Book Review Club: "The Book Thief"

After reading several books this past year that were set, in part, in Nazi Germany, I swore I wouldn't read another book about that time period and the Holocaust for a long, long, time.  Don't get me wrong--I think it is very important to remember what happened during that time so that we never, ever allow it to happen again.  But those events and the blind hatred of Hitler and his followers are just too depressing; I want to read books that provide some escape or lift my spirits.  And yet, what did I read over Christmas break but another book set entirely in Nazi Germany--The Book Thief by Markus Zusak!

The Book Thief is the story of young Liesel who is sent to live with foster parents near Munich.  After witnessing the death of her younger brother and being separated from her mother, Liesel is haunted by nightmares.  The kindness and patience of her foster father, Hans Hubermann, eventually helps her to adjust to her new home, and she settles into a somewhat normal--if there could be such a thing as "normal" in 1939 Germany--life of a 10-year-old, playing soccer with the neighbor kids and getting into mischief with her new best friend, the irrepressible Rudy.

Liesel is fiesty and intelligent, but she doesn't do well in school.  After her brother's hasty burial, Liesel picks up a book dropped by one of the gravediggers and keeps it as a secret treasure, her last tangible connection to her brother.  When Hans discovers it under her pillow during one of his nightly vigils by her bedside, he suggests they read it together to improve Liesel's reading skills.  And so Liesel's discovery of the power of words begins.

This theme of the power of words is reinforced by Zuzak's use of imagery and frequent use of poetic syntax.

"Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain."

Zusak has an unconventional style; one of the most unusual aspects is that the novel is narrated by Death, who is responsible for giving Liesel the nickname "the book thief."  That may sound morbid, but this is not your typical Grim Reaper.  This figure of Death does not especially enjoy his work and often looks at the color of the sky to avoid looking at the faces of his victims.  When the victims are children, he takes special care and carries their souls tenderly.

"The consequence of this is that I'm always finding humans at their best and worst.  I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both."

With its subject matter and setting, the book is definitely sad at times, but not as much as one might expect.  Much of this is due to the author's focus on Liesel and her reactions to her environment.  For example:

• In a frenzied display of "patriotism," the citizens of Molching hold a book burning.  But Liesel uses this as an opportunity to steal another book.
•  As the war progresses, people in Germany are starving.  But Liesel never complains about the disgusting pea soup her foster mother fixes every night.  And she and Rudy join a band of young boys stealing apples from farmers' orchards, more for the excitement than for the nourishment.
•  When the neighborhood is forced into a cramped basement during air raids, Liesel reads to them from one of her stolen books, calming their fear.
• Jews are being forced out of their homes and their shops destroyed.  But Liesel has a Jew hiding her basement; Max and Liesel become fast friends, and they even build a snowman in the basement one day.

A winter storm this weekend has kept me homebound for several days--the perfect time to curl up under a cozy blanket with a good book.

The Book Thief has been targeted at older teen readers, but it is certainly a book that adults can appreciate as well.  One of my favorite parts of the novel is the story that Max writes for Liesel, "The Word Shaker."  Its message is powerful and full of hope:  that one day the seeds sown by friendship will grow strong enough to overpower the seeds sown by hatred.

Click icon for more
book review blogs
@Barrie Summy

Disclaimer: No compensation of any kind was received for this review. As always, I review only books I enjoy and think others would enjoy reading too. After downloading a sample of The Book Thief on my Kindle, I was hooked and checked out the book from my local library.

ABC Wednesday: Snow Day at Grandma's

The main topic of conversation these past few weeks, whether on the news or on blogs, has been the weather. Areas like the southern United States and parts of the UK unaccustomed to snow have been hit with unusually cold temperatures. I have such sympathy for people in these areas; it must be hard to watch gardens full of tender plants shrivel in the freezing temperatures, and traveling in places without a stockpile of tons of salt, not to mention snowplows, has to be dangerous.





Here in the heart of the Midwest, we are used to severe winters, but still it's not pleasant when the temperature drops to Zero or below, as it has for the past two weeks.**




Not only is it cold, but last Thursday six inches of snow fell here, and the winds picked up, creating hazardous road conditions and closing most of the schools for two days. When the weather is like this, I prefer to hibernate inside and don't venture out unless absolutely necessary. But what are working parents to do when they have to get to work, and the schools and daycares are closed? That's when Grandma comes to the rescue!


Youngest Grandson and Granddaughter came to stay on Thursday while Mom and Dad fought their way through snowdrifts. Of course, I'm always happy to have them here, and they find plenty of activities to entertain themselves. Early morning found them spending some time with "friends" Mickey, Winnie, and Handy Manny while Grandma fortified herself with her first cup of coffee and Sophie caught a few Zzzz's. Sophie doesn't leave Youngest Grandson's side very often:)

After playing in the basement playroom for awhile while Grandma finally took down her Christmas tree there, Granddaughter insisted we build a snowman. I had forgotten that it takes 30 minutes to put on snowsuits, hats, and mittens and another 30 to take them off, all for 15 minutes of play time outside.

We tried our best to build a snowman, but this snow was the light, fluffy kind that doesn't stick together. The snowman project was soon abandoned in favor of creating trails through the snow and a short-lived snowball fight.

"O Mother dear,

we sadly fear

that we have lost our mittens . . ."

Those darned mittens wouldn't stay on no matter what Grandma did, so it wasn't long before we had to go back inside.

