When was the first time you realized the true meaning of death? For me, it started out with my grandmother's death. I hadn't realized the depth of it yet. I remember one of my aunts crying and telling me that my grandma would now watch me from above. I remember looking at the sky and wondering if I would be able to see her too. I didn't. Years later, I still weep at night because I couldn't even mourn the death of my favourite person on Earth because I was too young to understand death. I grew up with the idea of death slowly materializing in front of me; one by one, as my favorite folks turned from their physical, smiling self into just a memory; a ghost of my past.
For Liesel, it was kind of similar and she instantly caught my heart because she felt so much like me. This book, as the title already says, is about book thieves. We have Liesel, who quite randomly starts stealing books, later turning into a rebel thief, taking books from people who had plenty of everything in a war stricken Germany. But what Liesel doesn't understand as a child is the fact that these rich people are the loneliest people, waiting for book thieves to come into their house just so that they can feel a little human. Zusak draws these subtle contrasts all throughout the book and I can't appreciate him enough for that.
The second book thief in this story is the narrator. Death tells this story because he is in possession of not only Liesel's little black book but also because he steals away the stories of people; he steals away their lives. So, in a sense, Death too is a book thief. It's not just the fact that Zusak has personified Death in this story, he has carefully made Death with emotions and yes, a heart. Death is humorous at times, sombre in some moments and most of all, he's angry and frustrated. He says at the end of the book,
"I am haunted by humans." Death, in this book, felt like a friend which is in contrast with what people perceive of death: a scary hooded figure, without eyes or a soul, carrying a sickle… Death, instead, likes to watch colours and enjoys the innocence of children. He is afraid of himself sometimes. He's just like us.
The book thief is also about the power of words and language and Zusak has himself used his own play of words to subtly emphasize on that. Liesel's life starts with her urge to learn reading and writing. She grows up to realize how words have such power over the people. She reads to people so that they can escape their reality for a moment. In short, she saves a few people with her words. Towards the end, it is her words that save her.
Coming to the 'boy with hair the colour of lemons' 🥺❤️ Rudy Steiner has my heart. He is the person who makes the book alive with his innocence and his pure friendship and love for Liesel. I will carry a part of Rudy Steiner in me forever.
As for the book, now that I have finished, I wish to go back in time so that I could read the book one more time with the same intensity. I want to relive each moment.
I can see that this is a common feeling people have after finishing this book and that says a lot about how profoundly this book affects the readers. It's called a modern classic for a reason and I'm so glad to have come across this book ❤️
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