The Book Thief
Historical Fiction Accessible Fictional
🇩🇪 German✡ Jewish / Holocaust
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
- Younger and adult readers alike
- A distinctive, humane narrative voice
- A widely loved entry point to WWII reading
Look elsewhere if you want
- Readers who dislike an unconventional 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
Picador / Knopf (2005)First edition.
PaperbackThe standard reading edition.
Read It Alongside
Number the Stars Lois Lowry · 1989 · ★ 4.5
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All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr · 2014 · ★ 4.5
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas John Boyne · 2006 · ★ 3.8
Historical Fiction Collector's Corner
A recent title; inexpensive and easy to find. Check current listings. → Check listings on AbeBooks.
Where to Buy
ISBN: 978-0375842207
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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.