Review of THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak (Audiobook)

1. Bibliography 
Zusak, Markus. (Author) and Corduner, Allan (Narrator). 2006. THE BOOK THIEF [CD]. Unabridged version: Cover to cover. ISBN 0739337270

2. Plot Summary

Narrated by Death, The Book Thief is a story about a girl, Leisel Meminger, who loses her mother and brother in a train accident and has to go live with Rosa and Hans Huberman, her new foster parents just outside of Munich in Nazi German. As a way of adjusting to her new life, Leisel begins stealing books, and she finds it to be thrilling. She steals from the lonely mayor's wife, Nazi book-burning sessions, a graveyard, and anywhere else she can get her hands on them. Her painter/accordion-playing foster father helps her learn how to read, and she shares her readings with crabby neighbors, down in basements during bomb raidings, and the Jewish man in her own basement. This is a story of coping with loss and grief, finding friendship in the unlikeliest of places, and learning that the power of words just might save you.

3. Critical Analysis

This audio book is narrated by Mr. Allan Corduner, British actor, and is listened to in eleven compact disks (13 hours and 50 minutes). The suggested audience is young adult, 9th grade and above, more than likely because of its heavy content regarding death and language. It is the unabridged version, so listeners get the benefit of hearing book in its entirety, cover to cover. The other information included on the backmatter are a short summary of the novel and mini biographies about the author and the narrator. The sound quality of the audio was very crisp and clear. There was no music or other background noise during the reading except for the fitting accordion sounds at the very beginning and the very end; the narrator's voice was more than sufficient throughout the rest. Listeners will be completely engaged in this rich audiobook experience. 

The tone and delivery of Allan Corduner complimented Markus Zusak's brilliant writing very well. The fact that Corduner was able to capture each German in the story, even the ladies, was astounding. The list of characters in this thick novel is extensive. Zusak writes Leisel as a quick-tongued, stubbornly intelligent girl, and the narrator captures her attitude perfectly with her coin curse words and comebacks. The listening experience was hard to break away from with Death as the somber but sentimental narrator. The reader captured Death's feelings well with his pauses and sighs and annunciations. 

This book is part part contemporary realistic fiction, and part fantasy, with a little historical fiction mixed in. There are many events described about World War II and its devastating effects on the Germans and the Jewish race and the punishment that comes with trying to help a Jew during Hitler's reign. Death describes these events with sorrow in his voice and an urgency to take care of the souls as gently as he can once they pass away. As Leisel loves and loses many people throughout the course of the story, she never gives up on writing and reading words. The words of books and of writing help the Book Thief stay strong and focused on her greatest task - survival. Themes of budding romance, love between a parent and child, loss and grief, friendship, being strong, and finding oneself through the power of words all resonate within this beautifully read story. I highly recommend listening to the audio book. I would like to go back and look through the pages at some of the German words and phrases used to get a better feel for those. 

Death's final message, "I am haunted by humans" will leave you reeling with thoughts long after this masterpiece is finished. 

4. Review Excerpts and Notable Awards/Honors:

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL STARRED REVIEW: "An extraordinary narrative."

BOOKLIST STARRED REVIEW: "...the astonishing characters, drawn without sentimentality, will grab readers. More than the overt message about the power of words, it's Leisel's confrontation with horrifying cruelty and her discovery of kindness in unexpected places that tell the heartbreaking truth."

USA TODAY: "It seems poised to become a classic."

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY STARRED REVIEW: "Elegant, philosophical, and moving...Beautiful and important. This hefty volume is an achievement...a challenging book in both length and subject..."

HORN BOOK MAGAZINE STARRED REVIEW: "Exquisitely written and memorably populated, Zusak's poignant tribute to words, survival, and their curiosity inevitable entwinement is a tour de force to be not just read but inhabited."

Winner of/Honored by:

• 2006- Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (South East Asia & South Pacific)

• 2006 - Horn Book Fanfare

• 2006 - Kirkus Reviews Editor Choice Award

• 2006 - School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

• 2006 - Daniel Elliott Peace Award

• 2006 - Publishers Weekly Best Children Book of the Year

• 2006 - Booklist Children Editors' Choice

• 2006 - Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book

• 2007 - Boeke Prize

• 2007 - American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults

• 2007 - Michael L. Printz Honor Book

• 2007 - Book Sense Book of the Year (Indie’s choice)

• 2009 - Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Master List

• Winner of the National Jewish Book Award

5. Connections
A. Research a bit about Nazi Germany in 1939-1943 in order to get a better feel for the setting. 

B. Discuss the effects of having Death narrate the story versus someone else. 
C. This novel and audio recording would be excellent for literature circles at the high school level to use with other novels of related topics. 

*Other novels with related themes:

Wiesel, Elie. NIGHT. ISBN 9780374500016
Coelho, Paulo. THE ALCHEMIST. ISBN 9780061122415
Hughes, Dean. SOLDIER BOYS. ISBN 9780689860218

Image from Amazon.com