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The Book Thief Paperback – September 11, 2007

by Markus Zusak (Author)

17,250 customer reviews

in Teen & Young Adult Family Fiction

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The extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller that is now a major motion picture, Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul.

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

The Book Thief

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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 9 Up–Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers. Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when shes roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayors reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents. Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesels story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger,took a risk with his second book by making Death an omniscient narrator—and it largely paid off. Originally published in Australia and marketed for ages 12 and up, The Book Thief will appeal both to sophisticated teens and adults with its engaging characters and heartbreaking story. The Philadelphia Inquirer compared the book's power to that of a graphic novel, with its "bold blocks of action." If Zusak's postmodern insertions (Death's commentary, for example) didn't please everyone, the only serious criticism came from Janet Maslin, who faulted the book's "Vonnegut whimsy" and Lemony Snicket-like manipulation. Yet even she admitted that The Book Thief "will be widely read and admired because it tells a story in which books become treasures." And, as we all know, "there's no arguing with a sentiment like that."<BR>Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product details

Age Range: 12 and up
Grade Level: 7 and up
Lexile Measure: 730L (What's this?)

Paperback: 592 pages
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; Reprint edition (September 11, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375842209
ISBN-13: 978-0375842207
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.2 x 8.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17,250 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Social & Family Issues > Family
- #1 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Holocaust
- #1 in Books > Teens > Historical Fiction > Holocaust

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Top Customer Reviews

those haunting humans, that little girl

ByDavid A. Baeron June 17, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

With a heart full to overflowing and eyes quite moist, I finish this novel of a young waif of a girl in Hitler’s Germany whose body, soul, and spirit ought never have survived her furnace of affliction. Yet survive she does, grittily and even poetically, with the aid of a good friend, a tender father, a Jewish refugee in the basement, a mother whose harshness runs only skin keep, and a traumatized mayor’s wife who loves to have her books stolen.

As the old proverb—old but still true for all its rusty years—would tell us, ‘The book is far better than the movie’. This has never been more true than with Markus Zusak’s phenomenal achievement.

The book is narrated by Death, the Grim Reaper. Yet he is not an evil presence, indeed his tender observations are endearing. In the end, the circumstances of 1940s Europe keep him far busier than he’d prefer. Yet he cannot take his eyes off these dismal, glorious humans.

They haunt him, these human beings do. He sees such majesty in them, and such cruelty. The circumstances that call him into hard labors allow him to peer into the human condition at its best and, simultaneously, at its best.

He cannot look away from them, these horrible, beautiful, haunting beings.

This reader revels in the deeply biblical substratum of this compelling novel, whether intended by its author or not.

The best book I’ve read in a year. And I’m hardly alone, for this work has virtually nailed itself to the top rung of the New York Times Bestsellers List. As another old proverb might have it, 50,000,000 Elvis fans can’t be wrong.

Buy it, read it, remember it when you least expect.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A story I will revisit often

ByMeaganon January 23, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I LOVED this book. We started listening to the audio version in the car before I bought the paperback. My son is an audio learner, so we are constantly looking for books to listen to. We had recently listened to another WW2 book told from a kid's perspective. This was recommended to us, but we were warned the content was much more mature than the first book, even though it is also focused on a "child". While that was true, it wasn't a bad thing. I really enjoyed the narrator for the audio book, and I am quite picky. I ended up buying the paperback because I couldn't stand to wait to see what happened since I only listened with my son in the car. I was enjoying it enough to think it was worth the purchase. I'm glad I bought it. It is "heavy" but I did fall in love with the characters and know I'll be revisiting it again and again. One thing that I found unique about this book was that it was told from the view of "death", or maybe a grim reaper...but it is not in any way fantasy. Looking back, I can't imagine it being told from any other perspective and I'm so glad the author seemed to realize that too.

0Comment 18 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

This was one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read.

ByPhuong Nguyenon June 25, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book made me feel empty in a way that only truly beautifully written books can. When I finished reading the last word on the last page of this book, I felt empty; there is a paradoxical mix of feeling incredibly saddened that the book is over but also completely satisfied because the ending was the best ending you could have ever hoped for and more. Together, those feelings left me feeling empty and breathless. It's amazing that words can be strung together on bound pages can make you feel so strongly, but that's what great books do. And this is, without a doubt, a truly great book.

I won't go over the plot because many reviewers have done so already, but I will tell you this: The Book Thief was one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read in my entire life. Death's point of view is hauntingly sophisticated. This is one of my favorite quotes, "A SMALL PIECE OF TRUTH: I do not carry a sickle or scythe. I only wear a hooded black robe when it's cold. And I don't have those skull-like facial features you seem to enjoy pinning on me from a distance. You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue.”

There are so many amazing layers to this book. I love the fact that it's a book about a book thief. I love how books are mile markers in her life, and how she herself can barely control the love and hate she feels for the power of words. I love the impact books have had on her life. The love that the characters have for Liesel is truly moving. The love that she has for them is heartbreaking in the most astounding way. This is a fictional book, but it's very much a true and honest look at humanity in its finest moments and its worst moments. It's as if Markus Zusak studied the human soul and was able to articulate its many range of feelings: love, grief, regret, relief, wonder, and everything in between.

This is a book that stays with you long after you are done with it. It took me ages to write this review because I wanted to do the book justice. I will end with another one of my favorite quotes from the book. “I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”

0Comment 11 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Beautiful and Unique storytelling - highly recommend

Wow...absolutely phenomenal. I am sad to say that I just finished this book. I have grown attached to the characters and the story and I am sad to let it go.Read more

Published 2 hours ago by Elizabeth Humphrey

Love this book

I enjoy the formatting of the book, glimpses of what's to come. I felt it had a solid ending, I wasn't left disappointed or with too many questions. Definitely recommend this book.

Published 1 day ago by Wilson

Well written book, deserves an award

Super good book. This book has a lot going for itself regarding the characters used, and I love how the narrator is death itself. Just a well written book and I really enjoyed it

Published 1 day ago by Camelia Stroud

Four Stars

great ride, compelling story, wonderful characters

Published 2 days ago by Gabriela Santos

Good, but a little slow in parts

This book has a lot going for it such as characters that you care for, death as a narrator, WWII from the standpoint of German civilians.Read more

Published 2 days ago by James Montgomery

I have not read this book

It will not not let me go without doing this weird review, I have not read this book yet but I have heard it is very good.

Published 3 days ago by bgk

Five Stars

book is much better than the movie

Published 3 days ago by Scarlet

Five Stars

A good read!!

Published 4 days ago by neil michael

The Book Thief

This is an excellent book. The beginning is a little hard to get through, but keep going. It's worth it.

Published 4 days ago by Mary Donnellan

Great book

Very good book

Published 4 days ago by Marc Krolla

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