Author: Hanna

The Winners – World Book Day: Blogger Schenken Lesefreude (Bloggers Give Books)

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

To celebrate World Book Day and my First Blogoversary, I was doing a giveaway of the following three books: Life After Life by British author Kate Atkinson, the German edition of Y (“Hier könnte ich zur Welt kommen”) by Canadian author Marjorie Celona and the German edition of The Art of Fielding (“Die Kunst des Feldspiels”) by US author Chad Harbach.

Just so you know, all your answers were correct! 🙂 Unfortunately, not all of you lovely entrants got to win something. The winners were chosen at random by Giveaway Tools. I’ve already contacted them, but to make things official, here they are. They’ve got 72 hours to reply to my e-mail.

Thank you for entering!

Blogger Schenken Lesefreude Banner

Also: A big “Thank You” goes out to Dumont Verlag and Insel Verlag for offering the two German-language books to give away to two lucky readers!

 Kate Atkinson Life After Life
Life After Life
Image provided by Transworld¹
Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life goes to: Melanie D.
You can also double-check in the Entry-Form
 Marjorie Celona “Hier könnte ich zur Welt kommen“
Hier könnte Ich zur Welt kommen
Image provided by Insel Verlag²
Marjorie Celona’s “Hier könnte ich zur Welt kommen” goes to: Bettina
You can also double-check in the: Entry-Form
Chad Harbach “Die Kunst des Feldspiels”
Die Kunst des Feldspiels Cover
Image provided by Dumont Verlag³
Chad Harbach’s “Die Kunst des Feldspiels” goes to: WolfgangB
You can also double-check in the: Entry-Form
¹ http://www.transworldbooks.co.uk/editions/life-after-life/9780552776639
² http://www.suhrkamp.de/buecher/hier_koennte_ich_zur_welt_kommen-marjorie_celona_17562.html
³ http://www.dumont-buchverlag.de/buch/Chad_Harbach_Die_Kunst_des_Feldspiels/12836

Review – The Quick by Lauren Owen

~ Hanna ~ 8 Comments

Hello,

I’ve been very excited for Lauren Owen’s The Quick to be out since I’ve first heard about it. Naturally, I had to get it as soon as it hit the stores. You probably heard that the novel holds a plot twist that should remain secret under all circumstances. For me, this plot twist was spoiled by comparisons of The Quick to other novels. If something similar happened (or happens) to you, I can still recommend reading this novel, as the plot twist isn’t what should make you read it in the first place. 😉

The Quick
Image provided by Random House UK¹
Synopsis quoted from Random House UK¹:

You are about to discover the secrets of The Quick

But first you must travel to Victorian Yorkshire, and there, on a remote country estate, meet a brother and sister alone in the world and bound by tragedy. In time, you will enter the rooms of London’s mysterious Aegolius Club – a society of some of the richest, most powerful men in fin-de-siecle England. And at some point – we cannot say when – these worlds will collide.

It is then, and only then, that a new world emerges, one of romance, adventure and the most delicious of horrors – and the secrets of The Quick are revealed.

My Thoughts:

In The Quick, Lauren Owen takes us to 19th century England. I particularly like the different moods she creates. The Norburys’ childhood home in Yorkshire has a fairytale-esque touch to it. It’s like seen through a crystal globe. London on the other hand, has its bright and glamorous and its dark, mysterious sides that will become very clear to you.

James and Charlotte Norbury are the main characters of this Gothic novel. James is a well-read young man, but I find Charlotte more interesting than him. Her sweet and caring character develops into a strong-minded and brave woman without losing her original traits.

The Quick is divided in five parts. Each part has its strengths and weaknesses. My favorite part is “Part One”. Something is revealed in this part and could be rather shocking for some of you. What Ms Owen does here is genius. (This isn’t the plot twist I was talking about above). The novel slows down in “Part Two” and only starts to pick up speed during “Part Three” again. Fortunately, the last two parts make up for the dragging middle of the novel. The Quick finishes with an exciting, emotional and fast-paced story. But still, Ms Owen leaves us with some loose ends. One of them is very obvious and I don’t mind it at all, because it’s a good stylistic device. But there is another one concerning a secondary character who did something and whose fate is left unmentioned. It seems like he was forgotten about.

