THE BOOK THIEF - NOVEL - SCHMOOP INTRODUCTION

IN A NUTSHELL...

Based on its title, you might think that The Book Thief is a spy thriller or a Holmes-style detective story.  But really, this is the emotional story of a young girl living in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.  Yep, a ten-year-old girl is the title's thief.

The Book Thief was first published in Australia in 2005 and in the US in 2006. It's Australian author Markus Zusak's fifth novel, and it emerged on the scene when Zusak was only thirty years old. Winning a slew of awards, mostly in the Young Adult category, and selling at least a million copies,The Book Thief is monumentally increasing this young author's fame.

Liesel Meminger, a young German girl growing up in Nazi Germany, is the star of the show. She's also the chief book thief in the novel, which is narrated by Death. When Liesel's foster parents decide to give refuge to a young Jewish man hiding from the Nazi regime, the characters grow and change in horrible and beautiful ways.

Zusak took over three years to complete the piece and even went to Munich, Germany to research some of the finer points. He tackles all sorts of dicey issues concerning one of the most difficult topics ever – the Holocaust. This is the name for the large scale persecution and murder of some six million Jews along with other people considered "undesirable" by the Nazis.

Zusak's parents grew up in Germany during World War II and shared their stories of these times with Zusak. According to a review in the Guardian:

Zusak […] has said that writing the book was inspired by two real-life events related to him by his German parents: the bombing of Munich, and a teenage boy offering bread to an emaciated Jew being marched through the streets, ending with both boy and Jewish prisoner being whipped by a soldier. (source)

You'll see definite echoes of the whipping incident in several crucial points in the novel, and you can read more details about the story Zusak heard here. In interviews, Zusak discusses an additional inspiration for the novel – tales of a real book thief in Zusak's hometown of Sydney, Australia (source).

At times hilarious (believe it or not), at times heartbreaking, The Book Thief is rich and creative. It's a heartfelt reminder of the power of words – they can destroy or heal, depending on how we use them.

NOVEL - Strange Objects by Gary Crew - Year 9 - BOOK REVIEW

‘Strange Objects’ by Gary Crew is original, it has believable and three dimensional characters, and it deals with relevant issues to the time period it is set in. These issues include racism and sensationalism of the media, depicting 1980'S Australia and 17th Century Europe. ‘Strange Objects’ is also an interesting read, and in the words of Oscar Wilde, ‘If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.’ You will definitely enjoy reading this book.

  

'Strange Objects' depicts the  events of the main character, a teenager by name of Steven Messenger. Set in rural Western Australia, it takes several different perspectives on the topic of Steven Messenger's discovery at the beginning of the book. There is a lot going on. First, there is the news report on the discovery of mummified hand in a 'Cannibal Pot', found by Messenger in a cave where he is hiding out and spying on his Biology class on a field trip. Also present are a ring and a leather journal.

Tom Wolfe has said in his review: “To me, it’s a novel that pulls you inside the central nervous system of the characters and makes you feel in your bones their motivations as affected by the society of which they are a part. It is folly to believe that you can bring the psychology of an individual to light without putting him very firmly in a social setting”. The characters are written in a manner where their personalities develop over a series of events that occur throughout the book. Crew has written the novel in a series of documents, newspaper articles and journal entries which makes the book an interesting read and a masterful use of 'intertextuality'. The story is also original as Crew had used Australian history to introduce issues occurring in the modern society.

The novel addresses a range of issues that were relevant at the time, mainly racism towards the Aboriginals. In the 1980’s, all over Australia, racism towards aboriginals was a growing problem. In the small town on coastal Western Australia racism towards Aboriginals appears rife. When Messenger, first meets Charlie Sunrise, a local Aboriginal elder, he calls him an “Abo”, a derogatory word used towards Aboriginals throughout white history. He continues to use this term throughout the book. In Item 4: “The Abo kids from near the town were OK and clean enough, but the ones who came in from the properties weren’t the same. They need a wash and looked as if they’d cut your throat.” The outright racism in the novel helps open the reader's eyes to the issues that were present at the time.

