Death narrates the life of a living soul! As strange as it seems, Markus Zusak decided to entail the dark master of eternal rest to narrate the whole story of a book-loving girl who struggled to live in Nazi Germany at the start of World War II.
The Book Thief is set in Germany during the time of World War II when the Holocaust took place. With the leader of the Nazi party, Adolf Hitler rising to national power in 1934, the story that our writer came up with was directly affected by the event of the Germans invading the Soviet Union in 1941.
The story unfolds with Liesel Meminger on a train journey to her new home, but her younger brother dies on the way. An impromptu funeral is held for her little brother and there, Liesel steals her first book which was partially hidden in snow: The Gravedigger’s Handbook. She then meets her foster parents; Hans who is a painter and Rosa who is a laundress. The couple is childless, so they treat Liesel as their own while generously showing her love. Her new father discovers the book she stole earlier and decides to teach her how to read and write. Thus, her immense love for books and words commences.
At school, she befriends a boy named Rudy Steiner who also happened to be her neighbour. In the meantime, Liesel starts to steal books from the book burnings done by Nazis. Then she starts stealing books from the mayor’s wife’s library, accompanied by her mischievous friend Rudy. The most hair-raising moments of the story begins when Liesel’s foster family hides a Jewish fighter named Max in their basement. The now voracious reader Liesel develops a secret bond with Max, but the condition of the country and the war puts them all in danger over and over again.
I would say that this story woven by Markus Zusak reflects the power of words in itself as it had a rather gripping touch to it that burns with intensity. Moreover, there is the aspect of the background of the story which is Germany during the second world war. As plotted in the perspective of people who lived in Germany during that devastating time, the readers are made to realize the hardships and cruelty faced by the people there.
The book was originally published in 2005 by Markus Zusak and became one of his most popular works. It also became an international bestseller and was even translated into 63 languages and sold 16 million copies. Based on the novel, a movie was released in 2013 by the director Brian Percival. The main character, Liesel Meminger was played by Sophie Nelisse and the narrator of the story, death was wittily voiced by Roger Allam. Following are the other actors who played the lead and supporting characters in the movie:
- Nico Liersch played Rudy Steiner
- Geoffrey Rush played Hans Hubbermann
- Emily Watson played Rosa Hubermann
- Oliver Stokowski played Alex Steiner
As the book itself got so much recognition, it received countless awards:
- Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best Book in 2006
- School Library Journal Best Book of the year 2006
- Daniel Eliott Peace Award in 2006
- Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year 2006
- National Jewish Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature in 2006
- Bulletin Board Ribbon Book in 2006
- Michael L.Printz Honour Book in 2007
- Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Children’s Literature in 2007
- Winner of the ALA Youth Medal Awards’ Margaret A.Edwards Award in 2014
While the book gained acknowledgement all around the world, the movie didn’t go off without any awards. Thus, it was nominated for the Oscars in 2014 as the Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score. Then in AACTA International Awards in 2014, the actor Geoffrey Rush was nominated as the Best Supporting Actor while Emily Watson was nominated as the Best Supporting actress in the Saturn Awards 2014. Also in the 2014 Saturn Awards, the movie was nominated as the Best Action/Adventure Film, Best Performance by a younger actor (Sophie Nelisse), and the Best Music (John Williams). Moreover, Sophie Nelisse was nominated for Best Young Actor/ Actress in the Critics Choice Award 2014 and Brian Percival was nominated for the Audience Choice Award in Chicago Internation Film Festival 2013. John Williams won the Best Instrumental Composition in the Grammy Awards 2015. The list doesn’t stop there. Below are the rest:
- Golden Globe Nominee for Best Original Score [John Williams] – Motion Picture – 2014
- Gold Spirit Awards Winner for Best Drama Soundtrack [John Williams] – 2013
- Gold Spirit Awards Nominee for Best Soundtrack [John Williams] – 2013
- Gran Premio Internazionale del Doppiaggio – Film Award Nominee for Best Leading Voice Acress [Chiara Colizzi] – 2014
- Spotlight Award Winner [Sophie Nelisse] in Hollywood Film Awards 2013
- IFMCA Award Nominee for Best Original Score for a Drama Film [John Williams]
- IFMCA Award Nominee for Film Music Composition of the Year [John Williams]
- Audience Award Winner – US Cinema in Mill Valley Film Festival [Brian Percival] 2013
- NFCS Award Winner for Best Youth Performance 2013 [Sophie Nelisse]
- OFTA Film Award Nominee for Best Youth Performance 2014 [Sophie Nelisse]
- PFCS Award Winner for Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Female 2013 [Sophie Nelisse]
- Satellite Awards for Breakthrough Performance Award Winner 2014 [Sophie Nelisse]
- Satellite Award Nominee for Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2014 [Emily Watson]
- Satellite Award Nominee for Best Original Score 2014 [John Williams]
- Audience Award “Silver Sea-Gull” Winner for Best Film in Sofia International Film Festival 2014 [Brian Percival]
- Young Artist Award Winner for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress 2014 [Sophie Nelisse]
What really caught my attention in this creation is the narrator who is “death”. It is rather significant as the plot is woven around the period during World War II where there is a constant fear of death and a ceaseless feeling of danger. Most of the characters in this, if you thoroughly look into it, you can see, deal with the death of a loved one and were left to struggle with the grief and the survivor’s guilt. Eventually, the countless deaths in the story become overwhelming, but we are given a sneak peek into the mind of death and how it works.
Both the book and the movie will keep the readers and the audience gripped while it will make you cry and laugh simultaneously. No other creation brings out the authenticity of the struggling lives of the war victims. On that note, I should leave a huge note of gratitude for Markus Zusak who came up with such an incredible idea and penned it with so much mastery, not to mention the director of the movie, Brian Percival for giving the audience the best is yet to offer from the amazing book.
Design by : Pathum Lakshan
References :
- https://bit.ly/3qbHPtw
- https://bit.ly/3E4aeqb
- https://bit.ly/3dYpOsX
- https://bit.ly/3mf2wU1
- https://imdb.to/3q6wfzK
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