The Book Thief

Eventually!! I've eventually read this book and I'm so glad. I feel like it's one of those ‘bucket list' books you just have to read at some point in your life.

So the things I loved were the characters, the setting and death as the narrator. Every single one of these characters are written in such a way that they are clear in your mind and you care what happens to them all, even the grouchy old ones! I adored Max, how could anyone not feel for that man?! It just pains me so much the despair and emptiness the Jewish people must have felt when they were made out to be lesser citizens in their own countries and forced into camps and/or killed. It's one of the most appalling acts in human history.

Having death narrate the story was unique and quite touching at times. You completely forgot you were reading from death's point of view until a certain sentence threw you, such as the mention of ‘collecting souls'. There are a lot of quotable lines in death's commentary and I'm not usually one for remembering quotes so that's something. This is the first book I've actually tagged so I can revisit the sections I loved.

“I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They're running at me.”

The only thing which put me off slightly was that it was a little long so the pacing was inconsistent. There were parts which didn't seem relevant then others that I just couldn't stop reading. Didn't really detract much though as the rest of the book was so good.