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The Book Thief

There are stories. There are good stories. And then there are stories which touch your soul. One such story is written by Markus Zusak, named as The Book thief.

Narrated by the death itself, it's a story of a kid from Nazi Germany. Her name is Liesel. Living in a foster home, with her new Papa and Mama. But life is not fair with her. She has memories of a brother, she lost on a train. Her new mother is awful cook and pretty tough on her. She has nightmares every night.

As she starts to live this new life on a place called Himmel Street, stuff keeps happening. She makes a best friend Rudy, who's has crush on her. Her father teaches her the art of reading from a book she has stolen from grave yard.

And hence the title, the book thief.




And then there's another important character, called Max. Who is a Jew in a Nazi Germany, who is given shelter in her basement.

You go on a journey from a train, to a football match on street, to stealing apples and bread. From playing accordion to keeping a person hidden from the whole world, to enjoying teenage love. From rage against Hitler, to love for cigarettes. And of course stealing books, till the end of this Book thief

As the death narrate the story, it takes you to the important moments in the life of these five characters. It shows us the raw emotions that a person has. It shows us the hidden side of tough people. It beautifully explains the presence of goodness among people even in a place like Nazi Germany.

Internal struggles, the need to connect to people, stupidity of our actions, and illogical hopes are highlighted in a way that we relate to them. And somehow stop us from putting the book down.

It's a beautiful book. The book thief takes you to the world of a book thief, where you'll find grief, sorrow, happiness, kindness, rage and most importantly the joy of reading.
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