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A review by jenbsbooks
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
4.0
So many rave reviews about this one ... and while I am going to give it a 4* rating, my experience with the book is a little more complicated. I didn't really love it, and I'm not certain why. It seems like this should absolutely be up my alley. But it took me two tries, and even during this success, second attempt, I felt like I had to push through and I was glad to be done. I can appreciate the book, and am not surprised others loved it. I think I will remember it. It was unique.
I knew I had tried this one in the past, and I found my record - 2012. I didn't note how far I got, but I saw some highlights quite a ways in before I gave up and DNFed then ... with a full intent to come back and try again at a later date. Twelve years! I had been reading it then, I went with the audiobook this time, although I had the Kindle copy and a hard copy for reference. Looking back on the text, I think reading it IS the way (although the narration was good) just because some things stand out more in print. Some of the text placement, set apart, is more obvious on the page.
Death rambles ... I think that's what I struggled with most. So lyrical, to the extreme. So many metaphors and similes in his descriptions. That's all well and good, it was just SO much. He was jumping around in time too, something I really don't like. I don't want spoilers, and that's exactly how it starts off, with him telling of three events, so we already know what is coming.
The "chapters" setup was a bit strange too. I think someone ranted in one of my FB groups that this didn't have any chapters! In my Kindle app, that seemed to be the case. As I checked the Table of Contents, all I had was "The Beginning..." and flipping through the text it gave the location and how many hours were left in the book, no chapter options. When I accessed the text on my computer, I had chapters in the TOC (still strange, there were unnumbered chapters at the start at the end, and then 10 Parts, with chronological chapters running through (80 of them) ... 90 total (five at the start, five at the end). Happily the audio had all of the "chapter headings" listed there, so that switching between the formats wasn't too bad. Although the physical book doesn't have a TOC at all (per usual for books today) which is a disservice to readers in my opinion. It's so helpful to see all the headers at a glance, to have a list of the page numbers each is on if one wants to go to a specific section. rather than being forced to flip through the entire book hoping to find the portion one is seeking.
There's the story ... I've read a ton of WW2 books, and there's always something to learn. It took a while but I finally became connected to the characters and cared about them.
There's the unique narration presentation ... DEATH. He's first person, past tense for the most part, but the majority of the story feels like 3rd person because Death is telling the story (just like an omniscient narrator in most 3rd person presentations) ... he just then jumps in and inserts himself here and there too. The text was presented differently in print too, lots of white space and little asides ... honestly, it reminded me a bit of [book:Greenlights|52838315] in some parts (as Mr. Matthew would stop and do notes to self or "bumperstickers" ... Death's little spotlights had a similar feel to me. Centered, In bold type.
There was some bonus material in the Kindle copy that was very interesting (just some of the author's information on how he wrote the book, including some sketches/images). The print copy had discussion questions (not sure why these weren't in the Kindle copy!) but the Kindle copy had a Q&A with the author. I really like all these extras, and it's one reason I check out each format, because (like here) sometimes one will have something the other does not.
The dominoes on the cover ... I did note when dominoes were played, and I can sort of understand the choice.
So overall ... my experience with this book wasn't that positive. I'm actually unsure why I didn't like it, love it as so many others did. I didn't cry. I'm glad I read it. I feel like it was well-written.
I knew I had tried this one in the past, and I found my record - 2012. I didn't note how far I got, but I saw some highlights quite a ways in before I gave up and DNFed then ... with a full intent to come back and try again at a later date. Twelve years! I had been reading it then, I went with the audiobook this time, although I had the Kindle copy and a hard copy for reference. Looking back on the text, I think reading it IS the way (although the narration was good) just because some things stand out more in print. Some of the text placement, set apart, is more obvious on the page.
Death rambles ... I think that's what I struggled with most. So lyrical, to the extreme. So many metaphors and similes in his descriptions. That's all well and good, it was just SO much. He was jumping around in time too, something I really don't like. I don't want spoilers, and that's exactly how it starts off, with him telling of three events, so we already know what is coming.
The "chapters" setup was a bit strange too. I think someone ranted in one of my FB groups that this didn't have any chapters! In my Kindle app, that seemed to be the case. As I checked the Table of Contents, all I had was "The Beginning..." and flipping through the text it gave the location and how many hours were left in the book, no chapter options. When I accessed the text on my computer, I had chapters in the TOC (still strange, there were unnumbered chapters at the start at the end, and then 10 Parts, with chronological chapters running through (80 of them) ... 90 total (five at the start, five at the end). Happily the audio had all of the "chapter headings" listed there, so that switching between the formats wasn't too bad. Although the physical book doesn't have a TOC at all (per usual for books today) which is a disservice to readers in my opinion. It's so helpful to see all the headers at a glance, to have a list of the page numbers each is on if one wants to go to a specific section. rather than being forced to flip through the entire book hoping to find the portion one is seeking.
There's the story ... I've read a ton of WW2 books, and there's always something to learn. It took a while but I finally became connected to the characters and cared about them.
There's the unique narration presentation ... DEATH. He's first person, past tense for the most part, but the majority of the story feels like 3rd person because Death is telling the story (just like an omniscient narrator in most 3rd person presentations) ... he just then jumps in and inserts himself here and there too. The text was presented differently in print too, lots of white space and little asides ... honestly, it reminded me a bit of [book:Greenlights|52838315] in some parts (as Mr. Matthew would stop and do notes to self or "bumperstickers" ... Death's little spotlights had a similar feel to me. Centered, In bold type.
There was some bonus material in the Kindle copy that was very interesting (just some of the author's information on how he wrote the book, including some sketches/images). The print copy had discussion questions (not sure why these weren't in the Kindle copy!) but the Kindle copy had a Q&A with the author. I really like all these extras, and it's one reason I check out each format, because (like here) sometimes one will have something the other does not.
The dominoes on the cover ... I did note when dominoes were played, and I can sort of understand the choice.
So overall ... my experience with this book wasn't that positive. I'm actually unsure why I didn't like it, love it as so many others did. I didn't cry. I'm glad I read it. I feel like it was well-written.