The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - review

‘The humour in the novel stops it from being morbid, but it definitely leaves you feeling both raw and cleansed’

There aren’t many writers who could get away with the idea of death, the Nazis, and the burning of taboo books in one novel, but Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief, seems to achieve just that.

The book is narrated by Death himself, about the story of a young girl called Liesel, who is the epynonymous book thief. She lives with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann because her mother cannot afford to look after her and her young brother, who dies on the train journey on the way to the Hubermann’s home. It is also inferred during the novel, that Liesel’s mother is a communist.

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