Diane's Reviews > The Book Thief
The Book Thief
by
by
Diane's review
bookshelves: book-club, young-adult, holocaust, germany, historical-fiction
Oct 09, 2008
bookshelves: book-club, young-adult, holocaust, germany, historical-fiction
I hated this book. There is so much I disliked about it that I'm not sure where to begin. I recognize that I am in the minority on this one and that many of my GR friends loved this novel, so there's no need to start screaming at me in the comments. This book just wasn't my cuppa, and that's OK. We're allowed to like different books.
My List
I think the thing I hated the most was the writing itself. The sentences were rough, uneven and felt unfinished.
I hated that even though the sentences and chapters were short and choppy, the book was 550 pages long! Two hundred pages could have been cut from this sucker, easily.
I hated how Zusak wrote the narrator Death, and how Death was constantly foreshadowing things. Dude, I get it, you're omniscient.
I hated that Zusak chose to put his cliched story about a girl who likes books against the backdrop of the Holocaust. It seemed like the author was milking a tragedy to try and make his book seem deeper than it is.
I hated that every scene was precious, oh so schmaltzy and precious!
I hated that the characters were all two-dimensional and none of them seemed real. They were just a collection of anecdotes.
I hated that the entire book felt like a pretentious writing exercise by some smarmy grad student.
This is the second YA novel that I've hated this year, and I'm taking a break from the genre. I don't need books that are dumbed down. I like complex stories and characters, and beautiful writing that makes me want to underline passages. There wasn't a single sentence in The Book Thief that made me pause and appreciate its construction. Not one.
My List
I think the thing I hated the most was the writing itself. The sentences were rough, uneven and felt unfinished.
I hated that even though the sentences and chapters were short and choppy, the book was 550 pages long! Two hundred pages could have been cut from this sucker, easily.
I hated how Zusak wrote the narrator Death, and how Death was constantly foreshadowing things. Dude, I get it, you're omniscient.
I hated that Zusak chose to put his cliched story about a girl who likes books against the backdrop of the Holocaust. It seemed like the author was milking a tragedy to try and make his book seem deeper than it is.
I hated that every scene was precious, oh so schmaltzy and precious!
I hated that the characters were all two-dimensional and none of them seemed real. They were just a collection of anecdotes.
I hated that the entire book felt like a pretentious writing exercise by some smarmy grad student.
This is the second YA novel that I've hated this year, and I'm taking a break from the genre. I don't need books that are dumbed down. I like complex stories and characters, and beautiful writing that makes me want to underline passages. There wasn't a single sentence in The Book Thief that made me pause and appreciate its construction. Not one.
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Reading Progress
October 9, 2008
– Shelved
Started Reading
November 10, 2013
–
2.2%
"I am remembering why I never finished this book before -- because I DON'T LIKE IT. But now I have to finish it for book club. Argh."
page
13
November 10, 2013
–
Finished Reading
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Karen·
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11 nov. 2013 13:32
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I thought The Book Thief had a decent plot, but I wholeheartedly agree with you about its less than stellar writing. This one doesn't really satisfy in the end.
I haven't read this - I was saved from doing so by a young adult!
A friend had passed on the book and my nineteen year-old daughter picked it up and read it. When I asked if I should read it too, she said not to bother. She knows me well.
I agree with the one star quality, but I think I gave the second thinking of the good faith of the young author and because I think he was trying to transmit an episode in the life of his family.
I have a strong dislike for books which make something sentimental and pretty and cute out of an episode in history which should make one vomit and feel sorry to belong to the human species every time one is confronted with it.
Yes! I completely agree.
"The breakfast colored sun."
her brother WHO died on the train p 503 ... she could never miss his deadly eyes on the floor of the train (were the lying on the floor?)
p 505 The greasy jungle of his fringe fell in clumps onto his forehead.
) p 289 .. when the bitter cry of ‘Halt’ wet the ears of everybody else....
) p 498 Frau Holtzapfel sat with wet streams of wire on her face.
And the masterpiece of confused metaphor:
There were heavy beams - planks of sun - falling randomly, wonderfully, onto the road. Clouds arched their backs to look behind as they started again to move on. "It's such a beautiful day," he said, and his voice was in many pieces. A great day to die. A great day to die, like this."
Have you really forsworn YA lit? I've read so many good things, even in my old age (30), that I keep coming back. :)
Actually The Book Thief fails all on its own, YA or not. And it looks as though Zusak didn't write it for that audience after all, it was just marketed that way.
Hi Lilly, it was wonderful to see your helpful comment this morning. I am excited to explain to a fellow reader (although I don't think I should have to do this) that reading is very personal. Someone may love a book, and someone else may not. It happens all the time. But the beauty is WE GET TO CHOOSE WHICH BOOKS WE READ. It's a marvelous thing. If I don't like a certain genre or author, I don't have to read it. Freedom!
I noticed you gave this book 5 stars, which means you are probably passionate about it. Since you are new to Goodreads (you've written one review in your time here -- that's fantastic), I would like to give you some helpful advice. Get ready to quit your job and devote all your time to Goodreads if you are going to leave helpful comments on every review of every book that you loved but someone else didn't. Especially when you are not even friends with the people whose reviews you are commenting on. There are 10 million members on Goodreads, did you know that? So brace yourself to spend a lot of time on this site.
I agree with this. So much of this book seems to scream, "look at me! being clever!" but when you don't have the substance to back that claim up—not to mention that true cleverness doesn't need to be "claimed"—it's mostly just eye-rolly bullshit.
Bobbi wrote: "Have you read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne?"
I've only seen the film of The Book Thief, but I've read and watched The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas: dreadful book, poor film, imo.
Truth! That is exactly how I feel.