or adult audience.

Although this book is quite lengthy (550 pages), it is a quick read. It is based on the life of a young girl who lives in Europe during WWII. It is often told from the perspective of death, which is an interesting way to not only write a fictional work, but to view one. There are some parts that are very heart-wrenching while others merely tell the story of a young girl growing up. I would recommend it.

I am a voracious reader, though a picky one. This heartbreaking, life-affirming book is one of the best I have ever read. I don't know why a "young adult" book is considered the kiss of death for books sales, as there are some amazing young adult books on the market, but this book falls in no age category and should be read by anyone over 13 or so.

This is a wonderful novel. Moving yet funny, very real about a terrible time in history but, because of it's observations on the human condition, more warm than grim. My wife and I liked it so much we purchased 5 copies to give to friends.

My book club chose this as this month's selection and it's a good thing I read it this way because I hated the first 35 or so pages. The tempo was really odd and staccato -- kind of like listening to progressive jazz when you're used to rock or classical. The pacing was really strange. I probably wouldn't have finished it had it not been an assignment of sorts.

But oh am I glad I forced myself to keep reading because starting around page 38 things just got magical. This book, about what one little girl does to get through life in WW2-era Germany is heartbreaking and beautiful but still manages to be funny and surprisingly light. Aside from reminding us that there were good people living in Germany during the war, what this book is really about is appreciating the little, everday things and the people we know, flaws and all. I fell in love with the characters, each of whom was well developed and felt like family by the time the book ended. I won't go through them, enough other people already have, but I wanted to weigh in on the 5-star bandwagon. The book is that good. Yes, death ultimately triumphs over all, but what this novel really does is celebrate life.

It's been a very long time since I read a book that moved me this much or had such an impact. I actually think it might be a bit too much for adolescent readers, but as an adult I found this thoroughly delightful.

An incredible story, draws you in immediately. Beautifully written. Deeply moving. A great read for all 14+.

I was recommended this book by a friend. I had never heard of it and was pleasantly suprised. I loved this book. I loved the way it was creatively narrated and it was well written. I would highly recommend.

I originally bought this book as a gift for my 13 year old nephew. I had it on my desk at work for a couple of days and getting a bit curious, I decided to read a few pages.

A day or so later, I found myself at a bookstore because I had already gotten so far into the story, I had to get a replacement--and fast!

Firstly, this is not a Young Adult book. Although many of the characters, including, Leisl are children and teens, many of the others are adults and the situations all of the characters find themselves in are complicated and substantive. But let's not forget the master of ceremonies, our charming host, Death, and his wry asides and witty observations.

While the characters are all interesting and distinct, the story itself is rich in portraying life in all its wonder amid a milieu of the utmost bleakness and despair. Death always seems to step in to give us that special edge whether it be welcomed humor, or sharp observations on humans and their folly. The sheer maturity of Mr. Zusak to portray it all here gives this book the heft and true merit it deserves well beyond the Young Adult classification. This is great fiction, period.

Wholeheartedly recommend, along with the not as well known, but just as remarkable, SIM0N LAZARUS.

The Book Thief is the most beautifully written story. I could not put it down. The story is compelling and the descriptions are poetic. I have encouraged all of my friends to read it.

This is a remarkable book. Be patient through the first 50 or so pages. It becomes a real "page turner" after that.

Zusak is an amazing writer; flowery, poetic, original. However -- this book could have easily been trimmed by 200 pages. It took forever to get to plot points and the pacing is, well, painfully slow. I couldn't wait to finish it. By far, the book's best part is the last 150 pages where we see Zusak at his best and the book (and the story) finally moves along.

definitly have a box of kleenex close, this book is amazing, but a tear jerker...

This is a wonderfully written book, told from a unique point-of-view.
I really enjoyed reading it, and could not put it down!

This was a wonderful book--not only for young adults, but for the general population. Characters were so well developed that you could really understand and connect to them. There was this repeating theme of "guilt" in many of the characters which reminded me of my upbringing in the 50s and early 60s--religion based and children of the "depression" generation. And, stealing--is it OK to steal if it ia for a good cause and you give back in return? Death-as narrator--what an interesting perspective and one that gave us the sense that death has feelings too. Just thought this whole book was great. So many wonderful people who lived in "heaven".

The title of this book, while apt, does not convey the scope, universality, or profundity of the material. Mr. Zukas writes in a very fluid, descriptive style, which I often found poetic and unexpected. The Holocaust has been the subject of many novels but this one is written from a different perspective. The humanity, bravery, selflessness and inidividualtiy, is sharply contrasted with the cruelty, cowardice, guilt, and pack mentality on both sides. I found this story, although fairly long, to be an engrossing, quick read, especially from the first third to the end. Highly, highly recommended!!

