Born in Sydney, Australia, Markus Zusak began his career writing young adult fiction. The Underdog, Zusak's first novel, was published in 1999 and followed by two sequels, Fighting Ruben Wolfe (2001) and When Dogs Cry (2002). Zusak's 2002 novel The Messenger was well received internationally, winning several awards including a Michael L. Printz Honor selection, a citation given for literary excellence in young adult literature.
In 2006, Zusak's fifth novel The Book Thief was...
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If someone was asked to name their favorite book character, his or her answer would most likely be the name of either a person or an animal. While many books and stories contain wonderful human and animal characters, some pieces of literature...
“It’s just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery” (Zusak 5). And of course, there is Death. Set in Nazi Germany during the...
In The Book Thief, Zusak expounds upon the concept of death as a passive force and not a vengeful creature. Zusak presents the character Death in a manner that is more effectively conceived than the traditional rendition of Death’s personae. This...
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is set in Nazi Germany in World War II. Narrated by Death, the novel takes as its protagonist Liesel Meminger, a girl who grows up in a foster home where Jews aren't seen as evil, in a departure from attitudes in the...
Humanity is always engaged in an eternal power struggle between good and evil, and the well being of society often hangs in the balance when such forces collide. This presence of good and evil of humanity is a central theme in Markus Zusak’s The...
The dominating theme of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is an ironic one. Here is a novel where a main character is nothing less than the symbol of mortality itself, Death, yet the story continually celebrates the life spirit that is contained...
Does following orders and laws justify allowing the mass persecution of a race? Is protecting one’s family a viable reason to tolerate the mistreatment of the Jews? During the Nuremberg trials, judges ruled simply following orders was an...
In works of great literature, violent scenes often play prominent roles. However, these scenes of violence do not exist for their own sake, but instead add value and depth to the story being told. The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, is no...
Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief follows the life of the once illiterate Liesel Meminger and her progression into literacy set primarily during WWII in Molching, Germany. Liesel is adopted by a German couple in Molching, Germany after the death of...
Markus Zusak’s narrative The Book Thief and Roberto Benigni’s film Life is Beautiful use historical perspective to explore the impact of war. Zusak’s The Book Thief uses the narration of death to follow the life of a young girl in war torn...