I recommend The Quick to fans of beeep who like to read beeep. Well this doesn’t work. You shouldn’t be thin-skinned for this novel, but don’t be afraid, even someone as easily scared as I am was able to read it. The Quick isn’t a thriller, it isn’t romance either. The Quick is a good novel.

4beans

¹ http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/the-quick/9780224096386

Review – Humans: An A-Z by Professor Andrew Martin edited by Matt Haig

~ Hanna ~ 2 Comments

Hi,

It’s been almost a year since I’ve been thoroughly entertained by Matt Haig‘s The Humans. Now, his main character Professor Andrew Martin takes the stage and presents us with a dictionary that also acts as a survival guide: Humans: An A-Z

Humans: An A-Z
Image provided by Canongate¹
Synopsis provided by Canongate¹:

DO YOU
A) Know a human?
B) Love a human?
C) Have trouble dealing with humans?
IF YOU’VE ANSWERED YES TO ANY OF THE ABOVE, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU

Whether you are planning a high level of human interaction or just a casual visit to the planet, this user-guide to the human race will help you translate their sayings, understand exotic concepts such as ‘democracy’ and ‘sofas’, and make sense of their habits and bizarre customs.

A phrase book, a dictionary and a survival guide, this book unravels all the oddness, idiosyncrasies and wonder of the species, allowing everyone to make the most of their time on Earth.

My Thoughts:

It is great to finally have someone explain humans to us and it is much better if this someone is Professor Andrew Martin. Only he, not being a human himself, can give us quasi-objective descriptions of certain characteristics unique to this species.

Don’t be afraid, this book isn’t your usual dry, scientific text-book. You will hop from term to term and you probably won’t get enough. Professor Andrew Martin has lived with humans long enough to know what they are like. More than once, you will be nodding in agreement. Sometimes, you will have to laugh out loud. Once in a while, you will ask yourself if this alien has found a way to look inside the human soul.

No matter if you are human or alien, Humans: An A-Z is a must-have companion. After reading, you will know much more about humans than you knew before and it will give you comfort in times of distress.

5beans

¹http://www.canongate.tv/an-a-z-of-the-human-race-ebook.html

Win Books – World Book Day: Blogger Schenken Lesefreude (Bloggers Give Books)

~ Hanna ~ 7 Comments
Happy World Book Day Book Lovers!

To celebrate World Book Day and my First Blogoversary, I’m giving away books to three lucky people. Life After Life by British author Kate Atkinson, the German edition of Y (“Hier könnte ich zur Welt kommen”) by Canadian author Marjorie Celona and the German edition of The Art of Fielding (“Die Kunst des Feldspiels”) by US author Chad Harbach. Please be aware of the terms & conditions of each giveaway. While the Life After Life giveaway is open internationally (some restrictions do apply), the “Hier könnte ich zur Welt kommen” giveaway and the “Die Kunst des Feldspiels” giveaway are only open to participants with an Austrian mail address*. You have time to enter from today until April 30, 2014. Good luck!

Blogger Schenken Lesefreude Banner

A big “Thank You” goes out to Dumont Verlag and Insel Verlag for offering the two German-language books to give away to two lucky readers!

*I would have loved to open these giveaways for EU participants, but the Austrian Post is ridiculously expensive. Mailing a book within Austria costs more than Germans pay at German Post to mail a book within the EU. The Austrian Post charges almost 10 € to mail a book from Austria to a EU country. 😦 I hope you understand. You can still enter the Life After Life giveaway if The Book Depository ships to your country for free.