It is a rare thing for me to be compulsive about a book; a book that, when you are not actively reading it, occupys your mind, where you can't wait for a free moment to return to the story. _The Book Thief_ did this to me. The characters were compelling, the writing was beautiful, the story had me mesmerized, and the narrator, well, the narrator had my complete and rapt attention.

_The Book Theif_ is about the four years of young Lisel Meminger's life between childhood and adulthood. It is also about her growing up in Nazi Germany, witnessing the evil perpetrated during that time and learning about right and wrong. Narrated by Death, (an interesting choice, I thought, although certainly a neutral observer), the broader philosophical issues of morality and guilt are addressed: is it moral to steal books? food? Jews? Should one feel guilty for these acts? For becoming (or not becoming) apart of the Nazi machine? Should one feel guilty for surviving these horrible times? Deep questions, to be sure; Zusak, however, is a brilliant enough writer to ask these questions subtly.

On the topic of the brilliance of the writing - Zusak's writing is powerful and beautiful. Its been a long, long time since I outright bawled reading a novel. I did so with _The Book Thief_. I was literally emotionally wrung out at the completion of the story. This book without doubt warrants five stars. Suitable for young adults? As with so many things, it depends on the young adult; still, an exceptional read with my highest recommendation.

The story of Leisl, the book thief, written with sensitivity and tenderness against the background of war-torn, Jew hating, Nazi Germany. A stunning contrast.. I didn't particularly like it at first, but I kept at it and was richly rewarded for my patience. One of the cleverest books I have ever read. I am puzzled as to why it is categorized as a book for youth. While I certainly think that many young people could enjoy it I think it is an adult book. I questioned the youth classification many times thinking I must be mistaken about that. Apparently, I'm not.

It's amazing that I still get surprised whenever I find myself crying over a story such as this (there's Number the Stars, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, among others.) Yes, of course they're fiction...but the fact that their narratives elicit intense emotion says a lot on the horror that was the WWII (particularly the Holocaust), more than half a century from its occurrence. Even from someone with hardly any connection with Judaism (ancestral or cultural), it's actually very easy to feel abject sympathy and outright antipathy on the Jews' behalf. And, as a student of social science heralding senstivity for world cultures and peoples, I have to confess that it's quite difficult to stay unprejudiced about Germans.

But like All Quiet on the Western Front, which centered on the First War, The Book Thief also sheds light on the plight of Germany and the Germans themselves as they succumb under that iron fist of the NASDAP. A lot of them were also victims of war. They have also lost loved ones, as well as experienced crippling fear. The most relevant insight in this novel is the power of words, the sway of ideas. If one can't be brought over by words alone, then they shall be made so by sheer physical force. One then can see that not all Germans fit the portrayal of that blond, blue-eyed stiff, with that distinct, clipped accent (sorry, I'm generalizing) who stands indifferent to the existence of concentration camps and the desecration of Jewish, Romani, and even homosexual peoples and ideologies.

The Book Thief is, in a way, not that different from countless works done about WWII (nonfiction or otherwise, descriptive or propagandist). And yet, Zusak was still able to make his story thought-provoking. True, the blatant metaphorical prose of "Death" becomes a bit tiring after a while, what with all the reference to "colors" denoting a soul or the event of death. Also, the curtailing and foreshadowing of events, the shift from future to past to present events, clearly were not an original way of writing. However, the author, in my opinion, ably endeared the characters of Liesel, Hans Hubermann, Rudy, and Max. The tragedy that befell Himmel Street is exactly what it is--a tragedy (yes, despite the aforementioned foreshadowing, I still found myself blubbering by then). For me, the best parts of the novel were those that showed the depth of Hans' inner strength and compassion, both as a father and German in a growing Nazi Germany, and the depiction of Max's lyrical side as he finds succor and friendship for a Jew under a German roof. These two characters carry the weight of the story. I dare anyone not to be touched by them.

For a story mostly focused on the viewpoint of a young girl and her antics as a book thief, this can hardly be considered a novel for children (unless one were to censor and paraphrase some parts). It deals with a heavy subject matter, and is even intermittently graphic. Despite the attempt by "Death" to make light and symbolic his travail as a collector of souls, his sporadic quips on the oddity and wonder of humans, this novel is grave at the least; depressing at most. Still...I highly recommend it.

