The Book Thief

As part of a summer reading assignment, I came across Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, which is now one of my absolute favorites. Here is a letter to Mr. Zusak, explaining my emotional feelings towards his story. Warning: THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS! Skip over the letter for the review!

Dear Mr. Zusak,

             I came across your book as a summer reading assignment. Contrary to the views of some of my classmates, I did not find the size intimidating - in fact, the large volume was quite inviting. I could not fathom what would await for me inside, I only knew at that point that I was dreading having to read yet another lengthy novel. Being the novelist that your are, you would probably assume that statement to be contradictory to my previous one. Yes, Mr. Zusak, it certainly is. You see, I welcome a lengthy novel - it presents more time to love, to obsess, to lose. But when you have to read four other lengthy novels when there are five others you would rather be reading, you come to dread it. I must say that The Book Thief surprised me. But with a little help from my Literature teacher and my classmates, I was able to delve deeper into its meanings.

            Let me begin with the conclusion, or near-conclusion of the novel. I must implore you - was it honestly necessary to murder every character that I had come to love? Mr. Zusak, I truly appreciated your work, because it was an exceptional one. But was there any obvious reason for you to take a world I had come to respect, take the characters I had lived with, and simply smash them into oblivion? I would very much like to learn your reasons behind doing so. If I may, I would like to make a small comparison to John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. Everything was going so well in the story, well, as well as things can go for a couple that has one half living with cancer that is likely terminal. It was all somewhat sunshine and daisies until Green takes it upon himself to give the other half of the couple highly-terminal cancer. And yes, Mr. Zusak, that half does perish before the story's end. So again I reiterate  - why is there a reason to crush the hopes and dreams of one very intrigued reader? Nonetheless, there is another aspect of this tragic ending that I greatly appreciated. The conclusion was real and true. I have often told myself that one day I would write a story in which nothing had a happy ending. I do not find that to be a morbid thought, and I believe that you would understand why. Too many stories end with a happy ending. I believe we have Walt Disney to thank for that. You comprehend that not everything in life is rainbows and butterflies, and it was evident in the way you presented the ending of the story.

            In addition, I would like to hone in on your narrator. I found it brilliant that you used the being of Death to present the story. To me, Death had a story. I asked myself, "What if Death is Liesel Meminger?" Now, at this point you probably think I am going way too deep into this, which I probably am. But if you think about it, in some twisted, parallel universe, it could be true. Imagine this: years ago Death began to get tired of its monotonous life. So, it went on a journey to find an identity. Death came across a story of a girl named Liesel Meminger. It became so consumed in the girl's story, the story of her life that she herself had penned, that Death assumed the life of the girl. So in that sense, Death could truly have been Liesel. Now, in a more realistic sense, Death was the shadowy figure of a teenage boy. That was probably much easier to comprehend. I truly believe that the story would have been utterly different if Death had been removed as the narrator, but not as a character. Death's insights caused you to look at life in a different way. Life has struggles that must be endured, but none can be as difficult as the life lived by Death. Death had courage in the sense that he took things as they came, despite the fact that he wanted nothing more than to escape his personal monotonous circle of hell.

            Furthermore, I would like to discuss with you the importance of books. Obviously as an author, you can greatly appreciated and truly comprehend the wonders of books. Mr. Zusak, if I may, were you ever in a position as a child where you needed an escape from reality? I can honestly say that I found myself in that position often. Subconsciously, I believe I used books as an outlet of escape. Sometimes, I feel I immerse myself so much into a story that it becomes a bit unhealthy. I believe the term "fangirling" would apply? I know this is certainly something I can lecture to you about, free of judgment. I hope you can agree with me in saying that words have much power. I recently delved into a bit of that power in Theology class. But that is besides the point. Words can have a wide affect on people, especially in a book. You proved that with your use of Mein Kamp in the novel. But words not only have the power to control, but they have the power to enlighten and to scare. Many people discourage themselves from books due to the fact that they see many words and feel fear. They tell themselves, "It would just be easier to watch the movie." But we both know, they are the ones who lose the joy that a number of pieces of paper, all bundled together, can bring.

            Above all, Mr. Zusak, I would like to commend you on your overall fabulous novel. It was nothing like I had read before, and the new spin on a popular topic in historical fiction was exceptional. I never could have thought that Death could be such an adored narrator. Even though I have read many a novel in which characters I came to love were lost, I never experienced such emotional distress as I did with The Book Thief. I sincerely hope that there will come a day that I will you will share with me the unknown wonders of your novel, for it was truly one that I will remember and recommend for quite some time. Congratulations, Mr. Zusak, on a job well done.

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The Book Thief brings more meaning to the little things in life. Liesel was stripped of her family and shipped of to a new one, where she spent a life poor in material things, but rich in love. She had her best friend Rudy, her new parents Ilsa and Hans, and she had the books which brought her joy and importantly, freedom in a time when it was scarce. Our narrator, Death, opens our eyes through his little "gems" which offer advice on life's littlest and biggest issues. So let me just say that 

The Book Thief will cause you great emotional distress, it will cause you to fall in love with it, and it will teach you how to open your eyes to the little things that matter. Most importantly, it will teach you that the world is much bigger than you. The world is a story - your's is just a few pages.