The book's main character (Steven Messenger) is one open for deep[ analysis. Though not obvious early in the book, It is clear by the end of the book that something is terribly wrong with Steven Messenger in terms of his mental state, (foreshadowed in the beginning of the book by the way he lacked interaction with his peers, preferring to be an outsider, watching). The way the author leads us on the Messenger journey is one of great interest. As the story unfolds, the character of Steven Messenger is created to be fairly realistic in terms of appearance. He definitely isn't your perfect fairy tale knight, which creates a true sense of realism to the story's main character. Throughout the story, we see Messenger's mental state deteriorate from bad to worse after the introduction of the ring found in the 'Cannibal Pot.' Through the diary entries featured in the Messenger Documents, (which is what the story is compiled of), we can see the change that Messenger goes through. Early on in the story, Messenger uses a home made Shanghai (slingshot), to shoot birds on a cliff (page 72 - 73). He clearly doesn't understand what Nigel Kratzman is so unsettled about when he tries to shoot some of the gulls, the deduction being that he doesn't mind killing animals (often a trait seen by phychologists and psychatrists in psycopaths). Later on in the book, it appears that Messenger's dreams of the ring are starting to protrude into his real life, seeming like hallucinations. These hallucinations are not explained by Crew, leaving the interpretation up to the reader. Is Messenger mentally ill? Is he experiencing supernatural events? Did the people and events he sees in his dreams really happen? If so, (and the reader knows they relate to the 'Batavia' wreck, what possible explanation could there be?

'Strange Objects' finds its inspiration in a real world event, the shipwreck and mutiny of the 'Batavia', a Dutch trading vessel from the 17th century, a tale of mutiny and murder. This event actually occurred and the characters on Wouter Loos' side of the story are all based on a real-life figure from the Batavia. This not only adds a sense of realism and believability to Crew's story, but also encourages interest in this event in history and perhaps other current events. The reader finds out that the hand belonged to Ela, a 'Batavia' survivor, who was murdered 300 years ago.

The novel, 'Strange Objects' is such an original book, with its real-life inspiration of the 'Batavia' parallelling events happening in modern Australia. It is a rich study of media bias, racism and one boy's psychological journey. It is an enjoyable read. You will feel you have discovered some truths yourself in its reading.

  

The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding - ACTIVITIES

The Lord of the Flies is an account of a group of B_ _ _ _ _ _ schoolboys who are stranded on a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ island and whose behavior degenerates into s_ _ _ _ _ _ _ as they leave the effects of c _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ further and further behind.

The author W _ _ _ _ _ _ G _ _ _ _ _ _ gives the reader clues as to its origin. At the second a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ of boys on the island when R _ _ _ _ exclaims:

‘It’s like in a book!’

At once there was a clamour.

‘Treasure Island-‘

‘Swallows and Amazons-‘

‘Coral Island – ‘(p.34)

The last mentioned book appears on the very last page. Showing his complete misunderstanding and misreading of what has happened on the island, the British naval officer remarks:

‘I know. J _ _ _ _ g _ _ _ s_ _ _. Like the C _ _ _ _  I _ _ _ _ _.’ (p.192)

Coral Island was written by R. M. Ballantyne in 1854, exactly one hundred years before Golding’s novel. It tells of three boys, Jack, 18, Ralph, 15 and Peterkin, 14, who are wrecked alone on a coral island. Under the guidance of Jack, they transform it into a tropical paradise, despite sharks, cannibals and pirates – who represent the evil in their world. The boys come through the experience better for the adventure and the savages are converted to Christianity in the final chapter.

What connections can you see between the two books?

  

The conclusion to Coral Island reads:

‘That night, as we sat on the taffrail gazing out upon the wide sea and up into the starry firmament, a thrill of joy, strangely mixed with sadness, passed through our hearts; for we were at length ‘homeward bound’, and were gradually leaving far behind us the beautiful, bright green coral islands of the Pacific Ocean.’

The Lord of the Flies concludes:

‘Ralph…had a fleeting picture of the strange  glamour that had once invested the beaches. But the island was scorched up like dead wood-Simon was dead-and Jack had…The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body…Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. (p.192)

FURTHER QUESTIONS:

What do you think the title The Lord of the Flies symbolizes?

Coral Island is all but forgotten. It represents the attitudes of the time which have changed since colonialism has been discredited, the British Empire has fallen and two World Wars have disturbed our peace.

The Lord of the Flies represents the attitude of the twentieth century, largely a reversal of the attitudes of Coral Island.

Note a list of things that disturbed you in The Lord of the Flies.

  

The Lord of the Flies – general questions.

1.      Who does the ‘conch’ symbolize?

2.      The aim of the society was encapsulated by Ralph: ‘This is our island. It’s a good island. Until the grown ups come to fetch us we’ll have fun.’ (p.34) Write a few sentences to show how this aim was discredited by the events that followed…

I hope you enjoyed these questions and thought further about the novel.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusack - BOOK REVIEW

Markus Zusak has not really written "Harry Potter and the Holocaust." It just feels that way. "The Book Thief" is perched on the cusp between grown-up and young-adult fiction, and it is loaded with librarian appeal. It deplores human misery. It celebrates the power of language. It may encourage adolescents to read. It has an element of the fanciful. And it's a book that bestows a self-congratulatory glow upon anyone willing to grapple with it.