Wow. All the reviewers that liked it said a lot of the stuff that I noticed while I was reading this book too, but a lot said that there is many to say about this book. But let me tell you, if I were to choose only one book that I can call 5 stars--i would choose this "Young Adult" novel. It is a masterpiece, this book should be read by all, grandparents, adults, and young adults. And the book may look dense, but trust me--even though the book is slow paced, you will find yourself enchanted by the dark humor, brutality, and just plain magic.

After u read this your views of WWII will completely change--as this is not an Anne Frank but a dark portrayal of the poor Germans, u will find yourself thinking a different of life in WWII. And after u read this--well, i could just say this book can be life changing.

The book has a unique narrative style. By death. Yes that is true, death does narrate--but the style is not exactly a narrative nor a poetic style. The genre is hard to point out here, and the story is quite simple: Leisel, a German girl is being adopted by a crazy woman and sweet man in Munich--as she steals books to read them to everyone. But soon you will find yourself intrigued by the complexity of this epic. A Jewish man starts living in there basement. Air raids are everywhere. Leisel has a best friend named Rudy. The Jewish man and Leisel have much in common. And many more happens in this story.

But the story is not the main thing, yes, Zusak does try to make sense of the horrors of WWII--but the main thing is... the amazing writing and meaning. This book is some way you can poetic, and in many ways brutal. Sometimes the book can be dark, but at many moments you will hear yourself crying out loud in laughter.

Parents need to know that this book is quite dense at a whopping 576 pages. Also your child may have trouble reading this book--figuring out its style can be confusing. The swearing is mainly in German, but there are some infrequent uses of s--t. The violence is surprisingly almost never occurring, but there are two moderately graphic beatings and air raids(nothing detailed).

I have explained about 0.1% of how wonderful this book is. Trust me. Buy the book. You will feel the same way as me--really wanting to say how great it is, but finding it hard to explain. Overall this book is highly recommended for teens, adults, and anyone else above the age of a teen.


(BEST BOOK EVER)

I'm trying to work my way through to finish this book, but it is doubtful. I hate the disjointed writing style. Author takes forever to get to the point. I wouldn't have picked up on the point that it is being told from the point of view of the "grim reaper" if I hadn't read the reviews, the author doesn't just spell it out. All the vague, poetic inserts are just annoying. I can't see any "young adult" wanting to be bothered with this...but I honestly feel there is a good story underlying the poor writing method and that's what will make me finish it on principal I suppose.

I heard this book was for young adults, but decided to give it a try after seeing an ad in the NYT's that highlighted some glowing reviews. While the reviews got me excited to read this book, they didn't even come close to capturing how extraordinary this book is. I'd have to say "The Book Thief" is one of the most wonderful books that I've read in recent memory. Also, don't let the fact that the book is labeled as young adult stop you from reading it - this is better than most "adult" fiction books you can pick up.

The story takes place in a small town outside of Munich, during WWII. The narrator of the story is death, first introduced to us as nine year old Liesel Meminger witnesses the death of her younger brother, as they are sent to live with foster parents. Liesel is illiterate, but after she witnesses the death of her brother she picks up a book, "The Gravedigger's Handbook", and winds up hiding under her mattress at her new foster parents, Hans and Rosa. Ultimately, we see the relationship of Hans and Liesel develop as he spends nights reading to her and teaching her to read. Liesel's love of books is kindled and shortly later, she begins her book "thievery" starting at a Nazi book burning and continuing with a relationship she develops with the mayor's wife.

While I won't go into much more detail about the plot, there are several things that endeared this book to me. The first is the well-rounded and developed characters that Zusak creates - from Liesel, to her best friend Rudy and the young Jewish boy Max that Rosa and Hans hide in their basement. Second, Zusak re-creates wartime Munich and the surrounding area with such detail that I'd find myself closing my eyes after reading the chapters and transporting myself to this horrible time and place. Finally, Zusak's use of death as the narrator was a master stroke for this book. However, it is not just his use of death as the narrator, but attributes of death. Death is not a vengeful, mean, evil force in "The Book Thief", but a removed, dispassionate observer - even aghast at what is happening in this terrible time and place.

My words certainly do this book justice. From the hilarious irony of Rudy smearing himself in charcoal and emulating Jesse Owens to the cruelty of Liesel and Rudy hiding in a parade of Jews through Munich to feed them stale bread, this is one remarkable novel. Make time for this book - it will leave an indelible mark with you.