Back in the cozy warmth of the living room, Grandson enjoyed sharing one of Sophie's favorite activities--bird-watching. We were in luck--the usual assorment of juncos, sparrows, and the downy-headed woodpeckers were busy at the feeders, despite the eyes at the window.

While they kept watch, Granddaughter and I hurried for the bird book to identify this new visitor--a red-bellied woodpecker. He was rather wary about coming too close, which is why this photo is not very clear. I rarely see one of these woodpeckers here, and I'm happy to say he's been visiting the feeders every day since then.



This inspired Granddaughter and I to try a new project--creating some simple birdfeeders out of pinecones, peanut butter, and birdseed. ShadyGardener posted instructions some time ago on how to create these, or you can find instructions here. This is a great activity and very easy to do with children. Granddaughter barely had time to make one before her parents arrived earlier than expected, but I finished a few more after she left.

The cardinals, especially, like these simple treats, as do the juncos or the sparrow pictured here. Apparently, it's time to make some more as this one has been picked clean already. Pinecones are in abundant supply here, so there shouldn't be any problem in keeping the birds happy with treats all winter long.

We have reached the Zenith, if you will, the end of the alphabet for round 5. ABC Wednesdays have been hosted for three years by Mrs. Nesbitt, but Denise is stepping down due to time constraints. Thank you, Denise, for sponsoring this for so long! While ABC Wednesday will probably continue under the sponsorship of someone else, I, too, am going to take a little break from this meme. While I may post some ABC's occasionally, I have plans for the next few months that will make posting and visiting on Tuesdays and Wednesdays rather difficult. I have met some wonderful people around the world through this meme, and I do plan to continue to visit you on Wednesdays as often as I can.

I leave you with one parting shot--what would one of my Z posts be like without a photo of my favorite Z---the Zinnia! This is what gets me through the winter!

"O Wind, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"

--Percy Shelley

More creative ideas for the letter Z from all over the world can be found here.

**The forecast for tomorrow and the next several days is for temperatures above freezing. Hooray! I might get out those summer clothes that I still haven't packed away:)

"Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful..."

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and time to relax from the often hectic pace of the season. We had both, although the weather was not very cooperative. In the past week we have run the gamut from frigid temperatures to a warm day in the 60's, from snow and ice to heavy thunderstorms with threats of tornadoes.

The forecast was for a white Christmas, and looking out across the lawn through my living room window last Tuesday, that seemed like a definite possibility.

However, what you can't tell from the photo is that while there is a light dusting of snow, most of the white you see is actually a sheet of ice! The day before saw wind chills below zero, then the next day it warmed up enough so that the predicted snow turned to freezing rain instead. Roads were covered with ice, making for very treacherous driving. Many holiday travellers found themselves stranded as flights were cancelled at O'Hare and other Midwest airports.


Yesterday temperatures soared into the sixties, and the ice melted, leaving flooded roads and fields in its wake. Heavy thunderstorms added to the mess. We did make it to my parents' house for a Christmas brunch and a nice afternoon with my brother and his family, although the constant warnings from the weather radio in the next room created some unease. I have to admit I was happy to get home safe and sound last night--to a thankfully dry basement.



The fluctuating temperatures and high winds at times left their mark. Our yard is littered with broken pine branches that will require some time to clean up as soon as the weather cooperates.


It's a colder, but more normal winter day today, but there is a strange yellow glow in the sky I haven't seen for awhile--oh, it's the sun shining! While we Illinoisans have been complaining about the weather all week, at least it's a nice change of pace from our usual topic of complaint these days--state politics:)


Despite the bad weather, we were able to have our Christmas celebrations as planned. Although several local churches had to cancel their Christmas Eve services, my children were able to get here for our family get-together on Christmas Eve, and everyone managed to navigate our ice-covered driveway without falling. Earlier in the day I was worried my husband would miss out on the fun of watching the children open their presents because he has been on call at nights this week for highway snowplowing duties. Fortunately, the roads were clear enough that he was able to spend Christmas Eve and Day with us.

Christmas presents were eagerly ripped open on Christmas Eve, and the grandchildren had a grand time playing with all their new toys until it was time for them to go home and get a little sleep before Santa came to their own houses the next day. My husband and I spent Christmas Day at home alone, which actually turned out to be very nice and peaceful. My husband appreciated the time to catch up on much-needed rest after spending several days of working twelve-hour shifts, and with a John Wayne film marathon on one TV channel and a James Bond marathon on another, he was perfectly content! I took advantage of his mid-afternoon nap to set up the new Wii Fit I received for Christmas. That's a good thing, since the holidays have been filled with too many tempting goodies.

My five-year-old granddaughter came over a few days before Christmas to help me bake Christmas cookies. We made several dozen cookies, although we would have had more if she hadn't eaten so much leftover cookie dough :0) Her favorite part is decorating, as you can see. I set out cans of decorator icing and all kinds of sprinkles and let her go at it.

Anyone need a sugar fix??

Although the festivities are over, the decorations and Christmas tree will stay up through New Year's Day, as is my usual custom. I like to savor the holiday spirit as long as I can and enjoy the familiar ornaments as well as a few new ones, including this one received just a few days before Christmas.

This lovely mitten ornament was made by Amy at Blossom, and I was the lucky winner of her giveaway! You might enlarge the photo to see the intricate embroidery and detail. Even though she is recovering from recent knee surgery, Amy managed to send these all the way from British Columbia just in time for Christmas. Thank you so much, Amy! I will treasure these mittens, and they will be hanging on my tree every year.

Again, I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas, and I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year!