The Book Thief is a masterpiece written by the award winning author Markus Zusak. It is a historical fiction and the plot takes place in 1939’s Nazi Germany. What makes this book intriguing is the narration style. The narration style is a work of art in here. The book is told from Death’s perspective. Death, the reaper of souls. We follow the life of a little girl named Liesel, in midst of war time. It is essentially her coming of age story in which we get to see how war changes people, affects people and how their lives turn upside down. In the start of the story Liesel picks up a grave diggers’s handbook from the side of her brother’s grave. Her parents are sent to concentration camps and she is adopted by the Hubermanns family. There her foster father teaches her how to read and thus begins her love for books and words and her book thievings from Nazi book burnings and from the Mayor’s wife’s library. Times are tense and things are changing rapidly. Everything takes up a notch when her foster family hides a Jew in their basement. The writing style of this book makes every line tense, suspenseful, heartbreaking and at the same time there are moments which are incredibly heart warming. The characters are layered and unique. The plot is beautifully engaging. Every character has depth to them. Liesel’s foster father is someone who fought in the first world war and was injured because of that. He is an immensely interesting character who plays a major part in Liesel’s life. Rudy, Rosa, Max are all very intriguing and how their lives intertwined with Liesel’s is beautifully crafted. This story depicts the harsh realities of war. The narration from Death makes everything more tense and heart-rending. It is really a complex and impactful style of story telling. This book gives insight into the lives of civilians in the Nazi Germany. A must read book for everyone.

– Ariana