 Kate Atkinson Life After Life
Life After Life
Image provided by Transworld¹
  • You can participate as long as The Book Depository ships to your country for free.
  • You have to be 16 or older to participate.
  • The giveaway runs from April 23, 2014 until April 30, 2014.
  • Be fair! One entry per person/immediate family/household.
  • I am not responsible for lost or damaged items. There will be one winner who will receive one English language paperback copy of Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, sponsored by All That Magic.
  • You you have to enter through Giveaway Tools.
  • The winner will be selected at random and notified via e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, another winner will be drawn.
  • The personal information you enter will only be used to contact you in case you win. It will be deleted after the giveaway.
  • I can amend and interpret these official rules at any time, and terminate, suspend or cancel the giveaway at any time for any reason.
  • All decisions are final.
If you want to enter the Life After Life giveaway, click this link: Entry-Form
 Marjorie Celona “Hier könnte ich zur Welt kommen“
Hier könnte Ich zur Welt kommen
Image provided by Insel Verlag²
  • You have to have an Austrian shipping address!
  • You have to be 16 or older to participate.
  • The giveaway runs from April 23, 2014 until April 30, 2014.
  • Be fair! One entry per person/immediate family/household.
  • I am not responsible for lost or damaged items. There will be one winner who will receive one German language hardcover copy of Marjorie Celona’s “Hier könnte ich zur Welt kommen”, sponsored by Insel Verlag.
  • You you have to enter through Giveaway Tools.
  • The winner will be selected at random and notified via e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, another winner will be drawn.
  • The personal information you enter will only be used to contact you in case you win. It will be deleted after the giveaway.
  • I can amend and interpret these official rules at any time, and terminate, suspend or cancel the giveaway at any time for any reason.
  • All decisions are final.
If you want to enter the “Hier könnte ich zur Welt kommen” giveaway, click this link: Entry-Form
Die Frage ist auf Englisch. Die Antwort ist aber in beiden Sprachen fast gleich. Solltest du Probleme haben etwas zu verstehen, kannst du mich gerne fragen.
Chad Harbach “Die Kunst des Feldspiels”
Die Kunst des Feldspiels Cover
Image provided by Dumont Verlag³
  • You have to have an Austrian shipping address!
  • You have to be 16 or older to participate.
  • The giveaway runs from April 23, 2014 until April 30, 2014.
  • Be fair! One entry per person/immediate family/household.
  • I am not responsible for lost or damaged items. There will be one winner who will receive one German language paperback copy of Chad Harbach’s “Die Kunst des Feldspiels”, sponsored by Dumont Verlag.
  • You you have to enter through Giveaway Tools.
  • The winner will be selected at random and notified via e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, another winner will be drawn.
  • The personal information you enter will only be used to contact you in case you win. It will be deleted after the giveaway.
  • I can amend and interpret these official rules at any time, and terminate, suspend or cancel the giveaway at any time for any reason.
  • All decisions are final.
If you want to enter the “Die Kunst des Feldspiels” giveaway, click this link: Entry-Form
Die Frage ist auf Englisch. Die Antwort ist aber in beiden Sprachen gleich. Solltest du Probleme haben etwas zu verstehen, kannst du mich gerne fragen.
¹ http://www.transworldbooks.co.uk/editions/life-after-life/9780552776639
² http://www.suhrkamp.de/buecher/hier_koennte_ich_zur_welt_kommen-marjorie_celona_17562.html
³ http://www.dumont-buchverlag.de/buch/Chad_Harbach_Die_Kunst_des_Feldspiels/12836

Review – Die Seltsamen / The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hi,

About two weeks ago, I got to read the German edition of Stefan Bachmann‘s The Peculiar which was originally published by Harper Collins in 2012. It’s called Die Seltsamen and Diogenes publishers provided me with a review copy. Thank you.

What’s worth mentioning, is the effort Diogenes made to promote the upcoming release of the book. Weeks before the release, bloggers all over Germany were sent black feathers and got the message that Bath had vanished. They were encouraged to find out what had happened and were fed more clues at the Magisches Labor (translates to Magical Laboratory) where they were also able to speculate and communicate with each other.

Die Seltsamen Cover
German book cover provided by Diogenes¹
The Peculiar Cover
English book cover provided by Harper Collins²
Synopsis quoted from HarperCollins²:

Don’t get yourself noticed and you won’t get yourself hanged.

In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings—Peculiars—and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.

One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley—Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.

First he’s noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

My Thoughts:

For The Peculiar, Stefan Bachmann uses a 19th century England backdrop to create an alternate steampunk world. Bachmann’s love for detail is apparent and it is his great talent. I particularly liked how he described the clockwork birds that play an important role in the novel.

Bartholomew Kettle and Arthur Jelliby are the main characters in The Peculiar. This way, Bachmann manages to capture both adult and young adult readers – at least theoretically. Unfortunately, I couldn’t empathize with neither of them. Bartholomew is just a little boy who wants to live a normal life and Arthur Jelliby seems actually quite insecure (sometimes even heartless), no matter his actions. I also always imagined the latter to be a middle-aged man rather than the young man he is said to be.

Most of the time, The Peculiar is a slow-paced book, even though the plot would require the considerably faster pace that it picks up near the end. As I’ve mentioned before, I wasn’t able to empathize with the main characters. This is why, at some point, I stopped caring about the future of Bartholomew, Hettie and Mr Jelliby. I really enjoyed the world Bachmann created, but he just couldn’t hook me with his story that ends with a huge cliffhanger and left me indifferent.

One more thing though: Stefan Bachmann wrote The Peculiar when he was 16 years old! I think he did great for that age. Not many can write a book at 16. Still, my review was not written with his age in mind. It should simply show you what it was like for me to read his novel.

2beans(actually 2.5 magic beans)

¹ http://www.diogenes.ch/leser/katalog/nach_autoren/a-z/b/9783257068887/buch

² http://harpercollins.com/books/The-Peculiar-Stefan-Bachmann/?isbn=9780062195180

Blog Birthday – One Year Of All That Magic

~ Hanna ~ 5 Comments

Hello there,

It’s our birthday today!

A year ago I started this little blog and I had no idea what it would turn out to be. And here it is, ready for toddler’s group 😀

I’m reading a lot more than I used to read which is time well spent I think. I’m also spending way too much time reading tweets. Something I didn’t do before I started blogging. So this is something that I probably shouldn’t do. I’m still not writing as many culinary blog posts as I want to, simply because they are very time-consuming, just like university is right now. (kudos to all those food bloggers out there) So I try to combine things that easily match: Reading and writing for pleasure and reading and writing for university. 😉

birthday balloons

I have two birthday presents for you, my loyal readers!

The first one is the book-related questionnaire down below. (I got tagged by Sandra a couple of weeks ago).

The second present is actually more than one. On World Book Day (April 23), you’ll get the chance to win one of three books. This is part of a huge blogger giveaway called Blogger Schenken Lesefreude (unofficial translation: Bloggers Give Books) and is organized by Christina and Dagmar. But more about that at a later date.

And now, let’s be merry 😀 I hope you enjoy this little tag. I won’t tag anyone. If you, however, insist to be tagged, I can do that. Just drop me a line.

Either – Or
Slim book or weighty tome?

I love books with lots of pages to get lost in. 🙂

Second-hand or new?

That depends. Of course, who doesn’t love a new book, fresh out of the press? I do! But I don’t mind a clean second-hand copy if I know I’ll just read it once and bring it back to the open book exchange.

Historical fiction or fantasy?

Can I please have a mix of both genres?

Hardback or paperback?

Paperbacks are so convenient if you have a low-budget (like I do) and if you want to take them with you everywhere you go! I love them. But I also don’t say no to beautiful and special hardcover editions of great books I’ve read.

Funny or sad?

I love drama. I love to read books that hurt. So if I have to choose, I’ll choose sad. Nevertheless, books with the right amount of humor are great!

Summer or winter reader?

I think I read as much in winter as I read in summer. I don’t have any preferences concerning the right reading temperature or weather. Imagine that: “Oh it’s way too hot outside. I don’t read when it’s hot,” or “Did you hear the news? They issued a storm warning. You can’t read during a storm!”

Classics or contemporary fiction?

It all depends on how you define classics…

Self-help books or novels?

If I’m in a situation that requires a self-help book, I’ll go for that. They can come in very handy sometimes! Other than that, I prefer novels.

Crime fiction or thrillers?

Neither! I’m easily scared.

Ebook or print book?

Same answer as for paperbacks vs hardbacks.

Hoarding or throwing out?

Hoarding. I admit it. I’m a book hoarder. And so is my dad. There is no denying who I got that from. Although he started putting some of his read books into the open book exchange.

Online bookshops or traditional bookstores?

I love to browse traditional bookstores. Unfortunately, over here many of them have hardly any English books for sale. Forget browsing. And the few books they have are irrationally expensive. This is why I have to buy most of the books I read from online stores.

Bestseller or shelf warmer?

I read what I like. No matter if it’s a bestseller or not.

Cook book or baking book?

As many cook books include baking recipes, I’ll choose the cook book. Clever, eh?

