A Story of Death
BY SHELLY BRYANT I OCTOBER 3, 2008
Markus Zusak. The Book Thief. Black Swan, 2005. 554 pages.
ISBN 978-0-552-77398-8
Death is the one obsession that humans just can't seem to get past. It haunts our consciousness and shows up all the time in books, music, poetry, and any other cultural product that we come up with. Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is another volume that does a little exploration of the humankind's relationship with death. What is so interesting about the tale is that it explores this relationship from a very different perspective, through the eyes of its narrator, Death.
Death tells us the story of Liesel, a young girl who becomes the book thief over the course of the story. She and Death meet often, which is not surprising, since she grew up in Nazi Germany. Death makes the point several times in the novel that 1943 was a particularly busy year for him, and Liesel happened to see a good deal of his handiwork.
There are several things I didn't know about Death but learned through the story he narrates. First of all, he's a pretty funny guy. I had no idea that Death had such a lively sense of humor. Sure, it is of the wry and dry variety, but he had me laughing out loud several times while reading his story. He really is that funny.
Secondly, Death doesn't like his job much. It isn't just that his boss is a slave-driver, though he apparently can be quite demanding when the schedule is particularly busy. In fact, Death just doesn't like the job of collecting human souls, setting those around the departed one into pain and grief. But he does give a fascinating description of how the various souls make their departure, and those descriptions provoke a good deal of reflection in the reader. The descriptions of the modes of departure of the individual souls he takes is put together in most poetic terms, and is often very moving.
There are plenty of other things I learned about Death too. He is a compassionate type, who takes note of all sorts of little details as he goes about his work. He seems to think of himself as a misunderstood soul (and he probably is). And, he has a real eye for color. The descriptions of colors in The Book Thief are especially masterful. And I have to think that perhaps Death learned some of his descriptive ability from Liesel because she shows herself throughout to be a real Word Shaker, a name she earns as her story unfolds.
Another thing I didn't know about Death is that he is a very good story-teller. I never knew that side of him, but I am glad he decided to reveal it in his telling of Liesel's tale. He really has a talent for weaving a story together (even if it is full of spoilers throughout).
As I wrap up my thoughts on The Book Thief, I can't help but feel that I have given Death a little too much attention. The story is, from beginning to end, Liesel's, and she remains prominent on its pages. It is difficult, though, to get past the fascination that such a narrator holds. For Liesel, maybe it is enough to say that her tale is worthy of being told by Death.
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