# The Book Thief- Markus Zusak **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653 "2009-07-20T17:58:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/1 "2009-07-20T17:58:13Z")
Has anyone read this book? My girlfriend and I read through it and were discussing it a little bit and I was interested to hear what some other folks thought. The girl was engrossed in the book and sped through it. I ambled on and liked the first 80% of the book, but then threatened to put it down because I was bored and didn’t care anymore. The ending ended up being okay. My girlfriend liked it. She’s (supposedly) always had an interest in the Holocaust, or, at least, since she wrote a research paper on it in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/2 "2009-07-20T18:22:46Z")
I read it last year, I think. Very original. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/3 "2009-07-20T18:42:08Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I read it last year, I think. Very original. I liked Death as the narrator. ---
**Author:** ![PeacePlease](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/71c47a/32.png) [@PeacePlease](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeacePlease)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/4 "2009-07-20T19:56:50Z")
I thought it was very good and there were a couple of spots where I cried like a little girl. I would definitely recommend it. I also had no idea that it was a YA book before or while I was reading it. I’m not sure what age group I’d recommend it for as it has been awhile since I read it. Just not too young! ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/5 "2009-07-20T23:00:34Z")
I couldn’t get through the opening. Way too pretentious, IMO. I think I sold it. ---
**Author:** ![Hrududu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Hrududu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hrududu)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/6 "2009-07-21T10:25:07Z")
I enjoyed it up to a point. But he just did way too much of “2 years later she would find out why it was a mistake.” He stuck in sentances like that several times each chapter. The other thing I didnt like was how simplistic it was. The baddies were really really bad and the goodies were really really good. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/7 "2009-07-21T15:41:49Z")
I liked it a lot, and cried quite a bit. At the beginning, I was a little put off by the whole shtick with Death being the narrator. It seemed like the kind of thing that could get old pretty fast. But I found I bought into it quickly. ---
**Author:** ![JoseArcadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc348/32.png) [@JoseArcadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseArcadio)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/8 "2009-07-21T15:51:39Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > I couldn’t get through the opening. Way too pretentious, IMO. I think I sold it. The opening put me off for the same reason, but I persevered (the narrator does become less pretentious after that) and enjoyed it overall. As with **delphica** I came round to Death as the narrator and, by the end of the book, was very much invested in the characters and the story. Some moments in it were heartbreaking and have to confess there was a tear or two shed in the course of reading. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/9 "2009-07-21T19:13:44Z")
See, I think it lost me when Hans went off. The story isn’t about Hans and suffered when it brought him back up. Hans left, and Hans came back. Anything that happened while Hans was gone was pretty much useless. Also, if Death has only met Liesel twice, how does Death get all this information? Certainly, Liesel provides it, but there’s a lot of information around that Death would have to be present to acquire. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/10 "2009-07-21T19:51:14Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Also, if Death has only met Liesel twice, how does Death get all this information? Certainly, Liesel provides it, but there’s a lot of information around that Death would have to be present to acquire. Possibly Death is like Santa Claus … he sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, etc etc. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/503653/11 "2009-07-21T20:08:30Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > Possibly Death is like Santa Claus … he sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, etc etc. 😃 But Death did say very early in the book that he met Liesel only twice: once when he took her brother and once when he took her.