 
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Review – Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hello there,

It’s me again! I had to get this out of my system. Last night, I finished Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. The last instalment in the Southern Vampire Mysteries also called Sookie Stackhouse Novels. I’m not very happy about it. But read for yourself. First, here’s a list of all the books in the series:

  1. Dead Until Dark
  2. Living Dead in Dallas
  3. Club Dead
  4. Dead to the World
  5. Dead as a Doornail
  6. Definitely Dead
  7. All Together Dead
  8. From Dead to Worse
  9. Dead and Gone
  10. Dead in the Family
  11. Dead Reckoning
  12. Deadlocked
  13. Dead Ever After
Dead Ever After
Image provided by Penguin USA¹
Synopsis quoted from Penguin USA¹:

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart….
Sookie Stackhouse finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.
Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.
But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…

My Thoughts:

We’re back in Bon Temps and not much has changed setting-wise. Only Sookie’s garden is much greener now and the description of it read wonderfully.

While the setting didn’t change all that much, some characters have. One of them is Eric. We don’t get to see him a lot but his decisions speak volumes. Sam is also acting very strange and it isn’t possible to warm up to him like in the previous books. At least we can count on Sookie, the main character in the series. She’s still the same, tanning in the sun and serving the customers at Merlotte’s.

Dead Ever After is the last book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries and unfortunately, it doesn’t do them justice. As expected, there are many goodbyes. There is a murder that is not solved completely, as the one person responsible for the murder is not even looked for. I was so surprised to see the novel end and everyone off the murder case. If you are looking for emotions other than heartbreak, look elsewhere. Charlaine Harris gave her series a reasonable ending. But do readers of paranormal romance really want to read about reasonable and boring situations, or do they read these novels because they are full of thrill, adventure and emotions?

2beans

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Review – The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams

~ Hanna ~ 4 Comments

Hi,

I’ve been planning to read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams for years now. I finally managed to do so. I have to thank my Summer Santa for this lovely edition 🙂

The Hitchhiker's Guide To Galaxy
Image provided by Pan Macmillan¹
Synopsis quoted from Pan Macmillan¹:

It’s an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards to make way for a new hyperspace bypass and his best friend has just announced that he’s an alien. At this moment, they’re hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and an innocuous-looking book inscribed with the big, friendly words: DON’T PANIC.

The weekend has only just begun…

Volume one in the trilogy of five

My Thoughts:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a 1979 science fiction novel by English author Douglas Adams. I own a paperback edition published in 2009 by Pan Books. It comes with various stickers to customize the cover.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is mainly set on spaceships and strange planets. I like how Douglas Adams describes the different spacecraft. They are easy to orient yourself on. What I particularly like, is the setting he created on the last planet in the book. It feels very realistic and a bit scary at first.

The main character, Arthur Dent, is easy to empathize with, as he is human. The reader also sympathizes with him because he lost his planet. All the other characters are aliens, although you wouldn’t notice that if it weren’t for their looks. If you’d just open the book at a random page and read a random dialogue, you’d never guess that it wasn’t a conversation between humans.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is an entertaining novel. Many very weird and unthinkable things happen throughout the book. The novel has an open ending which should probably encourage you to buy the next instalment in the series. Unfortunately, this ending is what destroys the experience. It comes too abruptly. I don’t think that The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is laugh-out-loud funny, but it is funny because it is weird and sometimes nonsensical. If you like that kind of stuff, you’re in for a treat. I also think you should be willing to read the other instalments in the series if you are planning on reading the first one.

3beans

¹http://www.panmacmillan.com/book/douglasadams/thehitchhikersguidetothegalaxy?format=978033050853701

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Review – Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (Reread)

~ Hanna ~ 5 Comments

Oops… I did it again 😀

When I first got the chance to read Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life it was in German, and I have loved it since then and decided that I had to read the English original someday. It’s been a year since this novel was first published and Black Swan released a truly beautiful paperback edition of Life After Life this January. Fortunately, I was provided with a copy to read in a Lovelybooks online book club. Thank you Random House UK!

So here is my second review of this truly amazing novel:

Life After Life
Image provided by Transworld¹

Life After Life is a 2013 novel by British writer Kate Atkinson. This review will be about the paperback edition, published by Black Swan in January 2014.

