Nearing the Middle of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

         I am completely and utterly entranced by this novel in so many unexplainable ways! This is because it is so true and so heart breaking to hear the Holocaust story from the narrator talking about a little girl named Liesel Meminer. She is such an unfortunate child because her brother has just passed away, and now her parents are shipping her off to a foster home in the hands of her foster father named Hans Hubermann. I can see this story gradually gaining speed when Liesel picks up a fallen book from one of the gravediggers burying her dead brother, and is suddenly interested. This is probably the introduction, or beginning of her travels and troubles with book thievery during the Holocaust. I am definitely anticipating what happens next with Liesel because she is refusing to get out of the car to go into her new foster home, but I personally don't blame her, I would be pretty stubborn if all that had happened to me too!

      Although this book has definitely peaked my interest, there are a few things that I don't understand, or could use some revision. I am not very clear on the point of view of this book, because it is not from the point of view of Liesel, or any of her relatives. But if I were in Markus Zusak's shoes, I would base it on Liesel's reference. This is because it would be very interesting to find out how children related to the Holocaust and how they coped with all the harsh treatment based on race. I also wish that the author would emphasize Liesel's family a bit more because there has to be a huge reason why they are giving up their last child to a foster family. This underlying reason would also help the development of Liesel and her past. Other than these small changes, I am completely loving the structure of The Book Thief. 

      To finalize this blog post, I would love to discuss the movie based upon this book. I would love to see the visual of this mature topic and how the director sees the characters interacting. A few things that I definitely want present in the film are a corrupted society that definitely displays the ideals of the Holocaust and the importance of knowing how to change the future. Another aspect is a very shy, and reserved character to represent Liesel. And then later in the movie, a burst of her true curious self sparkles through her soul. Although I am not allowing myself to see the movie until I complete the book, I am still looking forward to how the author and director share common ideas!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816442/