The Book Thief
by Zusak, Markus
- Used
- Paperback
- Condition
- Very Good+
- ISBN 10
- 186230291X
- ISBN 13
- 9781862302914
- Seller
-
Blagoevgrad Region, Bulgaria
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Definitions (Young Adult). Very Good+. 2008. Reprint; Fourth Printing. Paperback. 129 X 37 X 198 millimeters . Light reading creases and shelf wear. ; Fourth printing of Definitions paperback edition. Nice tight copy, no names or marks inside. Cover artwork by Finn Campbell-Notman. Heavy book and priced accordingly. ; 592 pages; The year is 1939. In Nazi Germany, the country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier - and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger's life is changed forever when she picks up a single object, partly hidden in the snow by her brother's graveside. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left by accident, and this is her first act of book thievery. So begins Liesel's love affair with books and words, and soon she is stealing from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times, and when Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, nothing will ever be the same again. .
Synopsis
The New York Times #1 Bestseller. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left 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 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 Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down. The Book Thief is a story about the power of words and the ability of books to feed the soul. 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.
Read More: Identifying first editions of The Book Thief
Reviews
This book has won many awards and deserves them all. It is brilliant, original and enlightening. It is the best and most engrossing writing I have seen of Nazi Germany. Death, the narrator, brings a chilling but quiet humor to the ugly time.
The Book Thief is the fifth novel by Australian author, Markus Zusak. The setting is Nazi Germany just before the start of World War Two, through to 1943, and the story is narrated by Death. Death was decidedly overworked during the war, but he informs the reader that he saw young Liesel Meminger three times in those years before he finally took her much later. Liesel comes to 33 Himmel Strasse in Molchen to foster parents Rosa and Hans Hubermann, having just lost her younger brother, Werner to Death’s grasp. Cranky Rosa keeps the family fed with her washing and ironing service while kind Hans paints when it is needed, plays the accordion and teaches Liesel to read, all on the background of deprivation, anxiety and fear that is wartime Germany. The anxiety level rises when Max Vandenburg, a Jew, comes to hide in the basement. But the presence of this unassuming man also helps to expand Liesel’s experience of reading and of life. With her best friend, Rudy Steiner, Liesel embarks on a career of thievery, starting with apples but graduating, eventually, to books from the Mayor’s library, although her first books are acquired in quite a different manner. This much-awarded, best-selling novel looks at war from a different perspective: the effects it has on ordinary people trying to lead ordinary lives in an ordinary town. While the Fuhrer and Mein Kampf play integral parts, illustrating the use of words for evil, the emphasis is on the struggle of the common man (and woman) to do the right thing in a dangerous environment. Zusak’s characters have depth and appeal (even cranky Rosa): the banter between them often lifts the tension from serious moments with some quite black humour. Zusak is skilful with his imagery and wordplay: “He was teenage tall and had a long neck. Pimples gathered in peer groups on his face.” and “She imagined the sound of a police siren throwing itself forward and reeling itself in. Collecting itself.” are just two examples. The illustrations by Trudy White are a charming enhancement to the text. This novel has brutality, but it also has beauty. The narration style may take a little getting used to, but the reader who perseveres is rewarded with a wonderful experience. Very moving.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Books in Bulgaria (BG)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 36570
- Title
- The Book Thief
- Author
- Zusak, Markus
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good+
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Reprint; Fourth Printing
- ISBN 10
- 186230291X
- ISBN 13
- 9781862302914
- Publisher
- Definitions (Young Adult)
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 2008
- Keywords
- 129 X 37 X 198 millimeters
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fireside Reads;
Terms of Sale
Books in Bulgaria
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About Books in Bulgaria
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Shelf Wear
- Shelf wear (shelfwear) describes damage caused over time to a book by placing and removing a book from a shelf. This damage is...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Good+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good.