Coming way late to the party for this book. I only read this in the last couple of days because we read it for my bookclub. I had put it off, because I was concerned about the YA rating, since I am quite a few years away from my YA days.

I shouldn't have been put this off - this is just a terrific book. If there is one thing new to get from this review it's this - this book is for adults too. It's poignant, clever, and witty.

Summary, no spoilers:

Narrated by Death, this is the story of a young girl named Liesel, who comes to live with foster parents in a town in Germany, during the very start of WWII. She befriends a "yellow-haired" boy named Rudy, who becomes her best friend. At some point, Liesel's new family must hide a young Jewish man named Max, and throughout the book, you learn all about these characters, and how they learn to deal with trauma, heartache, deprivation - and love.

This book is cleverly written, and you go back and forth in time, as Death narrates. Despite the subject matter, this book is so witty that you find yourself laughing out loud at times.

Highly, highly recommended. Even if you're kind of old, like me. ;)

Personally, I thought the book was amazing.I finished it in about 4 days and I could never put it down until I fell asleep. I think this is one of his best books so far.... My grandma got me started in this book and i found the friendship of two people was amazing and how the girls story started it could be difficult at times and sometimes the narrator would reveal parts of the endings. The book also showed parts of the holocaust and how it all worked out in its own way... The ending was definitely sad... All I can really say is prepare for a lot of deaths in Germany... I highly recommend you to read this book besides young children because of the swearing I did not find one disappointing moment in this book and the way Mark wrote it made you feel like you where in Germany during the WWII and the characters are almost right there with you telling there story.

The Book Thief deals with heavy subject matter - it's set in Nazi Germany and is narrated by Death - but the story is so compelling I found myself savoring every page and reading slowly so it wouldn't come to an end. I've never read a fictional book about the daily lives of ordinary people in Germany during World War II, and that is certainly part of what made The Book Thief so interesting.

The main character is Liesel Meminger, a 9-year-old girl sent with her brother to live with foster parents when her father is arrested for for being a Communist and her mother expects she will soon follow. Her brother dies on the trip to the foster home, and Liesel steals her first book from the man who digs her brother's grave. She settles into the household of Hans and Rosa Hubermann and makes a new life in a town very near Munich.

War is everywhere around them - from book burnings, to Hitler youth meetings, to Jews marching through the streets on their way to concentration camps, to food rationing to bombing by Allied planes. And Death narrates the events of Liesel's life dispassionately, but with wonderful details and with the kind of foreshadowing that made even the hardest events of the book easier to read.

The Book Thief is a rarity among books - a truly original tale that I intend to read again and again. I highly recommend it for mother daughter book clubs and anyone in high-school and older.

I cant wait for my children to be old enough to read this book, fantastic.

My 13-year old niece is an avid reader and for her birthday each year, I usually pick out several books. I perused the Youg Reader's section at PageOne bookstore in Albuquerque and there was the Book Thief.

Of course, I always read my selections before I hand them over, and I can say that I have never been as moved by a tale since I read the Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. When I read Anne's story at eleven, I had no idea that my own mother and grandmother had survived the Holocaust, fleeing Paris in 1941 to hide in the South of France. Hide in plain sight.

The Book Thief is so much more than the story of an illiterate girl growing up in Nazi Germany who adores her father and learns to read. It's the story of how love transforms, a love of words, a love of books, a love of the hungry Jews marched through her town on their way to Dachau, a life of stealing back what the Nazi's could not burn or take away.

It's the story of Liesel, and how an extraordinary young girl learns to stand up to death and find solace in the most ordinary of things. You will not forget her.

The book reminds me of my grandmother and mother, and those in my family who did not run, who died in Drancy or Auschwitz, and I hope my niece will take away as much from this book as I did.

If you've read this book, buy it for a friend. I immediately recommended it to my book club. If you haven't read it, what are you waiting for?

an outstaning book with lively lovable characters. its a book that you will keep thinking about. good for both teens and adults.

I picked this book up at a London cornershop and read it within a week riding the tubes to and from work. Even though I'm not a big reader, I wasn't able to put this one down. The way that the author captures your emotions is unbelievable. I genuinely felt for the characters throughout the story. Some people might not be able to get past the witty storytelling of 'Death' ..but I thought it was brilliant. This is more than another or those books you just read and never think about again--it's deeply touching and has a strong underlying message.

Don't pass it up!

Of the books I've read in the last year, this one is one of my favorites! Not only a good story, it gives some insight to the mentality of Europe in the late 1930s to the end of the war. It is fiction, but very good fiction!

