Enter: The Book Thief By Markus Zusak
I have a problem, but it isn’t a monumental problem. My problem isn’t a problem that cripples ninety percent of the population, yet it is a problem for me. My problem is finding amazing books about major parts in history that don’t make me want to take a flying leap off a bridge or fall asleep. Enter: The Book Thief, the best historical fiction book that I have ever read. It would be especially easy for me to ramble on for pages and pages on why The Book Thief is the best historical fiction book, but that isn’t really what I’m supposed to do with this essay. So I am going to start with a simple question; what is historical fiction? According to dictionary.com historical fiction is the genre of literature, film, ect., comprising narratives
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that take place in the past and are characterized chiefly by an imaginative reconstruction of historical events and personages. By this definition there are numerous different points I could highlight to prove why the Book Thief is a shining example of historical fiction, but for the sake of time I am going to speak of only of the following three. One, The Book Thief’s characters written to be relatable and realistic. Two, it shows you an entirely new point of view, the point of view from a young German girl growing up in Nazi Germany. Finally, The Book Thief is applicable to almost any age group with an interest in World War II history. These are three points on why The Book Thief is the best historical fiction novel.
The Book Thief is a historical fiction book published originally in 2005 by Australian author Markus Zusak.
It has won various book awards and was on The New York Time’s Bestseller List for 230 weeks, which is a little over four years. The majority of the novel takes place in the fictional town of Molching, Germany from the years 1939 and 1943. It is centred around the life of Liesel Meminger a young girl growing up on Himmel Street in the fictional town of Molching, and her experiences as the war becomes more and more …show more content…
serious.
To prove how Meminger’s character integrates her own experiences we can examine the quote “I am haunted by humans” (550). This tiny sentence are last words you read at the end of The Book Thief and they explain how you feel at the end of this book almost perfectly. The characters haunt you even after you set down the book and pull out your bookmark. The Book Thief’s characters feel much too real to be just characters in a story,because no matter who you are you can find at the very least one character who you can relate to. One simple reason for this is because the characters are realistic. Liesel, the main character, is very easy to relate to. She spends most of the book learning to be like the other children in her school, she wants to fit in, just like anyone else who moves to a new city or school. Rosa Hubermann, Liesel’s adoptive mother is also a relatable character. At first she is a hard character to love, infact the narrator literally uses this sentence to describe her: “She possessed the unique ability to aggravate almost anyone she ever met, but she did love Liesel Meminger.” (34). This shows that just like anybody else, she has a lot of rough edges. But just like anybody else, she also cares so incredibly much about the people in her life. These characters make mistakes, are selfish, jealous, deceiving, callous and frustrating, but they are also amazing, real, loving and determined. Zusak writes like this so each of the readers feel a connection to the characters, and in turn this is what makes them so relatable.
Even if The Book Thief’s characters are relatable, characters are only one part of an amazing story, but having an interesting view from these characters is another instrumental piece. This brings us to our next point; how The Book Thief shows war from a captivating new point of view. World War II. Germany. Usually if people hear either of these words their minds go within a span of ten seconds to the other word. That’s just because we’ve always seen World War II, we think of Germany, then our thoughts move to Adolf Hitler, then to the Nazi Gestapo and we only see them as villains. That’s not the truth though, actually a good deal of the German population didn’t have a burning hatred for Jews, some of them were even Jewish and they just simply got pulled along. The Book Thief shows this wonderfully, it gives you a completely new view on the war. In The Book Thief you are seeing the war from the eyes of Liesel Meminger, a young german girl, someone who is trying to live a mostly normal life with war looming above her entire country. We also get an interesting narrative that shows another, completely different side of war. We get to see the war from the eyes of Death. Death has an intriguing point of view to see a story from, because people usually see him as the ultimate villain. But with only a few short sentences by Markus Zusak turns that all on it’s head: “Please,be calm,despite that previous threat. I am all bluster- I am not violent. I am not malicious. I am a result.” (6). Death isn't the monster hiding under your bed or a grim-reaper in The Book Thief, he is just the narrator who happens to have been given a bad name. In fact he isn't all that scary, he is more heart breaking, lonely and sad, there are many quotes that show this easily but my favourite is: “On many counts, taking a boy like Rudy Steiner was robbery--so much life, so much to live for--yet somehow, I'm certain he would have loved to see the frightening rubble and the swelling of the sky on the night he passed away. He'd have cried and turned and smiled if only he could have seen the book thief on her hands and knees, next to his decimated body. He'd have been glad to witness her kissing his dusty, bomb-hit lips.Yes, I know it. In the darkness of my dark-beating heart, I know. He'd have loved it all right.You see? Even death has a heart.” (242). To me this quote shows that he doesn’t enjoy seeing people die, he doesn’t enjoy swinging his scythe and picking up a thousand souls in his arms, but he had to get used to it. This thought-provoking point of view coupled with Liesel’s shifting perspective makes for an engrossing new view on World War II.
