The London Times
EDITORIAL: “THE BOOK THIEF” CRITIQUED
By: Jenna Jarosinski “You are going to die” (6). The scary and dreadful truth stated by none other than the only inevitable event of our lives—Death. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is an emotional story about a young girl named Liesel Meminger living in Nazi Germany. This young adult novel features Liesel’s coming of age and her perspective of World War II/Holocaust Germany, as narrated by Death. A novel narrated by Death? Surprisingly, that’s the least of the surprises.
Interestingly enough, the narrator of this novel is Death, and he narrorates Liesel Meminger’s story through her diary. It’s a fascinating choice to have death as a narrator because he becomes critical to the over-all point of view of the novel. Zusak needed a narrator who could provide Liesel’s point of view, but also provide information that she wouldn’t know; what’s going on in places outside of Himmel Street during the war. By giving this role to death, the author is able to offer a unique perspective on not just Liesel’s life, but on all…show more content… One must also take into account that Death isn’t omniscient—he doesn’t know or see everything that’s going on in the world. Just like humans, he obtains his information from his personal experiences. Markus Zusak comments on his choice for the narrator,