I am madly in love with words. I am particularly drawn to the way words are strung together to create meaning and images. Markus Zusak’s novel, “The Book Thief,” is a wonderful portrayal of exactly how I like words to act. The imagery is beautiful, although sometimes gut-wrenching. For example, “Within minutes, mounds of concrete and earth were stacked and piled. The streets were ruptured veins. Blood streamed till it was dried on the road, and the bodies were stuck there, like driftwood after the flood.” I have never read an author that paints pictures like this.
Another strong point of interest in this book is the character development. Zusak slowly reveals layers of his characters throughout the novel. I felt a strong emotional connection with these characters because it was like we were starting out as new friends and I was slowly finding out more and more about them. I even felt connected to the unlikely narrator, Death.
I would recommend this book to anyone, young or old. It may be labeled as a young adult literature but it has enough substance, and literary significance to engage all readers.