The Dream Thief

The copy I brought from the Delhi Book Fair 2010-2011

Its been quite a frantic week for the bookish life. First, the excessive holiday homework (which I know will never be graded) next the opening of school – which would have been a happy reunion of all friends if it weren’t for the Science tests (which will be graded with guarantee). The main question is which school opens its first day with a Science test? Mine. Then finally, unnecessary additional homework which is the usual Cntl+C and Cntrl+V of the text book.

The bookish life is in the mode of degradation at the moment with such continuous frantic weeks, I can only hope it to demolish it by early March [which is the end of school]. I am reading two to three books a week which is less then the common five or six. But then how can a bookish life be called bookish without any books read? In my 780.313733 weeks of life this week I read one of the BEST books I have ever read.

The Book Thief:

“ It’s a small story really, about, among other things:

• A girl
• Some words
• An accordionist
• Some fanatical Germans                  
• A Jewish fist fighter
• And quite a lot of thievery ”

Liesel Meminger is not a Jew, in fact she is a German. The significant parts of her life are:  

1. She is a Book Thief

2. She has a Jew in her house

Liesel Meminger is a orphaned child sent to live with a foster family called the Hubermann’s in Himmel Street. During her journey to the Hubermann’s her brother dies causing her first act of thievery a book she cant even read called the ‘The Gravediggers Handbook’. One book leads to another thereby staring her journey of words she soon learns to love and hate. Love because of her devotion to literature. Hate because of her abhorrence to Hitler (the Fuhrer) whom she realizes has an influence on people with mere words. 

"I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."

Narrated by death himself, he unfolds the story piece by piece describing beautiful clouds, colors and the story of Liesel Meminger a eleven year old girl and her catastrophic childhood taking place in a deprived area of Nazi Germany before World war II. Her foster father Hans Hubermann teaches her to read by using some paint, brushes and the basement wall. Soon she can read and write and is  able to read her first theft. But one book is never enough she starts to steal books from the Mayors library along with her best friend Rudy.  

The Standover Man. [A gift form Max to Liesel]

There is one secret she cant even tell her best friend and that is a Jew called Max Vandenburg hiding in her basement. It takes her quite sometime to adjust with this new character in the household but she slowly grows attached to him and starts to bring him newspapers with crosswords and day to day weather reports describing vicious colors and emotions of the sky. In turn he describes her of his past and gives her two of his stories he made especially for her while painting over the pages of Mein Kamph (A Political novel written by Hitler.) 

"There was once a strange, small man. He decided three important details about his life:

1. He would part his hair from the opposite side to everyone else.

2. He would make himself a small, strange mustache.

3. He would one day rule the world.

…Yes, the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words." 

Yet, her time with Max is however short. Due to her foster fathers ignorance Max is forced to leave the Humbermann Household and flees out of Himmel Street. After a few  weeks Hans Hubermann is forced to leave his beloved family to serve the army. There is joy a few months later when he returns back with a leg broken. Shortly, the whole street is bombed and no one survives but the little girl and her very own book- “The Book Thief”.

My Opinion:

Personally, I loved this book. If I had the choice I could have quoted the whole book without a second thought! Everything about it is perfect the writing the depth in characters is so bottomless you can portray your self in almost every character. Most of the times it felt like I was back in 1942  during the World War witnessing bomb raids in the very front of my eyes. In Liesel Meminger at times I see myself. Would I have done the same if I were ever in her shabby shoes? I have an affection for words and I have rarely hated them. Nevertheless, I would never have stolen a book even though it would have saved my life. For me in a sense Liesel Meminger is the heroine she has the power, the will, the guts to face a book take it carefully from the original owner. She is the ultimate Dream Thief.

  

For Markus Zuzak's amazing style of writing and very deep characters.

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