Before I get started here I just want to emphasize that this is my opinion. I realize that taste is something to consider, and I am sensitive to that, but frankly, this book deserves far more attention than it has received. This writer also has something many writers putting out novels today do not posess: talent! I consider many of the prize winners, and popular authors to be skilled in crafting works of fiction, yes, and writing very good sentences, but at the center of these works, there is not much gravitas one needs to take a mere story into great story terrain.

Mr. Zusak does this quite well here. And I want to say, masterfully. Yes, the subject matter is bleak. It was hard, at times, for me to swallow some of the scenes and sensibilites of the characters, but these aspects are potent with the verisimilitude one needs in exceptional works of fiction.

I loved the humor and dry witted asides of our host, Death. I loved the characters. All of them. And the exquisiteness in the telling of the tale and the resolution of it took my breath away. Forget these other, absurdly popular over-the-top reads that are out there, and give me this marvelous novel anyday.

So highly recommend along with a hidden wonder, SIM0N LAZARUS--another awesome read more should know about. (The Eckhart Tolle blurb on the cover says it all.)

First Sentence: First the colors.
Last Sentence: I am haunted by humans.

Death tells us the story of young Liesel Meminger who watched her brother die, her years with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, Max Steiner, the Jewish man they hid in their cellar, her best friend Rudy who wanted to be Jessie Owens, and her life on Himmel Street in Molching, Germany during World War II

Although written as a book for young adults, this is one of the most stunningly beautiful, heart-wrenching tragic books I've read. It made me laugh; it made me weep.

Narrated by Death, the astonishingly visual descriptions at times amazed me. The characters are wonderful and tenderly brought to life. It is a story of love, courage, friendship and loss.

It is a story of a love of reading, of stolen books and the power of words. It makes me mindful of what is best, and worst, about us humans. I, most of all, makes me grateful for my own passion for words, reading and books.

I first listened to the audio version of this book. Allan Corduner did an exceptional job brining this story to life. I loved the story so much, I then read it in hardcover.

The physical style of the way it was printed brought the story even more to live for me, and I had Corduner's voice in my head.

There are a couple pieces of music that, when I heard them for the first time, I happened to be in the car and was so moved, I had to pull over, stop and listen. I had the same reaction to this book, as it started. The entire prologue of this book had me sitting in my car, pulled over off a very busy road, just listening.

What can I say; Death is haunted by humans. I was haunted, in the most wonderful way, by this book.

"The Book Thief" is an extraordinary book, indeed, the finest I've read in many years! Do you remember all of those aggravating literary clichés you read so often on book covers and publicity blurbs? Haunting, compelling, uplifting, powerful, deeply moving and gut-wrenching? Well, it's hardly overstating the case to suggest that "The Book Thief" has earned every last one of them. The narrator (we call him "Death" - a unique and most appropriate choice under the circumstances) begins the story of 9 year old Liesel Meminger's life in 1930s pre-war Germany as Hitler begins his rise to power.

Given up by an impoverished mother for adoption, Liesel is raised by Hans and Rosa Hubermann, a very ordinary blue collar working class couple struggling from day to day on a very ordinary street in a poor section of Molching, a small, ordinary town on the outskirts of Munich. A very ordinary, modest (one might even say humdrum) opening to a story that is anything but. Liesel's unlikely compulsion to steal books and her learning to read and write at the feet of a loving "Papa" Hubermann are used to illustrate the awesome, virtually unstoppable strength of the written word. Zusak brilliantly shows Hitler wielding this power in his rise to the pinnacle of German politics and in the cruel implementation of his attempted annihilation of Jews, communists, homosexuals, blacks and anything other than his ideal Aryan man and woman.

Zusak has loving created a memorable cast of characters which he has endowed with a most complex set of very human traits - Rosa and Hans, Liesel's foster parents; Rudy, Liesel's best friend and aggravating school mate who endlessly pesters Liesel for his first kiss; Max, the sickly Jew dangerously hidden in the Hubermann's basement; the mayor's wife who struggles against despair after losing her son; and Frau Diller, the spiteful storeowner who refuses to sell a patron anything unless they have duly saluted the Nazi regime and Hitler with a vociferous "Heil Hitler"!

Zusak's prose is poetic in the majesty of its construction. Despite the unavoidable compulsion you will feel to turn the pages ever more quickly as you are drawn into Death's sardonic, witty and brilliant observation of a rapidly unfolding story, every reader will also feel moved to stop and dwell on the beauty of Zusak's words. Keep those tissues handy - you will be moved to tears ... several times!

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss