Even death has a heart.

Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, takes us into the mind and emotions of the busiest entity in the Nazi Germany era, Death. The heroin of the novel, Liesel Meminger, is dubbed by Death as the book thief after she steals a book during one of her most unforgettable encounters with death. In a series of events to come, Liesel gets more opportunities to steal books that serve to be mementos of her life’s milestones.

It is not common for an author to write from the point of view of Death, especially if written with children as the main audience in mind. One of the novel’s appeals comes from the author’s humanely portrayal of Death, as the entity finds itself in awe with Liesel, after three encounters with her life. The author rewrites history as well with the contrast of violence and benevolence as seen through the presence of Liesel’s foster parents’ acts in the Nazi era. The power of words and having a voice in a time like this is also emphasized as Liesel learns to read the books that she steals with the help of her foster father, Hans. At the end, it is also her passion for reading and eventually writing her own life story that saved her from death.
An easy read, with a few German words to be learned, this novel is an award winning book and is still a favourite even after five years.