The Book Thief

Reviews / Votes

. . . a beautifully balanced piece of storytelling . . . Unsettling, thought-provoking, life affirming, triumphant and tragic, this is a novel of breathtaking scope, masterfully told. It is an important piece of work, but also a wonderful page-turner * Guardian * Zusak's playfulness with language leavens the horror and makes the theme more resonant - words can save your life . . . It's a measure of how sucessfully Zusak has humanized these characters that even though we know they are doomed, it's no less devastating when Death finally reaches them * Publishers Weekly * . . . this is a weighty novel worthy of universal acclaim . . . A sense of dread prevades this beautifully written novel . . . As The Book Thief draws to a close, Death says: ". . . There's a multitude of stories . . . that I allow to distract me as I work." The story of the Book Thief, who tried to change the world in her own small way, proves one formidable and inspiring distraction -- Lianne Kolirin * Daily Express * . . . a moving work which will make many eyes brim -- Marianne Brace * Independent on Sunday * . . . it is certainly extraordinary, resonant and relevant, beautiful and angry -- Lisa Hilton * Seven - The Independent *