Awhile back, I read and reviewed Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. I wasn’t nearly as enthralled as the rest of the interwebs and book readers. So when it was selected as The Liwits’ November book club read I was really excited to see how the ladies would respond. In short – they pretty much agreed with me.
Obviously, Zusak’s novel is much beloved by many, but as someone who didn’t find it extremely compelling – and a tad bit on the gimmicky side – I was pleased to discuss my dislikes with fellow critics. Not that we trashed the novel – not at all – and we had one lovely member who adored the book. We all agreed that Zusak’s prose was mostly gorgeous and that dude can write, but I think Death as a narrator ultimately bothered some Litwits.
Katherine wasn’t thrilled with the ‘magical realism’ aspect of Death adding a sort of fictional haze over the realism of WWII. I agreed, going so far as to argue against fictional WWII literature in general. Others believed Death was humorous, added a certain levity, and was personified in a wholly humanistic way that didn’t bother the grittiness of the story at all.
We argued with America’s marketing of The Book Thief as young adult literature. I’m fairly certain we all agreed that the book belongs among all ages equally. We did think that teenagers would appreciate the novel.
Our discussion led us to ideas of what evil truly is and what it looks like, the differences between sociopathy and psychopathy, and even our recent political elections. Everyone enjoyed the novel’s German perspective as we dived into a debate about how humans can turn a blind eye to such torture and how we believe it could happen again if we aren’t careful. Unfortunately, many struggled with the constant reminders that everyone was going to die in the end which led to an anti-climatic ending that left no tears scattered across the final pages. In converse, some appreciated this warning which allowed them to enjoy the journey without worry for the emotional turmoil at the end.
I encourage other groups to read this novel together. While not everyone will love it and some might even find it difficult to get through, The Book Thief generates some amazing discussion which is, after all, the point of a book club! I’m glad The Litwits read this story together and had such profound thoughts. Can’t wait until next month when we read The Violets of March by Sarah Jio. Hopefully, a bit of a lighter read for the Holiday season!
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I have had this book on my shelf for the longest time, and both of my kids have read it. One loved it, and the other gave it back unfinished, so I can see that it can be rather polarizing. I loved your group’s myriad reactions and would love to see what I think of this one. Ahhh, so many books, so little time!
Too true about the so many books! I do think this is one everyone must try eventually.
Death as the narrator was the main draw of the book for me. And some of the writing was so unbearably beautiful.
Totally agree on both points. Really wanted to love Death but just didn’t.
Oh I absolutely loved this book. I can see why others might not, but I totally did. However, I listened to the audiobook, so I don’t know if my feelings towards it were so strong because of the narrator (who was fantastic). Glad you had a great discussion about this book! Hope your next one is enjoyable!
I think the audio narration could definitely have improved my reading!
I have yet to read it, but 8th grade at the school I work at read it and almost 100% of them love it. So, you’re probably right about the target age.
Yes, it’s a great novel for the young adult/teenager group. If I ignore all the nitpicking, the heart of the story is well done.
I read this one recently. I liked it but didn’t love it, but it did stay with me a bit. Check out my review at http://www.thecuecard.com/node/731
It was okay, but for some reason didn’t even resonate with me after finishing.