Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

5 reviews

bookishperseus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

a_novi's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This story is amazing, it’s not a feel-good story. It’s tragic and heart wrenching. There’s realism in the telling of a WWII story from the perspective of a young German girl who was too young to understand the evil involved. We watch her grow and learn of it though, and as the reader we can feel the pain, agony, fear, and grief if only just a fraction. It is even more nauseating to read this during the genocide of Palestine. The bombings still haven’t stopped and I can’t help but relate it to this story. How dare we as humans allow history to repeat in this way? The scene in this book when she steals a banned book from a book burning inspired me to finally research the banned books in my country. As expected, I’m appalled. Everyone should read this book and everyone should resist censorship and fascism. Everyone thinks if they were alive during the holocaust  that they would have hid a jew in their basement like the Hubermans but the truth is: whatever we are doing right now while we are watching a genocide take place today in Gaza is exactly what we would be doing. The answer is: not enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

kyarabereading's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is one of my favorite books of all time. No book has brought a tear to my eye quite like this one, even after having read it multiple times. The first few times I read it, I didn't have as full an understanding as I do now. I think it made this book hurt so much more this time around. The Book Thief tells a beautiful story that is as painful, tragic, and honest as it is heartwarming, inspiring, and at times, even funny. 

I love the attention to detail Zusak clearly put into this book. This is a book that seems like it took a lot of Zusak's time and research - and all that hard work truly paid off. Everything is so, so real. The characters, the location, the historical events - they all create a story that is so incredibly real. So, so honest. It makes you fall in love with the characters. It makes you feel their pain. It makes it hurt that much more when they're hurt, especially when you realize this story was a reality for many people in 1940s Germany. This book does not sugarcoat the effects of the Holocaust or everyone's participation in it - everyone from the Hitler fanatic to the complaisant supporter. It does not sugarcoat how WWII hurt so many people. It's tragic to see how all this built up, to see what people did because of fear and hatred. What they did for survival. 

I also love the creative choices Zusak makes in this book. For one, having Death as a narrator was a choice that really strengthened the book as a whole. Death as a narrator along with Zusak's way with words (along with his writing style and structure and loveable characters and etc., etc., etc.) is a combination that formed some of the most beautiful writing I have seen. Zusak also showed us how all the stories, all the moments in this book are intertwined with each other. I like how some stories remind us of things we have already seen or provide us with foreshadowing for what is coming up. It makes this book entertaining to read every single time. 

I think what I love the most about this book is what it teaches us. It is a study of humanity and human nature from a distant point of view. Death is amazed by, terrified by, interested in humans. To quote the book directly, Death is "haunted" by us. It makes me think about my own humanity and that of the people around me.  But it does not just make me think about the bad side of humanity, it makes me think about all the good too. The book reminds me of all the beautiful parts of other human beings - people's selflessness, kindness, trust, love, etc., etc., etc. The book also teaches the importance of words. They can be influential. They can be harmful. They can be helpful. They can be life-changing. They can be used as a weapon, but they can also be used for good. 

Markus Zusak wrote a book that is so beautifully written and impactful. May I never forget how it made me feel. May I never forget his words. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Excrement and Alcohol

starlessnights's review against another edition

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

dhwani's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Antisemitism, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood and Excrement