The Book Thief- World War II at its worst

The Book Thief, written by Australian author, Markus Zusack has a plot which revolves around the life of a German girl, Liesel Meminger. Her story is narrated by Death himself and during the time of war he is working overtime. Yet he found Liesel to have a few gifts. The one that drew him in the most was thievery.

It all started on a train where Liesel's brother dies. At the burial site she finds a small black book on the ground. Fascinated by the thought of owning a book, she quickly picks it up and that was the first of the thievery in Liesel Meminger's life. She is later sent to her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. At first, she is unsure of everything around her. She has awful nightmares and small accidents. But Hans Hubermann helps her out of her fears. Soon the two have a charming relationship that lasted forever. Rosa on the other hand was always more inclined to using words to express herself and let's just say these are the words that don't come into use in a civilised conversation. Liesel helped her with the house work and delivering the laundry.

This story takes place during that time of Hitler where concentration camps were of very large numbers. At the same time, Hans and Rosa Hubermann took a Jewish fist-fighter, Max Vandenburg into their home because of an old promise. Liesel was captivated by his presence and after a few weeks the two became good friends. As war got into its glorified, ugly form, Liesel Meminger's only getaway was a visit to the Mayor's library. The Mayor's wife would let Liesel in and lend her a book to read. This event led to the transformation of Liesel to the book thief.

As her life turns upside down with bombings, Jews and old friends, she finds herself in the epicentre of all these problems. But, she's saved by a book. She's saved writing a book. She's saved because of being the book thief.

An engrossing story that keeps you reading and wanting for more, the Book Thief is one of those rare novels with a narrator so authoritative yet diffident, who comes out as suspicious yet is just an innocent person doing his job. Death is the reason this novel comes to life. So, if you want to get a taste of Death's account of Liesel Meminger then this is the book for you.