The Book Thief

The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak

Read by Allan Cordunner

Publisher: Random House

Price: £16.99 (Unabridged Audio CD)

I need to make one point before I start this review. This book is amazing! If you buy one audiobook this month – let it be this one. Markus Zusak, a prize winning children’s author, has created something special. So much so, that the minute the last CD finished (and I’d recovered by taking a very deep and shaky breath) I popped CD 1 back into the player.

It’s set in Germany in 1939 when Nazi membership is growing and Hitler is ‘Führer’. Death, our narrator, is very busy, but gets distracted by a little girl called Liesel Meminger while collecting her brother’s soul. Liesel is a particularly endearing and believable character. An attachment is built throughout the tale, as she grows in age and intelligence. Her relationships and her understanding of them are captivating.

Death has a dry sense of humour, he’s also compassionate and admits we humans (live ones that is) scare the life out of him. (no pun intended). ‘…trust me, I most definitely can be cheerful, I can be amiable, agreeable, affable and that’s only the a’s. Just don’t ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me.’

He finds himself the funeral of Liesel’s brother, and watches as Liesel, even though she can’t read, steals her first book, ‘The Grave Digger's Handbook’. Later, he will read Liesel’s own book, ‘The Book Thief’, when he steals it from the dustbin van.

It’s read well by Allan Cordunner. He reads Death’s humorous notes and asides (something I think I would have skipped had I been reading) with a quirk that adds to the character. Each ‘Part’ is listed: ‘Part 1. The Grave Digger’s Handbook. Featuring; Hemmel Street, the art of saumensching, an iron fisted woman, a kiss attempt, Jesse Owens, sand paper, the smell of friendship, a heavy weight champion and the mother of all vachens. Reiterating as he does, Zusak reveals his history in writing for children. It’s an oddity I often found a little patronising.

That said, it does not detract from the story. Liesel is put into foster care because her mother and father are communists. Not said, but almost certain is the obvious absence of her father. Communism is not tolerated in Nazi Germany, which also explains the later disappearance of her mother. She moves in with the Hubermanns in Molching, Munich. Residents would often stand on Himmel Street to watch the Jews staggering past to Dachau and the concentration camp.

In fabulous twist, Hitler’s book, "Mein Kampf" is used by Hans Hubermann to rescue a Jew, Max. He becomes ensconced in the Hubermann’s basement hiding from the Nazi regime. His friendship with Liesel is touching and heartbreaking. He makes books for her, painting over the pages of "Mein Kampf" and writing his own words. (An act that had me cringing in fear that the Brown Shirts would burst in and find them) Liesel builds Max an indoor snowman, something that even melts the caustic Rosa Hubermann’s heart.

Rudy Steiner is Liesel’s best friend. He’s blond haired and blue eyed, the perfect Aryan, apart from the fact that his hero is Jesse Owens. (The black Olympic winning medallist that Hitler refused to shake hands with; http://www.jesseowens.com/) Rudy is a fantastic runner himself and charcoals himself black at one point to run a race. His father’s reprimand on this is both humorous and horrifying as the Nazi regime is impressed on a child.

Through Liesel and Rudy’s adventures; the apple stealing, the book stealing and the hilarious daylight robbery for food, we are also aware of the horror of Nazi Germany, Hitler’s propaganda and the reeking, slinking movement of anti-Semitism.

Listen to this and weep.