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The Book Thief - MUST read

130 replies

katiekittlemouse · 05/11/2008 21:05

I have just finished this book - it's brilliant! Well written, unusual, harrowing, sad, and in parts funny....
Everyone should read it!! What did you think?
It sits now on my shelf of the best books I've ever read with The Secret History, Shantaram and The Kite Runner.

OP posts:
CoteDAzur · 03/01/2009 16:08

At which point does The Book Thief get "brilliant", then? Because as of page 417, it is shallow, childish, and toe-curlingly dull.

juuule · 03/01/2009 17:14

Cote, I think if you've not 'got it' by now you probably aren't going to Sounds like it might not be your cup of tea.

In no way would I apply the adjectives that you've used in your last post to describe this book.

expatinscotland · 03/01/2009 17:16

Cote, you and I appear to have similar taste in books.

I'll be giving this one a miss.

I found both 'House at Riverton' and 'Atonement' steaming piles, IYKWIM.

CoteDAzur · 03/01/2009 19:01

(How to put this nicely...)

I honestly do not think that this is a case of me not 'getting it'. It is as transparent and 2-dimensional a book as I've ever read (and that is against some competition).

Is there a level to this book that you feel I may have missed? An allegory perhaps? For example, you need to know that "Lord of the Flies" is the literal translation of Beelzebub (= Devil) to properly understand that book. Was there such a key to appreciating the depth of The Book Thief?

Or, is it possible that this is a simple children's book with a very simple plot and paper-thin characters?

ahfeckit · 03/01/2009 19:08

I started reading it 22nd dec last year and finished it Christmas Eve. Reallly enjoyed it, brilliant read.

ahfeckit · 03/01/2009 19:10

couldn't put the book down, it was so bloody good. and when i wasn't reading about it i was fantasising about how it would end.

will read the book again in a year's time to remind myself of how amazing a read it was!!!!

CoteDAzur · 03/01/2009 19:24

Atonement was another book chosen by our book club. I didn't mind it, because Ian McEwan is a first rate author. Or possibly because previous choices were so badly written and dull.

If the writer is not great, he should have a great story. Ian McEwan doesn't have good stories (and sometimes even has no story at all, like in Saturday) but has singular insight into the human psyche. Some other authors I have read and loved are not terribly gifted, but have amazing stories to tell (like Neal Stephenson) that blow you away.

What pisses me off with pea-brained "bestseller" books like 1000 Splendid Suns and The Book Thief is that there is nothing special about the story and there is nothing special about the author. Just a lot of heart string tugging.

CoteDAzur · 03/01/2009 19:25

ahfeckit - Boring Xmas family get-together, eh?

CoteDAzur · 03/01/2009 19:40

expat - I think you would like this book:
Miracles Of Life
J. G. Ballard

(He is the author of Empire Of The Sun and the controversial Crash and this is his autobiography)

expatinscotland · 03/01/2009 19:53

Snap, Cote. I loved Empire of the Sun and Crash.

I'll reserve this one in the library when I go next week if I don't find it on the shelves.

I couldn't agree more with your philosophy, btw.

I really like Ransom, for example, because it was an intriguing and different story.

Others, the writing is just so good, it can't help win you over - The Blind Assassin, for example.

A lot of what's on the bestseller list, nowadays, however, I liken to the latest 'feel good' movie.

And I just ain't feelin' it .

ahfeckit · 03/01/2009 20:39

t'was a tad boring at Christmas but reading that amazing book made it little less boring

CoteDAzur · 03/01/2009 20:41

I'm genuinely curious. What did you think was so "amazing" about The Book Thief?

ahfeckit · 03/01/2009 20:45

it was set during the war, related to Nazi Germany and was beautifully written in a unique style. I liked the funny bits at the start of each chapter or throughout the chapters, written by death. it was rather amusing at times, even if the story itself was rather sad. poor Liesel was just doomed losing her mother and then her foster parents. At least Max was their for her in the end.

ahfeckit · 03/01/2009 20:47

there instead of their. oops

CoteDAzur · 03/01/2009 21:07

There are only about 10,000 other novels based in Nazi Germany, so I assume you didn't feel the setting was that unique

Those "funny bits" really annoy me, because they make Death sound like a particularly dim 8 year old. All those lists. Here is the definition of this and that. Sky is the color of Jews. I like this color and that color. Wth? You are the immortal predator, the timeless spectator of all history. And that is all you have to say?

expatinscotland · 03/01/2009 21:10

Yikes. I would find this juvenile and extremely annoying, too, Cote.

TotalChaos · 03/01/2009 21:22

I thought that the "sky is the color of Jews" was reasonably clever writing - as referring to the smoke that came from concentration camp crematoria and would have been visible to residents of nearby areas.

multitasker · 03/01/2009 21:25

Is The Blind Assasin good - I've had it on my pile to read for ages now, am in the middle of The Tennant of Wildfell Hall - got it in a library clear out for 20p!!

preggydonuts · 03/01/2009 21:26

I really liked the book thief and recommend it to everyone.

janeite · 03/01/2009 21:29

I loved "The Tennant of Wildfell Hall". You got yourself a bragain there!

multitasker · 03/01/2009 21:34

Jan - I am enjoying it and have no idea how it will all pan out.

bagsforlife · 03/01/2009 22:20

Still agree with Cote D'Azur, 'tis a dreadfully badly written book. Utter rubbish.

blackrock · 04/01/2009 09:58

Talking in Whispers by Watson, James

Great book

CoteDAzur · 05/01/2009 13:03

Just finished The Book Thief.

Worst
Book
Ever

I know it is written for teenagers, but still...

ilovelovemydog · 05/01/2009 14:54

Cote, did you like The Alchemist? Because I heard it was great, but must be the only person who hated it. I mean hated it...

Heard they are similar, that's all.