The Book Thief

By: Markus Zusak

Narrated by: Allan Corduner

Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Don’t miss Bridge of Clay, Markus Zusak’s first novel since The Book Thief.

The extraordinary number-one New York Times best seller that is now a major motion picture, Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

When Death has a story to tell, you listen. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist - books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

“The kind of book that can be life-changing.” (The New York Times)

“Deserves a place on the same shelf with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.” (USA Today)

©2006 Markus Zusak (P)2006 Random House Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award, Children's Literature, 2007

"The astonishing characters, drawn without sentimentality, will grab readers." (Booklist)
"Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers....An extraordinary narrative." (School Library Journal)
"The Book Thief will appeal both to sophisticated teens and adults with its engaging characters and heartbreaking story." (Bookmarks Magazine)

Beautiful

Stunning and heartbreaking. This book is perfect The narrator is excellent and the prose are haunting.

Highly recommended this book

I am reading this book for a school project. I highly recommend it and it was a very touching story.

Hauntingly Beautiful Story

This book hit on every mark for me: character development, the hauntingly beautiful storyline, and narration. I appreciated the unique narrator character, it expanded my perspective in unexpected ways. This book is not a fast moving adventure, but a thoughtfully and tenderly woven story that is worth every minute invested.

One of My Favorite Books

This is one of my favorite books that I have ever read and I was slightly worried that listening to it wouldn't live up, but it made it even better! Amazing book and performance.

Why did I wait to listen?

There have been times in my life I know that I’ve not been ready to listen to a story that took place in WWII. We didn’t touch on the war a whole lot in high school and while doing a family tree project in 1986 at the age of 16, I unknowingly asked my Grandpa, who was there, what was the war like. Being only 3 generation from Austria, I had a lot of questions. My Grandpa looked into the distance and after several minutes said, you don’t want to know those things.
Thinking back to this moment, I think, how could I have asked such a stupid question. I regret it deeply.
This book is narrated by death and told from the eyes of a little German girl. It’s very different to read something from this POV and it was truth be told, happy and heartbreaking. If you are one of the few who have not listened to the book, I strongly encourage you to do so. It was wonderful and so captivating.

Lovely and poetic

I was intrigued at the beginning when the narrator reveals himself as death/the grim reaper. Allan Corduner did a fantastic job, and portrays the voice of death, who is telling the story well. The book is very poetic in that it is told with foretelling and an emphasis on events that will have a greater impact or significance later on. I would recommend it to people who like classics, and historical fiction, though perhaps an older audience as there is casual use of explicit language in both English and German.

One of my favorites

An all time favorite story for those who can’t get enough of wwII. Narrated by the beautiful death himself.

Extraordinary!!!

This is perhaps the best book I have heard. I will carry this story with me forever. Thank you. I am also haunted by humans.

Enjoyable

I definitely enjoyed the whole book. The narrator did a good job telling the story. I was absorbed in the story the whole time.

I'm sad

this was a beautiful book. the narrator had an amazing voice. this was astounding writing I love it all