The Book Thief is the kind of book that gives you a chance to view life from a perspective that's not human's. I learn as much about mankind as I did from David Levithan's Every Day. It's a very well-written book about a German girl during the Nazi Germany era. There's so many books about the holocaust written from the Jewish perspective, so it's certainly a breathe of fresh air to read from a German family's point of view. A German family that's not blindly crazy about Der Führer, that is. Narrated by Death, it's a story about a series of unfortunate events happening to a little girl during the war. Her foster family was so poor; and she seek happiness through stealing books even though books are not edible. It's not so much about how really devious the Nazis were. It's more about how, even in desperate times like 1942 Germany, human are still capable of kindness and good. How even during the authority's threat, one can still exercise their belief in humanity towards fellow humans. How, despite all the teachings by the powerful, wrongful leader, the book's protagonists can still see the Jews as just human.
Through Zusak's words, I can almost believe that I was there; that I lived in the '40s, have lived to see the two world wars, and was constantly in danger of being blown off by the Allies' attacks. I learn from Death that... Humans are so many things; and even Death, the one thing humans are always worried about, is constantly fascinated of how humans are virtuous and evil, and at the same time, mostly made of water.
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