The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

About the Book (from Random House): Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

"Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain." (page 80)

My Thoughts

     The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is so creatively and beautifully written that for an instant, one forgets the weight of the subject matter and the darkness that surrounds and suffocates the characters. The story of Liesel and the community on Himmel Street is eloquently narrated by Death. The narration is captivating, and it is easy for the reader to sympathize with Death as a completely different perspective on storytelling unravels. While Death can be swift or lingering, in Zusak's crafting it is also compassionate and exhausted by the effects of war.

     Set during World War II, a young girl, Liesel, finds herself living with Hans and Rosa Hubermann, struggling to adapt in a broken world and find purpose when surrounded by devastation, evil, and loss. Her prized possessions become her books and she quickly learns that through reading she can briefly escape her bitter reality and envision a better world. When the Hubermann's begin to hide a young Jewish man in their basement, Max Vandenburg, Liesel discovers the beauty in sharing words, books, and ideas. Their friendship allows them to begin to accept the loss they have each encountered and to embrace the power words possess when shared.

     When Liesel takes her first book from the burial site of her brother, "The Grave Digger's Handbook," she has yet to learn to read. The book itself provides her with solace, a physical connector between the girl she is and her future self. Her bond with Hans Hubermann is solidified when he teaches her to read, giving her the gift of literacy which she unabashedly devours. It is when she begins to share this gift that Liesel finds her true strength. As residents gather together in a basement during air raids on Himmel Street, she reads aloud to them to quieten their fears and distract them from the horrors of war.

     The Book Thief is a story of survival but it is through friendship, family, and faith that Zusak's characters find their voice and share it with the reader. It is a compelling story as Liesel's tragic journey comes to a heart-breaking end. Yet one can't help but think that the sun will rise on her future and she will continue to find comfort through words, leaving us all better for having read her story.

Click here to learn more about author Markus Zusak. 

Who would we be without the gift of words? Have you read The Book Thief? Watched the film adaptation? I would love to read your thoughts.

Happy Reading,

Rebecca

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

"...I desperately want the insanity we're living through to end. I desperately want what has begun to finish. In a word, I desperately want this tragedy to be over and for us to try to survive it, that's all. What's important is to live: Premium vivere. One day at a time. To survive, to wait, to hope." (Maurice Michauds, page 179)

About the Book (from Vintage Books): Beginning in Paris on the eve of the Nazi occupation in 1940, Suite Francaise tells the remarkable story of men and women thrown together in circumstances beyond their control. As Parisians flee the city, human folly surfaces in every imaginable way: a wealthy mother searches for sweets in a town without food; a couple is terrified at the thought of losing their jobs, even as their world begins to fall apart. Moving on to a provincial village now occupied by German soldiers, the locals must learn to coexist with the enemy- in their town, their homes, even in their hearts. When Irene Nemirovsky began working on Suite Francaise, she was already a highly successful writer living in Paris. But she was also a Jew, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she died. For sixty-four years, this novel remained hidden and unknown.

My Thoughts:

     Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky (Vintage Books, 2004) examines the conflicts that arise between family, friends, and foe when forced to face one's greatest fears- the loss of life, love, and land. The title of the book was given to what Nemirovsky thought would be a collection of five novels but unfortunately only contains the completed two the author completed before being arrested in 1942 and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp where she was executed at the age of 39. The notebook containing the two novels was discovered by her daughter in 1998. It is extraordinary to conceptualize that Nemirovsky was writing about World War II as it was unfolding, weaving fiction and reality with such grace that one would presume she herself was writing history before it happened.

"Madame Angellier rang for the cook, who came in and closed the shutters. 

Everything withdrew back into the night: the songs, the murmur of kisses, the soft 

brightness of the stars, the footsteps of the conqueror on the pavement and the sigh of the

 thirsty frog praying to the heavens for rain, in vain." (page 266)

     Suite Francaise is a portrayal of life in France just prior to the German invasion followed by the German occupation. The author created several sets of characters, each with varying backgrounds, who cross paths in brief encounters, weaving all the pieces into one master work. A Russian-born novelist living in Paris at the start of the WWII, Nemirovsky explores the psychology of war and its impact on soldiers and citizens alike.

     Nemirovsky's prose is effortlessly elegant as she details the strength of the French people, their struggles to survive and their fight to hold strong to their culture and customs as they face their conquerors. The author easily conjures the emotions of each character, exploring the impact of war on both the classes and the sexes. She had amazing gift to create a story that sympathized with all involved and portrayed world events before they could be digested and examined. Suite Francaise is both disheartening and hopeful, leaving the reader both exhausted and entirely fulfilled. 

     The second novel ends as the Germans are ordered to Moscow, leaving the reader with open hands- hungrily awaiting more words, yet satisfied with the beauty Nemirovsky conveyed during one of the darkest periods of world history.

Suite Francaise is currently being developed as a major motion picture.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this novel.

Happy Reading!

Rebecca

Book Beginnings: Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

 Today I am linking up to Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader where readers share the first sentence of the current book they are reading.

 "Hot, thought the Parisians. The warm air of spring. It was night, they were at war and there was an air raid. But dawn was near and the war far away."

Suite Francaise has been on my To Read list for many years and I am excited to finally be delving into it. From the introduction, the reader can sense the heaviness not only of the subject matter but also the mental, physical and spiritual weight that will be placed upon the characters as they are staged within a war. I am still in the early pages of this novel but the writing is breathtaking. The scene is set with such elegance that one forgets the bleakness of the situation. I am looking forward to getting lost in this story.

About the Book: Beginning in Paris on the eve of the Nazi occupation in 1940, Suite Francaise tells the remarkable story of men and women thrown together in circumstances beyond their control. As Parisians flee the city, human folly surfaces in every imaginable way: a wealthy mother searches for sweets in a town without food; a couple is terrified at the thought of losing their jobs, even as their world begins to fall apart. Moving on to a provincial village now occupied by German soldiers, the locals must learn to coexist with the enemy- in their town, their homes, even in their hearts.
     When Irene Nemirovsky began working on Suite Francaise, she was already a highly successful writer living in Paris. But she was also a Jew, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she died. For sixty-four years, this novel remained hidden and unknown.

Happy Reading,
Rebecca