The Book Thief
Markus Zusak (2005)
“Death narrates the life of a girl who steals books in Nazi Germany — and discovers that stories are the only thing stronger than destruction.”
Why This Book Matters
Published in Australia in 2005 to modest attention, then became a global phenomenon after U.S. publication in 2006 — spending more than 230 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Unusual for a book marketed to young adults, it was widely read by adults and became a standard text in both middle school and AP English curricula simultaneously. The 2013 film adaptation starring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson brought the story to a still wider audience. The novel's unusual narrative conceit — Death as narrator — has been credited with expanding what young adult literature can formally attempt.
Firsts & Innovations
One of the first major novels narrated by Death that treats the narrator as a character with psychology rather than a device
One of the first young adult novels to incorporate visual elements (the illustrated fable pages) as structural narrative rather than decoration
Pioneered the 'definition box' as a formal interruption device in literary fiction for young adults
Cultural Impact
230+ weeks on the New York Times bestseller list
Translated into more than 40 languages
2013 feature film adaptation
Standard text in middle school, high school, and AP English curricula across the English-speaking world
Significantly expanded the critical and commercial space for formally ambitious young adult literature
One of the most frequently cited novels in discussions of how to teach the Holocaust to young readers without spectacle or horror-tourism
Banned & Challenged
Challenged in schools for language (Rosa's profanity), depictions of Nazi ideology and violence, and — paradoxically — for Death as narrator, which some parents found spiritually inappropriate. The irony of attempts to ban a novel about the dangers of banning books has been widely noted.