The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, is
a World War II drama set in Molching, Germany. It is narrated by Death, who tells the story of Liesel Meminger – a pre-teen occupied with the complicated task of growing up whilst trying to survive the violence and poverty of a war, which, in the first chapter of the novel, lays claim to her brother and mother. Liesel is faced with the death of her younger brother and the disappearance of her communist mother, who saves her daughter’s life by leaving her in the hands of foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, as she flees in the hope of survival. Liesel adapts well (under the circumstances) to her new home and community in Molching and develops a special love for her foster father, with whom she has a natural affinity. She also meets Jesse Owens-loving Rudy Steiner, who quickly becomes her best friend. The brave and loyal pair get up to many a mischievous activity.
As expected of a war drama, the story encapsulates the heartache and destruction violently inflicted upon humanity. One cannot have a story set in Germany between 1939 and 1945 without a Jew in hiding, a Nazified son who clashes with his father, an unrealised love cut short by death, the loss of sons, fathers, brothers and husbands in the line of duty, the plight of the persecuted whose daily existence is a fight for survival in the face of repressed horror at the deaths perpetuated by the Fuhrer, and the plight of those who sympathise with the condemned – who risk their lives for compassion’s sake. The familiar formula is successful – the realities of living in Nazi Germany are evoked with sentimentality and sensitivity through the eyes of a fourteen year old Liesel, who, four years in to the war, records her experiences in a book. A book picked up by Death.
As he goes about his job of collecting souls and telling Liesel’s story, Death makes interesting observations about the human race. He states “…I have the endless ability to be at the right place at the right time. The consequence of this is that I am always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugliness and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both. Still, they have one thing I envy. Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die” – a remarkably poignant comment. World War II brings the human race face to face with what it is capable of. Although Zasuk reminds us of our propensity for evil, he emphasises our ability to create beauty, which is best represented by Liesel’s relationship with words. Of humanity, Death says “I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race – that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words so damning and brilliant”. Zasuk comments on the power of language. Liesel starts the novel illiterate and is taught to read by her foster father. She quickly learns the power of words – and in her desperation for them, forms the habit of stealing books, which are hard to come by in a time characterised by censorship and conscription. Zusak makes mention of the oratory powers of Hitler, who manages to brainwash a nation with words. The potential of words to destroy is described metaphorically in an incident involving Liesel and Ilsa Hermann, who Liesel, in a fit of rage condemns, with the following effect: “Liesel could see it on her face. Blood leaked from her nose and licked at her lips. Her eyes were blackened. cuts had opened up and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin.” This is a microcosmic metaphoric representation of a soul destroyed by words. Within the context of the novel, the metaphor applies to the macrocosm. The words of one man, Hitler’s words, reaped more bloodshed than one wishes to imagine. Liesel observes, “Without words, the Fuhrer was nothing. There would be no limping prisoners, no need for consolation or wordly tricks to make us feel better”. Yet the healing property of words is illustrated time and time again. Liesel is able to comfort a group of frightened people crunched together in a bomb shelter awaiting death. She reads to Frau Hotzapfel to comfort her and to Max Vandenburg when he is at death’s door. Ironically, Max Vandenburg attributes his survival on route to Molching to Mein Kampf. This metaphor is extended and the saving power of words ultimately displayed as Liesel escapes death by air raid as she sits in the basement of her house writing her story. The conflicting condition of our humanity is reflected in our use of words, the tool which gives us the ability to create and to destroy as dictated by a desire to murder and/or nurture: “So much good, so much evil. Just add water”.
The Book Thief is a good read, though unsurprising. As far as war time dramas go, do not expect anything new. But do expect a heart-breaking account of the horrors of war from a teenage girl who shows immense courage and tenacity.
My favourite part of the book was the whitewashed pages of Mein Kampf on which Max made his stories for Liesl. In them I found an immense capacity for hope – that human depravity and brutality CAN be overcome through simple acts of kindnes, that a new world CAN be created if we have the capacity for vision and the courage for action.
For something a little more surprising but equally moving, try his “I am messenger.”
That was also my favourite part. And I love that it’s kind of an ‘in your face’ to Hitler – using his words of hate as an expression of love. It’s great! My favourite Character has to be Rudy. Crazy like my brothers. I will definitely get hold of “I am messenger”.