Every so often you find a story that pulls you in and holds you tight in the grip of anxiety. Spoilers aside, we all know what it is we’re afraid of in any story about a German family hiding a Jewish man in their basement during World War II. We’re terrified something will happen to him, or the family hiding him. We’re terrified of concentration camps and public beatings. We’re terrified of saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. We’re terrified of indoctrination and blind nationalism. Even when the story is wrapped up in a typical coming of age plot, we know the stakes are dazzlingly high and that author is going to take us to a place that we cannot fully emotionally understand from our cozy living rooms and our cozy lives.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is one of those books. This is the story of a young girl named Leisel, who is sent by her mother to live with a foster family in a town outside of Munich. The story chronicles her arrival and growing feeling of belonging to this family. After she’s lived with them for some time, the family hides a Jewish man in their basement. Leisel, predictably, strikes up a friendship with the young man and they share a love of books and reading. The story goes on to tell the story of a childhood in a world controlled by the Nazis. One where every small action, even small acts of kindness or sympathy, can result in terrifying repercussions
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