Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Another New Favourite Book

This post is going to be a little bit shorter than I'd planned. Offspring #2 decided to smack full-tilt into a door late this afternoon. Much blood, much screaming and and unscheduled trip to the doctor later and she has a nicely split lip, cut gum and bigger lips than even she normally has. Think Angelina Jolie lips with silicon lip injections. Yep, that big. Luckily she didn't need stitches and was sent home with steri-strips holding it all together. My poor little possum is feeling very sad and sorry.
And onto the book... I read Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief this week and fell hopelessly in love with yet another book. I'd go so far as to say it's the best book I've read since The Time Traveller's Wife. And you know how much I loved that one.
The book opens in 1939 Nazi Germany as Liesel, who is to become the book thief, and her younger brother are being taken to live with a foster family. The novel's narrator is Death but rather than being sombre and morbid he is funny, kind and even loving. The story spans the war years and tells of Liesel's life with her foster family, her friends and her love affair with books.
I did find it a bit hard to settle into initially, more to do with the style of the opening chapters than anything else. But once I was in I couldn't put it down and just read and read and read. I loved this book. The descriptions were gorgeous, Liesel's journey was inspirational and Death himself was such an entertaining narrator.
Go. Borrow this book. Buy this book. But most of all just read this book.

8 comments:

Chantalle said...

We do Fighting Ruben Wolfe with the 8's. Picked up a cheap copy of this, now you've inspired me to read it next!

Anonymous said...

Aye Aye Ma'am! Will make it so... lol
;-)

Red Dirt Mummy said...

Does that mean I'm inspirational, Chantelle?????

Glad to know you can follow orders, Ron! Maybe you could use it as fodder for the plane rides?

Iris Flavia said...

I think I decline. School was just packed with that subject, with guilt, guilt, guilt...

Red Dirt Mummy said...

Yeah, fair enough Iris. You'll probably want to give my next one a miss too :)
PS: Still looking for a nice sticker for you, there's a delay but it will be coming!

Melody said...

I loved this book, I read it a couple of years ago and very much enjoyed it! I think it is actually being made into a movie...

Jo MacD said...

I loooooved Time Traveller so much! Found it after falling in love with the movie, which I saw because I'm madly in love with Eric Bana :)

I'm grateful for the recommendation, so off to bookdepository.co.uk I go!

(PS. I found you via your comment on Maggie Alderson's blog - nice to meet you :)

Red Dirt Mummy said...

Hi Jo, It's nice to meet you too! Thanks for stopping by, I hope I'll see you again :)