tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918571665206465367.post7810695479647707791..comments2023-10-09T11:20:24.101-04:00Comments on The Literate Man, a Book Blog for Men: The Book Thief (Markus Zusak) (6.5/10.0)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918571665206465367.post-36360551200438945412010-08-20T08:13:44.359-04:002010-08-20T08:13:44.359-04:00@Jessica, now that you remind me of it, I too like...@Jessica, now that you remind me of it, I too liked the portrayal of the neighborhood, especially the kids at play. It has been a while since I've read a book that so accurately depicts what it's like to be a kid among kids just trying to have fun around the neighborhood.<br /><br />@Greg, I absolutely agree that the words-as-power theme is a very interesting one, but I think that's where the book lost me. While the ideas of the book were powerful, I thought that the language of the book itself was rather bland. Thinking back on it, my reading of this book was punctuated by readings of Matterhorn, The Ask, and A Fierce Radiance (all of which I loved). Maybe I would have felt more of the force of the story if I had read it straight through. As I said, too many people whose opinions I respect absolutely loved this book, so I'm more than willing to believe that it was my own reading that left me wanting.<br /><br />@Chelle, you're absolutely right that using the voice of death allowed Zusak to take a much broader view of the war, and it was effective in that sense. At the same time, by taking the broader view, I thought that some detail was lacking in his depiction of the neighborhood and the action. I guess it's a trade-off and Zusak certainly made the right choice from a perspective of popular interest.Patrick (at The Literate Man)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05126952182728811711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918571665206465367.post-4161141216454926032010-08-19T17:07:38.802-04:002010-08-19T17:07:38.802-04:00I really liked this book and especially liked Deat...I really liked this book and especially liked Death as the narrator. I liked reading a story about survival from Death's perspective. I think Death gave me a broader view of Liesel's story and a unique reading experience. Death's voice leant an authority to talk about war that I don't think I would have found believable from an unknown third person narrator. Death was able to show me more than a first person narrator may have as well. <br /><br />I too liked the social commentary and read more to see the community's outcome as much as to finish Liesel's story. In the end, it was the writing style that prompted me to keep turning pages. I guess Death just really worked for me.Chellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04506296443676360367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918571665206465367.post-63724008263328717412010-08-19T16:38:02.057-04:002010-08-19T16:38:02.057-04:00This was one of those books I held out on as long ...This was one of those books I held out on as long as I could, but when I finally did read it, I really enjoyed it. I thought the Death-as-narrator conceit worked fine. It just became something you got used to, but as a narrator, I thought he was fantastic. <br /><br />But to me, the story's profundity was in its message about the power of words and stories. That's what I liked about the book most - and, the idea of sympathizing with Germans during the war was interesting too, as you mention. <br /><br />My review from January is here, if you're interested: http://thenewdorkreviewofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-thief-power-of-words.html<br /><br />Enjoyed reading your take on it!Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918571665206465367.post-45110732906177550472010-08-19T16:22:06.337-04:002010-08-19T16:22:06.337-04:00I quite liked the 'community' within that ...I quite liked the 'community' within that street. I liked how all the different neighbours interacted with eachother from the women who spat at their front door every time she walked past to the hords of kids everywhere. I also liked the detachment showed that the people had with the war, they were more concerned with food shortages or their childrens welfare than the war until towards the end when people were bign sent away.<br /><br />I liked how the character death was used to show Starlingrad and to remind the reader that there are people in the war suffering much more. This could not have been shown if Liesel was narrating in 1st person.<br /><br />It was a very long book though and parts dragged a tad but overal I really liked it.Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08861424110678889637noreply@blogger.com