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The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak
Publisher: Black Swan
Category: Book

List Price: ~~Ł7.99~~
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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

162 reviews
Sales Rank: 8

Media: Paperback
Pages: 560
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.6

ISBN: 0552773891
EAN: 9780552773898
ASIN: 0552773891

Publication Date: January 1, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New & In Stock - Immediate Despatch!

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Customer Reviews: Read 157 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

The Emperor has no clothes July 26, 2008
So many five star reviews. So few that say: Wait a minute; What's all the fuss about? If it weren't for the hype surrounding this book and the overexposure given to it by every bookseller imaginable, then I might have enjoyed it better. Perhaps I was expecting too much. This book has the bones of a good story, but my overall impression was that style took precedence over substance. Having the book narrated by death, and sown with little headlines and lists and with unlikely similes and metaphors are not intrinsically bad ideas, but when they take the place of characterization and storytelling, then they become a distraction. I would rather have done without them in exchange for tangible, believable characters and places. I came to the end of the book with no sense that I had got to really know Liesel, Rudy, Max or any of the other characters, or of the time and place where they lived. But the idea behind the book was good. It seems to have been aimed at a young readership, so perhaps one of my problems is that I'm a bit long in the tooth for it. I hope that a lot of young people do read it, as it tells of a time when life was much more stark and elemental and conducive to the development of strong characters, good or bad. I often think that we are as pygmies compared with the generation that lived through those times, so have no complaints that her is yet another new novel set in WWII. Perhaps another problme for me was that I read this book on my summer holiday. This is a dark, damp, cold book, probably best left until January or February if you want to feel its full effect.

5 out of 5 stars

Stunning... July 23, 2008
The first book to get me back into reading - extremely innovative, Zusak is an amazing writer; empathetically and very gracefully written, "The Book Thief" is easy to follow and will not fail to move you. Devastatingly beautiful.

1 out of 5 stars

hard to finish July 23, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful

usually i would read a book of this length in a couple of days. I have been trying to finish this book for three weeks but will not be defeated with just seventy pages to go. I was impressed by the reviews and was excited to receive this book but it has not been for me. It is long and very boring - very disappointing.

4 out of 5 stars

Death has a heart after all July 19, 2008
A great idea for Death to be the narrator and one that works here. The insanity of the Second World War is captured in these pages brilliantly and the lives of ordinary Germans during this unforgettable moment in history is a story that is not often told. It's not always an enjoyable tale, but it's one that should be read - and not in a 'schoolbook-that-everyone-is-forced-to-get-through' kind of way, but in a 'this-will-add-another-key-dimension-to-an-epic-six years' sort of manner. The only reason that I didn't give the book 5 stars is I thought the ending was a litle unsatisfactory.

5 out of 5 stars

WOW!A must read! July 18, 2008
When i first brought this book, all my friends thoguht I was mad buying a book that size. I didn't really care because when I first began to read it, it drew me into the story and mixed me into it. I love this book so much. Its an extrodanary tale, truley amazing. Forget about the size,because youll love it if your one of thoose people who lopve to read a really good book.Just read it and you will understand. If your not too scared about the whole death thing, which i think everybody can overcome, its amazing!!!