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List Price: £7.99Amazon.co.uk's Price: £3.95 You Save: £4.04 (51%)as of 16/03/2010 19:43 BST
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780552773898
Edition: Reprint
ISBN: 0552773891
Label: Black Swan
Manufacturer: Black Swan
Number Of Pages: 560
Publication Date: January 01, 2008
Publisher: Black Swan
Studio: Black Swan
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.co.uk Review:
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak was the best-selling debut literary novel of the year 2007, selling over 400,000 copies. The author is a prize-winning writer of children's books, and this, his first novel for adults, proved to be a triumphant success. The book is extraordinary on many levels: moving, yet restrained, angry yet balanced -- and written with the kind of elegance found all too rarely in fiction these days. The book's narrator is nothing less than Death itself, regaling us with a remarkable tale of book burnings, treachery and theft. The book never forgets the primary purpose of compelling the reader's attention, yet which nevertheless is able to impart a cogent message about the importance of words, particularly in those societies which regard the word as dangerous (the book is set during the Nazi regime, but this message is all too relevant in many places in the world today).
Nine-year-old Liesel lives with her foster family on Himmel Street during the dark days of the Third Reich. Her Communist parents have been transported to a concentration camp, and during the funeral for her brother, she manages to steal a macabre book: it is, in fact, a gravediggers’ instruction manual. This is the first of many books which will pass through her hands as the carnage of the Second World War begins to hungrily claim lives. Both Liesel and her fellow inhabitants of Himmel Street will find themselves changed by both words on the printed page and the horrendous events happening around them.
Despite its grim narrator, The Book Thief is, in fact, a life-affirming book, celebrating the power of words and their ability to provide sustenance to the soul. Interestingly, the Second World War setting of the novel does not limit its relevance: in the 20th century, totalitarian censorship throughout the world is as keen as ever at suppressing books (notably in countries where the suppression of human beings is also par for the course) and that other assault on words represented by the increasing dumbing-down of Western society as cheap celebrity replaces the appeal of books for many people, ensures that the message of Marcus Zusak’s book could not be more timely. It is, in fact, required reading -- or should be in any civilised country. --Barry Forshaw
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
This book is clever, unusual and ambitious narrated as it is by death, but somehow it never seems to fully pull it off. The subject matter is often oversimplified with childlike language and as such I think it lacks authority on one of the darkest chapters in modern history. The book was highly recommended to me and maybe I expected too much. But seeing as words saved Liesel, I thought more would be made of language and it would be more sophisticated. Why Zusak felt the need to keep dropping in German ... Read More
Rating:  -
I truly enjoyed this hefty (500+ page) read. No wonder its an international best seller. The way the book is written is very inventive and only draws you more and more into the story.
Rating: -
I started and put down this book a few times before I really got into it. But once I became accustomed to the style, I absolutely loved it.
This is a story of stunning beauty. It is heart-breaking and life-affirming, testament to the strength and generosity of the human character. There are scenes and characters here that will stay with you forever.
Rating: -
I can't believe the 1 star reviews of this book; I totally disagree with every word written. I couldn't put this down (it went in the bath with me). I thought it would be weird and difficult to follow with the narrator being 'Death' but it isn't. It flows so quickly and how anyone could think it was dull is beyond me.
It is a simple story about a fostered girl in Germany at the start of the war and the lives of the people around her including a hidden Jew in the basement. The end of the book ... Read More
Rating: -
This is one of the most riveting, captivating, emotional and strangely alluring books I've ever read. Pick it up and read it!!!!!!!!!
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The Book Thief
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