Given the deep themes regarding war and death,you probably have wondered more than once what age this book is actually meant for, and that is an interesting question.
The final reason that makes The Book Thief the best historical fiction novel is that it is a novel for almost any age. Those with a passion for history, but who don’t want to read dry history textbooks written by grey-haired historians will enjoy this book.Some people would argue that The Book Thief was written for young adult readers and they are correct, but you can't just say it was written for pimple faced teens and be done. The Book Thief is chilling, somber and bleak, something much more than your average young adult novel. Even if the character is a child growing into an adult, every person was a child at one time and can at least vaguely remember what it was like to be young and foolish. The final reason why The Book Thief is a novel for countless ages is that it can be a phenomenal introduction to war history. It plants a seed of interest in each of its readers to know more about World War II, to understand more deeply what happened. This is why The Book Thief can be enjoyed by a vast range of
ages.
In conclusion The Book Thief is the best historical fiction novel because of the following three restated points. The characters are realistic and natural, making them easy to relate to throughout the book. It shows a new and immersive view on World War II, Germany, Death and love. And finally, it can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in history, no matter their age. The Book Thief is a great title to be enjoyed for years to come. This is why The Book Thief can and should be regarded as the best historical novel.
that take place in the past and are characterized chiefly by an imaginative reconstruction of historical events and personages. By this definition there are numerous different points I could highlight to prove why the Book Thief is a shining example of historical fiction, but for the sake of time I am going to speak of only of the following three. One, The Book Thief’s characters written to be relatable and realistic. Two, it shows you an entirely new point of view, the point of view from a young German girl growing up in Nazi Germany. Finally, The Book Thief is applicable to almost any age group with an interest in World War II history. These are three points on why The Book Thief is the best historical fiction novel.
The Book Thief is a historical fiction book published originally in 2005 by Australian author Markus Zusak.
It has won various book awards and was on The New York Time’s Bestseller List for 230 weeks, which is a little over four years. The majority of the novel takes place in the fictional town of Molching, Germany from the years 1939 and 1943. It is centred around the life of Liesel Meminger a young girl growing up on Himmel Street in the fictional town of Molching, and her experiences as the war becomes more and more …show more content…
serious.
To prove how Meminger’s character integrates her own experiences we can examine the quote “I am haunted by humans” (550). This tiny sentence are last words you read at the end of The Book Thief and they explain how you feel at the end of this book almost perfectly. The characters haunt you even after you set down the book and pull out your bookmark. The Book Thief’s characters feel much too real to be just characters in a story,because no matter who you are you can find at the very least one character who you can relate to. One simple reason for this is because the characters are realistic. Liesel, the main character, is very easy to relate to. She spends most of the book learning to be like the other children in her school, she wants to fit in, just like anyone else who moves to a new city or school. Rosa Hubermann, Liesel’s adoptive mother is also a relatable character. At first she is a hard character to love, infact the narrator literally uses this sentence to describe her: “She possessed the unique ability to aggravate almost anyone she ever met, but she did love Liesel Meminger.” (34). This shows that just like anybody else, she has a lot of rough edges. But just like anybody else, she also cares so incredibly much about the people in her life. These characters make mistakes, are selfish, jealous, deceiving, callous and frustrating, but they are also amazing, real, loving and determined. Zusak writes like this so each of the readers feel a connection to the characters, and in turn this is what makes them so relatable.
