ISBN: 9780552773898Publisher: A Black Swan Book by Transworld Publishers
Website: http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/
Copyright © Markus Zusak 2005
Illustrations Copyright © Trudy White 2005
Author Website: Markus Zusak
554 Pages, Paperback
Narrated by Death, this is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl trying to survive the hardships and deprivations of Germany during WWII. It is the story of a street “Himmel Street” and its inhabitants, and the town of Molching close neighbour to Dachau Concentration Camp. Perhaps it’s the story of the ordinary German people too, not the ones that went to fight, but the ones that were left behind, the children, the women and the men.
The characters, the places, the emotions were so exquisitely drawn that I found myself standing on Himmel Street, watching the football games, or the marching Hitler Youth, or walking alongside Liesel as she delivered the ironing to her foster mother’s customers.
With Death as a constant companion, telling the story, complaining a little about all the work he had to do at that particular time, and how sometimes he was bound to get involved in individual stories if he wasn’t careful. He was amusing and forthright. A surprisingly good story teller in fact.
This story deeply moved me. I cannot begin to explain the laughter and the tears that came in equal measure when reading. I’m not prone to tears, so I must leave it to you to draw your own conclusions in that regard.
An excellent book and one that I would recommend to anyone.
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