Words, Colors & An Unlikely Narrator
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."
This book.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right. How do you even talk about it other than READ IT NOW PLEASE?
So many feels.
Yes. So many feels.
DeleteOh this is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI 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!
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.
DeleteYou should totally do an audio re-read of this book! It's so legit :)
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.
ReplyDeleteIt 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!
Delete