The Book Thief

markus zusak

HERE IS A SMALL FACT:

YOU ARE GOING TO DIE.

1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.

Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with her foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

SOME MORE IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH.

It's a small story, about:
a girl
an accordionist
some fanatical Germans
a Jewish fistfighter
and quite a lot of thievery.

ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW:

DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES.

Genres historical fictionfictionyoung adultclassicshistoricalbook clubwarworld war iiholocaustaudiobook

584 pages, Paperback

First published September 1,2005

Literary awards

national jewish book award, book sense book of the year award, buxtehuder bulle, sydney taylor book award, prijs van de kinder- en jeugdjury vlaanderen, michael l. printz award, exclusive books boeke prize, rhode island teen book award, the quill award, zilveren zoen, teen read award, deutscher jugendliteraturpreis, association of jewish libraries, lincoln award, australian book industry award (abia), kathleen mitchell award, ena noel award, literaturpreis der jury der jungen leser, lovelybooks leserpreis, margaret a. edwards award,

Places

molching, germany,

This edition

Format: 584 pages, Paperback
Published: January 1, 2008 by Pan Macmillan Australia
ISBN: 9780330423304
ASIN: 0330423304
Language: English

Characters More characters

Liesel Meminger

A young, tomboyish pre-adolescent girl and the protagonist of The Book Thief. She is fostered by the Hubermanns when her father and mother, both Communists, are most likely sent to Dachau Concentration Camp although the book leaves its readers...
Hans Hubermann

Liesels foster father. He does not believe in the Nazi ways and tries to part from the Nazi party. He has eyes like silver and is very tall. He was taught the accordion by Maxs father.more...
Rudy Steiner

Liesels best friend and neighbor. Rudy makes no secret of his love for Liesel and continually asks her for a kiss.more...
Rosa Hubermann

The Book Thief:Liesels foul-mouthed, often aggravating, foster mother. She is very short, with an extremely wrinkled face, and has browny-grey elastic hair often tied up in a bun, and chlorinated eyes. To supplement the house...
Max Vandenburg

Max Vandenburg is a Jewish fist-fighter who hides in the Hubbermans basement for a small period of the Holocaust. more...
Death

I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo."So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. J.R.R....

About the author

markus zusak

Markus Zusak is the author of five books, including the international bestseller, The Book Thief, which spent more than a decade on the New York Times bestseller list, and is translated into more than forty languages – establishing Zusak as one of the most successful authors to come out of Australia.

To date, Zusak has held the number one position at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, the New York Times bestseller list, as well as in countries across South America, Europe and Asia.

His books, The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, When Dogs Cry (also titled Getting the Girl), The Messenger (or I am the Messenger) and The Book Thief have been awarded numerous honours ranging from literary prizes to readers choice awards to prizes voted on by booksellers.

Zusak's much-anticipated new novel, Bridge of Clay, is set for release in October 2018 in the USA, the UK and Australia, with foreign translations to follow.