As the title Life After Life suggests, Ursula Todd lives her life more than once. During the Great War, she grows up among her four siblings in England. In her numerous lives, Ursula relives the Great War and World War II, repeatedly travels to the continent and tries to find ways for people to survive.

Kate Atkinson’s onomatopoeic language and her vivid descriptions make the setting of Life After Life very realistic. As mentioned in my first review, the reader constantly feels as if they were inside the book. Kate Atkinson also manages to create a different feel for every setting, that way, war for example does feel different depending in which country Ursula goes through it. Atkinson is brilliant at creating settings.

Ursula, the main character, is a very flexible character. Although she stays the same person, she develops from life to life, adapting to the given circumstances. Another great character is Ursula’s mother Sylvie Todd. Sylvie is struggling with the changing society. The tension between the person she wants to be and the person she has to be is palpable. Unlike Ursula, Sylvie isn’t able to develop much throughout the book.

Life After Life features a very unique plot. Even though Ursula’s life repeats itself multiple times, it never gets boring. When you first read this book, you have no idea how Kate Atkinson will make Ursula relive her lives. You will ask yourself if she has any control over the process or not. These are questions that you may find answers for in the book. Life After Life is a novel that caters for all tastes. It doesn’t fall short of sorrow and happiness and leaves more than enough room for thought.

5beans

¹http://www.transworldbooks.co.uk/editions/life-after-life/9780552776639

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Review – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

~ Hanna ~ Leave a comment

Hi,

Today I’m going to review Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief for you.

You’ll notice a different structure on this and some of my upcoming reviews as I’m practicing for an exam that includes writing reviews and I’ll just stick to the structure that is expected at university. If you like it better than my usual review structure, you can tell me that. If you like the other structure better, you can also tell me. I’m planning on switching back after the exam, but if you are all in favor of this new structure, I can also stick to it.

The Book Thief
Image provided by Transworld¹

The Book Thief is a 2005 novel by Australian writer Markus Zusak. The edition I own is a paperback edition published in 2007 by Black Swan, a division of Transworld Publishers.

The Book Thief is about nine-year-old Liesel Meminger who is sent to live with the Hubermanns, a foster family living in a fictional town called Molching. She soon warms up to her foster-father Hans and her new best friend Rudy. Her foster-mother Rosa takes some getting used to. Liesel settles in, learns to read and takes up stealing books. One day, a young man enters the Hubermanns’ kitchen. His name is Max and he is a Jew hiding from the Nazis.

Zusak’s visual description of the setting and his vivid writing style make you believe you were a character in his novel. Walking the town of Molching with its little stores and shabby houses feels very real. Just like Liesel holding a burning book to her chest. Markus Zusak knows how to show the reader what he imagines.

The Book Thief features mainly well-crafted characters. Liesel is depicted realistically, as she turns from the shy and hesitant young girl to a brave rascal with a big heart. Like every child, she doesn’t always think about the consequences of her actions. I enjoyed the well-rounded characterization of Liesel’s loving foster-father Hans and I wish Rosa would have gotten similar treatment. As Rosa is a very reserved person, it could also be that Markus Zusak didn’t want us to know too much about Rosa. She should be as much a mystery to us as she is to Liesel. The Book Thief is narrated by Death and Markus Zusak couldn’t have chosen a better narrator. Death has a good sense of humor and keeps you glued to the pages.

So what is the overall reading experience? While The Book Thief instantly sucks you in, it slows down in the middle mainly because day-to-day events are recounted and nothing happens that stays in your mind. I couldn’t find a real climax throughout the book. Not even the scene near the end has that much impact. The ending itself, however, is satisfying. What I particularly liked was that the book features many Bavarian words and expressions which worked very well and added to the sarcastic tone the narrator created. As a person living near Bavaria, I can tell you that Markus Zusak did his research. What did not work were the printed illustrated pages of a book within this edition of the novel. They were very hard to read and quickly became annoying. The Book Thief is a solid novel that is suitable for very young readers as it leaves out many of the horrors of the time. For adults and young adults who know that millions of people died a cruel death during the Nazi regime, the book might turn out be a bit too soft.

3beans

¹http://www.transworldbooks.co.uk/editions/the-book-thief/9780552773898

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