The Book Thief

• Beautiful, strange, and gripping. It got right under my skin. An unusual perspective on the Third Reich. The entire plot actually takes place on a single small street in a small town, even though the omniscient narrator, Death, keeps zooming out to view it within the context of the wider world. An extremely entertaining and fascinating narrative perspective.

• All of it narrated with great originality by the sarcastic voice of Death, capable of grasping with strange tenderness the sliver of beauty hidden within the darkest terror. History and emotion blend with masterful elegance, and you reach the final page knowing you've read a book that leaves something profound behind, a book that truly matters. A marvel waiting to be discovered!

• An absolutely extraordinary work about a street, like so many others, in Nazi Germany. A street full of people, stories, and references that transport us to the deepest recesses of our memories, to the very depths of ourselves. The characters are all remarkably complete, even those lingering in the limbo of insignificance. Each one leaves behind a piece of themselves that urges us to reflect on the human condition.

• I too do not understand: how can the exact same thing be both beautiful and ugly at the same time? And how can words possess such destructive power and extraordinary brilliance all at once? This novel, by all accounts, is the masterpiece of the season, and I adored it.

• Hooked from the very first page. A special book that stands out among so many others. It makes you laugh and it makes you cry; in short, it makes you feel. Thank you for this gem.

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