My original intent was for this blog to be devoted to my photography, but I’ve decided it’s also a nice outlet for sharing other interests. Thus I’m adding a category for talking about books. Please feel welcome to comment on the books I share or to suggest other great books.
Last summer a friend told me about a wonderful book called The Book Thief. It has taken me months to get around to reading this book, and I quickly discovered that calling this book wonderful is very much an understatement. It is marketed as a young adult novel, but I urge adults not to overlook The Book Thief.
What amazes me about this novel is how beautifully it balances the complex and the simple. Set during World War II, the novel focuses on the experiences of Liesel Meminger, a young girl who arrives in her new foster home clutching a book she cannot read. While Liesel’s story of love — love for her new family, for her friends, and for the words — is captivating, the novel’s narration almost eclipses its plot. The narrative style is fascinating as is our narrator, an ever-present shadow in the lives of all of the characters. He finds Liesel to be a “perpetual survivor” and tells her story to illustrate how the human race “could be so ugly and glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.”
