What am I reading now? The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman
For your reading pleasure, I present The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
The Book Thief
One of my absolute favourite quotes comes from Cornelia Funke‘s Inkheart:
Some books should be tasted,
some devoured,
but only a few should be
chewed and thoroughly digested.
The Book Thief, without a doubt, falls into the latter category. From the opening pages of the prologue it was clear that this book needed to be savoured. And that’s exactly what I did.
Now, I could discuss at length all that I loved about The Book Thief but I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m going to offer you a glimpse. Why? Because this is a book best experienced as it rests in your hands.
The narrator is Death. That’s what struck me immediately. Death’s tone, pace and honesty. His tone is solemn. His pace is steady. His honesty is brutal. Death isn’t cruel but, for the lack of a better word, human. How can that be? Well, because he feels. Though he may resist at times, he feels the same as you and me.
It’s not hard to tell that the responsibility that rests solely in Death’s hands weighs on him. But this isn’t his only job. He also sets out to tell the story of Liesel Meminger. The reader recognizes instantly that he takes this task just as seriously. You hear it through the compassion in his voice and the fondness in his recollections. Death no longer wields a scythe but simply his two hands.
My advice when it comes to The Book Thief is to take your time. There’s a lot to ingest and digest. But, believe me, it’s worth it.
