The Book Thief
Death narrates the story of a German girl, her foster family, and the Jewish man hidden in their basement.
The Verdict
The Holocaust and the German home front through a child's eyes, narrated — unforgettably — by Death. Markus Zusak's novel follows Liesel, a foster child in a small German town, as she steals books, learns to read, and helps hide a Jewish man in the basement while the war closes in. The conceit of Death as narrator could have been a gimmick; instead it gives the book its strange tenderness and its unbearable foreknowledge. It has sold in the millions and become, for a whole generation, the first door into the war.
Who Should Read It
Read it if you want
- The German home front through a child's eyes
- A book for younger and adult readers alike
- A distinctive, humane narrative voice
- A widely loved entry point to WWII reading
Look elsewhere if you want
- A conventional narrator
- Military or political history
- A documentary treatment of the Holocaust
Why We Rated It 4.5
Historical Context
The Book Thief is set in a small German town during the war and is narrated by Death, following the foster child Liesel, her family, and the Jewish man they hide. Published in 2005, it became an international bestseller and was adapted into a 2013 film.
Events Covered
Editions & Reading Notes
Read It Alongside
Collector's Corner
Where to Buy
ISBN: 978-0375842207
Read This Against
The same events seen from a different vantage point. The fullest understanding often lives in the space between accounts that don't agree.
Other Books About the Same Events
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who narrates The Book Thief?
- Death narrates the novel — a device that gives the book its distinctive tone and its sense of impending loss.
- What age is it for?
- It is read widely by both young-adult and adult readers; its subject matter gives it real weight.