SLIDER

Words, Colors & An Unlikely Narrator

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Release Date: March 2006
Publisher: Random House | Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 550 pages
Source & Format: Bought; Audiobook
Amazon | Goodreads

Sum It Up (from Goodreads)
"It's just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery...

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist - books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Thoughts on The Book Thief
What can you say about The Book Thief that hasn’t already been said? This is the kind of book that crawls down into your heart and takes up residence there. It’s hard to put in to words how much I loved this book when I first read it last year. I have consistently recommended it to people, and I always hope that it lives up to their expectations.

I decided it was time for a re-read a few months ago, and I ultimately decided to get the audiobook as my first Audible purchase. Instead of reviewing the story itself (which is fabulous!), I wanted to share a few thoughts on the audiobook.

Narrated by Allan Corduner, the audiobook made me love the book even more that I already did. The narrator, Death, is brought to life through Allan’s narration. He is perfection! The setting is made richer with Allan’s German accent, and he gives each character a unique voice. It wasn’t hard to tell the different characters apart, which is often my complaint with audiobooks.

I will warn future listeners that it’s hard to follow at the very beginning. If I hadn’t already read the book, I think I might have been a little confused at first. So, stick it out for the first chapter or two and then you’ll be hooked!

So Quotable
"I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race - that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant."

6 comments

  1. This book.

    You're so right. How do you even talk about it other than READ IT NOW PLEASE?

    So many feels.

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  2. Oh this is wonderful!

    I LOVE doing audio for re-reads but I hadn't even THOUGHT of doing an audio re-read of this amazing book. THANK YOU for sharing your thoughts on it, though. Thank you thank you thank you.

    I think in nearly all cases, audio re-reads have made me love the books even more. I love that you mention this happened to you with this one. I'm gonna have to consider this audio in the future. Oh this is so exciting!

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    1. I know - audio re-reads are the best! I focus better on the audio because I'm actually familiar with the story already, so I think I can enjoy listening to it more than I do when it's a first time book.

      You should totally do an audio re-read of this book! It's so legit :)

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  3. Am i the only one slightly miffed by the German accent in the audiobook? The characters are German and speak German to eachother. Why would they be speaking with an accent? So distracting.

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    Replies
    1. It honestly didn't bother me, but I'm sure you're not the only one. I didn't think the German accent was odd since the book was in English. The accent just made sense to me when I was listening. But that doesn't mean it's for everyone!

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