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elistar's reviews
909 reviews
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
5.0
This review is copied from my book blog, www.52bookschallenge.blogspot.com
This book kept popping up on all of the forums I browse through for book titles and so a few months ago, I picked it up at the book store. I actually started it a few weeks ago, but this was another one of those books that took forever to get through. It's not that it wasn't good or too difficult - no, this book was incredible. It took me so long to get through because the only time I've had to read as of late is during my lunch break, and really this is the kind of book you should read in one sitting to fully appreciate its emotional value. I highly recommend that you read this book alone, with a box of tissues, and only if you have a good chunk of time to get through it.
I was truly moved and heartbroken by the themes and stories in The Book Thief, and by the overwhelming beauty of its most important message: that while humans are violent creatures, capable of committing gross atrocities against each other, our innate love and ability to care for one another as humans is what really makes living worthwhile. That while life can be cruel and inexplicably tortuous, there are those brief, shining moments of goodness that can show you the bigger picture. It's set in the Holocaust, so immediately you should know that you're going to be dealing with heavy subject matter, and yet it's seen in the eyes of a child, so what would otherwise be so unimaginably horrendous that it would be nearly impossible to describe, is viewed as a child would see it, in the plainest and simplest of forms, untainted by the justifications or elaborations an adult would add to the story. No - to a child there is only right and wrong and the world should always be as it should be, and not thrown askew by any alterior motives. The book is narrated through Death's perspective, a character as cold and unfeeling as they come, and yet at the end of the story even Death is moved by the crisis this child has suffered. It's not about a book thief, or the Holocaust. What I took away from this book is as simple and complex as morals go. Love. Love each other. Rejoice in the moments you have with the people you care about. Always tell people how you really feel about them. Take care of each other. Things every child knows, but that adults tend to forget.
I cried SO hard at the end. I was so heartbroken and thankful to be alive at once, and grateful for the world we live in now, however horrible it may seem at times. Though I couldn't see through the tears, and the ending was sad (as you can imagine - it's set in the Holocaust) it was a GOOD feeling.
Go out and get this book TODAY.
This book kept popping up on all of the forums I browse through for book titles and so a few months ago, I picked it up at the book store. I actually started it a few weeks ago, but this was another one of those books that took forever to get through. It's not that it wasn't good or too difficult - no, this book was incredible. It took me so long to get through because the only time I've had to read as of late is during my lunch break, and really this is the kind of book you should read in one sitting to fully appreciate its emotional value. I highly recommend that you read this book alone, with a box of tissues, and only if you have a good chunk of time to get through it.
I was truly moved and heartbroken by the themes and stories in The Book Thief, and by the overwhelming beauty of its most important message: that while humans are violent creatures, capable of committing gross atrocities against each other, our innate love and ability to care for one another as humans is what really makes living worthwhile. That while life can be cruel and inexplicably tortuous, there are those brief, shining moments of goodness that can show you the bigger picture. It's set in the Holocaust, so immediately you should know that you're going to be dealing with heavy subject matter, and yet it's seen in the eyes of a child, so what would otherwise be so unimaginably horrendous that it would be nearly impossible to describe, is viewed as a child would see it, in the plainest and simplest of forms, untainted by the justifications or elaborations an adult would add to the story. No - to a child there is only right and wrong and the world should always be as it should be, and not thrown askew by any alterior motives. The book is narrated through Death's perspective, a character as cold and unfeeling as they come, and yet at the end of the story even Death is moved by the crisis this child has suffered. It's not about a book thief, or the Holocaust. What I took away from this book is as simple and complex as morals go. Love. Love each other. Rejoice in the moments you have with the people you care about. Always tell people how you really feel about them. Take care of each other. Things every child knows, but that adults tend to forget.
I cried SO hard at the end. I was so heartbroken and thankful to be alive at once, and grateful for the world we live in now, however horrible it may seem at times. Though I couldn't see through the tears, and the ending was sad (as you can imagine - it's set in the Holocaust) it was a GOOD feeling.
Go out and get this book TODAY.
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
4.0
copied from my book blog: www.52bookschallenge.blogspot.com
This is not the type of book I usually read. I tend to stay away from books that spend too much time on internal self reflection. I get bored easily.
However, this book surprised me. It takes a great writer to turn a typical "woe is me" mid-life crisis into a witty, touching story about real relationships and forgiveness. It's even harder to end one on an optimistic note, but Tropper succeeds in this as well. Well, what I liked most about this book is that even though the ending isn't wrapped in a neat little bow, each character has still grown in some way, has let go of something painful or taken a step in the right direction. It's the kind of book that makes you sure that life is inherently meant to be good - that forces you to look at your own life and focus on what you're doing right.
Plus, Tropper's writing is just delightful. The way he develops his characters and the laugh-out-loud (and familiarly realistic) exchanges between them - that's where this book really shines, and the reason I would definitely recommend it.
This is not the type of book I usually read. I tend to stay away from books that spend too much time on internal self reflection. I get bored easily.
However, this book surprised me. It takes a great writer to turn a typical "woe is me" mid-life crisis into a witty, touching story about real relationships and forgiveness. It's even harder to end one on an optimistic note, but Tropper succeeds in this as well. Well, what I liked most about this book is that even though the ending isn't wrapped in a neat little bow, each character has still grown in some way, has let go of something painful or taken a step in the right direction. It's the kind of book that makes you sure that life is inherently meant to be good - that forces you to look at your own life and focus on what you're doing right.
Plus, Tropper's writing is just delightful. The way he develops his characters and the laugh-out-loud (and familiarly realistic) exchanges between them - that's where this book really shines, and the reason I would definitely recommend it.