Bronwyn Rennix

Markus Zusak

THE BOOK THIEF
By Markus Zusak
Illustrated. 552 pages. Alfred A. Knopf. $16.95

"The Book Thief" resembles other, better novels that have been widely popular. Its roundabout approach to the Holocaust suggests "Everything Is Illuminated" Lite. Its embattled, feisty young heroine has a Potterish appeal as she makes her way through a mystifying adult world. There is a Vonnegut whimsy to the mordant turns of fate here. And Mr. Zusak's narrator offers constant manipulative asides, as in the clever Lemony Snicket books, although in this case wit is not much of an option. The narrator is Death.

How can a tale told by Death be mistaken for young-adult storytelling? Easily: because this book's narrator is sorry for what he has to do. "To me, war is like the new boss who expects the impossible," he confides, on one of many occasions when he campaigns to win readers' approval. "You see?" he says, about the demise of one of the book's best-liked characters. "Even death has a heart."

The youthful sensibility of "The Book Thief" also contributes to a wider innocence. While it is set in Germany during World War II and is not immune to bloodshed, most of this story is figurative: it unfolds as symbolic or metaphorical abstraction. The dominoes lined up on its cover are compared to falling bodies. The book thief of the title is a schoolgirl named Liesel Meminger, and the meaning of her stealing is not left unexplained. She has been robbed of a brother, who dies at the start of the book. Her mother disappears, and then Liesel is left in foster care. A great deal has been taken away from her. She steals books to settle the score.

The first book taken by Liesel offers a sampling of Mr. Zusak's real but easily oversold charm. It is called "The Grave Digger's Handbook," and is subtitled "A Twelve-Step Guide to Grave-Digging Success." Liesel finds it at the cemetery where her brother is buried. And it becomes her link to the past, even after she is put in the care of Rosa and Hans Hubermann, whose household is colorful to the point of dangerous whimsy. Hans finds life-affirming ways to play the accordion, for example.

Liesel lives in a town called Molching, which is close enough to Munich for its residents to see Jews being sent to the Dachau concentration camp nearby. Since Liesel is Lutheran, she is not in any danger of sharing this fate, although the effects of the war on Germans are strongly felt. But Liesel finds herself forced into a Hitler Youth uniform. And perversely, the Führer's "Mein Kampf" becomes one of the books that are important in her life.

Mr. Zusak does his imaginative best to make sure that no Nazi touchstone like "Mein Kampf" is treated in a predictable way. Hitler's book first helps to save a young Jewish man named Max Vandenburg, who is hidden by the Hubermanns. Then, with its pages turned blank by white paint, it is transformed into an entirely different book altogether. And it helps to forge an everlasting connection between Liesel and Max.

"The Book Thief" is a long, winding tale, punctuated by Death's commentary. ("By the way — I like this human idea of the grim reaper. I like the scythe. It amuses me.") Most of it is confined to Molching and has a coyly claustrophobic outlook. As Liesel and her best friend, Rudy Steiner, trade dubious endearments (most of which translate as "You filthy pig!"), they also commit small, meaningful acts of defiance against the Nazi regime. Even transgressions as tiny as the stealing of apples are woven and rewoven into the story.

"So much good, so much evil," Death says of human nature. "Just add water." Beyond its many variations on that idea, "The Book Thief" adds up to a string of anecdotes that are tinged with quiet horror. At its most effective, the book's tone can be terrifyingly matter of fact. "For the book thief, everything was going nicely," Death observes, as the extermination camps flourish in the summer of 1942. "For me, the sky was the color of Jews."

It's possible to be overwhelmed and impressed by such moments in Mr. Zusak's novel. It's also possible to wish there were more of them, that their impact were sharper, and that the book were less fussy, more certain of its own strength.

To be sure, "The Book Thief" attempts and achieves great final moments of tear-jerking sentiment. And Liesel is a fine heroine, a memorably strong and dauntless girl. But for every startlingly rebellious episode — Rudy's Führer-baiting impersonation of the black American athlete Jesse Owens, the building of an indoor snowman for a Jew in hiding, the creation of books and drawings that frame Liesel and Max's experiences as life-affirming fairy tales — there are moments that are slack.

"The Book Thief" will be appreciated for Mr. Zusak's audacity, also on display in his earlier "I Am the Messenger." It will be widely read and admired because it tells a story in which books become treasures. And because there's no arguing with a sentiment like that.

By JANET MASLIN

If you'd like to compare covers of The Book Thief from around the world, check out this link...It is amazing how different countries see things different ways. There are 35 different covers for this book.