Even if The Book Thief’s characters are relatable, characters are only one part of an amazing story, but having an interesting view from these characters is another instrumental piece. This brings us to our next point; how The Book Thief shows war from a captivating new point of view. World War II. Germany. Usually if people hear either of these words their minds go within a span of ten seconds to the other word. That’s just because we’ve always seen World War II, we think of Germany, then our thoughts move to Adolf Hitler, then to the Nazi Gestapo and we only see them as villains. That’s not the truth though, actually a good deal of the German population didn’t have a burning hatred for Jews, some of them were even Jewish and they just simply got pulled along. The Book Thief shows this wonderfully, it gives you a completely new view on the war. In The Book Thief you are seeing the war from the eyes of Liesel Meminger, a young german girl, someone who is trying to live a mostly normal life with war looming above her entire country. We also get an interesting narrative that shows another, completely different side of war. We get to see the war from the eyes of Death. Death has an intriguing point of view to see a story from, because people usually see him as the ultimate villain. But with only a few short sentences by Markus Zusak turns that all on it’s head: “Please,be calm,despite that previous threat. I am all bluster- I am not violent. I am not malicious. I am a result.” (6). Death isn't the monster hiding under your bed or a grim-reaper in The Book Thief, he is just the narrator who happens to have been given a bad name. In fact he isn't all that scary, he is more heart breaking, lonely and sad, there are many quotes that show this easily but my favourite is: “On many counts, taking a boy like Rudy Steiner was robbery--so much life, so much to live for--yet somehow, I'm certain he would have loved to see the frightening rubble and the swelling of the sky on the night he passed away. He'd have cried and turned and smiled if only he could have seen the book thief on her hands and knees, next to his decimated body. He'd have been glad to witness her kissing his dusty, bomb-hit lips.Yes, I know it. In the darkness of my dark-beating heart, I know. He'd have loved it all right.You see? Even death has a heart.” (242). To me this quote shows that he doesn’t enjoy seeing people die, he doesn’t enjoy swinging his scythe and picking up a thousand souls in his arms, but he had to get used to it. This thought-provoking point of view coupled with Liesel’s shifting perspective makes for an engrossing new view on World War II.
Given the deep themes regarding war and death,you probably have wondered more than once what age this book is actually meant for, and that is an interesting question.
The final reason that makes The Book Thief the best historical fiction novel is that it is a novel for almost any age. Those with a passion for history, but who don’t want to read dry history textbooks written by grey-haired historians will enjoy this book.Some people would argue that The Book Thief was written for young adult readers and they are correct, but you can't just say it was written for pimple faced teens and be done. The Book Thief is chilling, somber and bleak, something much more than your average young adult novel. Even if the character is a child growing into an adult, every person was a child at one time and can at least vaguely remember what it was like to be young and foolish. The final reason why The Book Thief is a novel for countless ages is that it can be a phenomenal introduction to war history. It plants a seed of interest in each of its readers to know more about World War II, to understand more deeply what happened. This is why The Book Thief can be enjoyed by a vast range of
ages.
In conclusion The Book Thief is the best historical fiction novel because of the following three restated points. The characters are realistic and natural, making them easy to relate to throughout the book. It shows a new and immersive view on World War II, Germany, Death and love. And finally, it can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in history, no matter their age. The Book Thief is a great title to be enjoyed for years to come. This is why The Book Thief can and should be regarded as the best historical novel.