The Book Thief by Markus ZusakMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The final line by the narrator of The Book Thief definitely sums it up - "I am haunted by humans." This book is a good reminder that, as humans, we all definitely have flaws in our judgement and in the time this book was written about - the human race was definitely going through a challenging time and having flawed judgement. It reminds us that we must not judge each other so harshly... that we must love each other for our differences... that we must not follow others without educating ourselves... that we must stand up for what's right... that we must remember that diversity is okay - we all don't have to be carbon copies of each other. Remember - that's what Hitler wanted!
This is not like most books about the Holocaust... it's from the perspective of a little girl who's considered a German, but whose mother is a communist (who were also segregated against in Germany at the time), whose foster father is a "jew lover" and who's best friend is a jew hiding in her foster parents basement. The narrator is "death" and describes how horrifying that time in our history was for the people living in Germany and the surrounding areas. I liked how it described the fact that the jews weren't the only people starving, struggling and being killed during that time. The German people also suffered quite a bit.
Great characters, great writing... a little long for my taste, but worth it.
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