The Book Thief

Brilliant! Told from an extraordinary point of view, death was the perfect voice for this wrenching story. His wit, his frankness, and his asides were perfect companions to this carefully wrought novel. In the middle of the story he pauses to write and foreshadow,

"I'm spoiling the ending, not only of the entire book, but of this particular piece of it. I have given you two events in advance, becasue I don't have much interest in building mystery. Mystery bores me. It chores me. I know what happens and so do you. It's the machinations that wheel us there that aggravate, perplex, interest, and astound me."

How often in an English/Literature class have we heard the intoning voice..."now why did the author choose to use foreshadowing?" And we have the typical answers, to build suspense, to pique interest to frame the story...Here the author is blatant, I love how he admits that it's not so much the ending but all the little details in between. Draw your own life metaphors in the blank...

I have to admit I have a macabre fascination for Holocaust stories. I am haunted by WWII. By it's brutality, immensity and inhumanity. The Diary of Anne Frank, The Hiding Place, Night and Number the Stars are among some of my favorites, and The Book Thief now takes it's place on my list.

This was a fantastic book! But wait until you have a day or two blocked out to read, because once you find yourself inside this story you won't want to leave.