THE BOOK THIEF - MARCUS ZUSACK - WRITING STYLE

WRITING STYLE IN ‘THE BOOK THIEF’ by Marcus Zusack

2. All writers are ‘book thieves' for they discover secretive tactics for undermining the

reader's capacity to interpret a narrative, and steal into their hearts with their

expression and style. Zusak's way with words is singularly inventive, since he uses

figures of speech in a totally original, cryptic and poetic manner . eg ‘When the train

pulled into the Bahnhof in Munich , the passengers slid out as if from a torn package.' (p

25) Rosa ‘looked like a small wardrobe with a coat thrown over it.' (p 28) ‘Burning words

were torn from their sentences.'(p 121) ‘Birds above did laps.'(p 121) ‘Rudy…barely able to

contain a grin. It ran across his face like a skid.'(p 175) ‘The town hall stood like a giant,

ham-fisted youth, too big for his age.' (p 183) ‘There were no people on the street

anymore. They were rumours carrying bags.'(p 410) ‘They were going to Dachau, to

concentrate.'(p 415) ‘Faces like ghost towns.' (p 443)

Did you notice a particularly evocative piece of writing like these?

3. Setting is particularly resonantly evoked by often ascribing ‘emotions' to a place. eg

‘The house was pale, almost sickly-looking, with an iron gate and a brown spit-stained

door.'(p 184) What impression does this give the reader of the atmosphere on Himmel

Street? Read the description of Molching and Liesel's arrival on Himmel Street (pp 26-27).

What techniques does the writer use to create a picture of this place?

4. The humour in this novel has an edge of darkness (understandably since it is narrated

by Death!), and despite the fact that it is largely seen through German eyes, it is also

coloured by the distinctive tone of Jewish humour . ‘How do you tell if something's alive?

You check for breathing.' (p 39) When Rosa is at her bleakest clutching the accordion after

Hans has left, Liesel hears her snoring: ‘Who needs bellows, she thought, when you've got a

pair of lungs like that?' (p 458) ‘It kills me sometimes, how people die.'(p 494)

Did you find this novel amusing? Find examples where you appreciated the black humour at work.