The Book Thief Stole My Heart

The last novel for the year for my monthly book club, and I believe we may have saved the best for last with The Book Thief.

Summary thanks to Goodreads:

"It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down."

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.  The group discussed this novel over lunch at our annual Christmas Book Exchange party. The vast majority of the ladies loved it, finding little fault with the writing or the gripping story.

I thought that it read like poetry at times; Zusak's prose is so beautiful. With Death as the narrator, The Book Thief is a creative and unique wartime story was written from the perspective of a young German girl.

Here is the author with his thoughts:

This novel should be mandatory reading in high school. It is not to be missed.