A very busy time for Death.

World War II was a busy time for everybody. In Europe, as the fighting age forces were depleted, both the very young and the very old were pressed into the service. For those left behind at home, it was a time of desperation, as everything from food to metal to silk was diverted to supporting the war effort. There were a million stories written during this time, and Markus Zusak's The Book Thief tells a story that is fiction, but all too true.

The Book Thief tells a lot of stories. It tells is the story of Liesel Meminger. It begins on a train, with her mother and brother Werner. Her father's gone, and her mother is in danger as well. They're on their way to a foster home, where they will be safe. On Himmel Street, there will be soccer games, and foot races, and fistfights. There will be thin bean soup, and air raids, and the songs from an old accordion.

But only for one of them.

It tells the story of Hans Hubermann and his wife Rosa. They've already raised two children, one of whom despises them. Rosa is brash and loud, while Hans can be quiet, but both care much more than is safe in times like this. Their days are filled with hard work, and their nights are filled with worry, but there is still music and love to spare.

Taking in foster children isn't the first risk they've taken during these mad times, and it won't be their last.

There are other stories too. There's the story of Max, a young Jewish man whose father Hans knew back during the first War. There's the story of Rudy, who loves to run more than anything else. There's the story of the Ilsa Hermann, the Mayor's wife, whose life ended when she lost her son.

But mostly, it tells the story of Death. Death, who is overworked in these terrible times. Death, who takes special care of the souls of children that he has to collect. Death, who meets Liesel three times, and takes a special interest in her.

Death, who names Liesel The Book Thief.

Because the book is from Death's point of view, sometimes he spoils things. From the beginning, you know that things aren't going to go well for anyone involved. But rather than frustrating or disappointing the reader with these glimpses into the future, it brings a certain sense of dread to the story. The reader knows that these characters only have a little bit of time left, with so much left to do. And as the pages turn, the sinking feeling of dread only gets worse.

Markus Zusak has created characters that are amazingly sympathetic, even when they're not always likable. No one deserves what happens to them, but that's just the way life is. In a very crowded shelf of World War II books, The Book Thief deserves a place front and center.

Highs: The power of words, and of reading, comes up over and over in this book,and it's an important lesson to learn.

Lows: At first the narration from Death can be off-putting, but as the story goes on it makes more sense.

Verdict: There aren't very many World War II books that have something new to say, but this one is absolutely worth reading.

Further Reading: Between Shades of Grey, Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

World War II stories are hard to write well, as this one shows all too clearly

I don’t often get stuck in the middle of a book that I just can’t stand. I can usually shift them out a mile away, and then avoid them like the plague. But when a plurality of the people I know started reading Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, I ignored all those signs that it wouldn’t be worth reading and I gave it a try.


I should have listened to my gut.


Sarah’s Key is the intertwining stories of a modern American women whose marriage to a French man and the skeleton’s in their closets, and the story of a Jewish girl and her family who lived in the same house during WWII.


What follows could have been a compelling story if I didn’t find the current day characters to be so repelantantly stereotypical. You have the American women who is self centered and knows nothing of history out-side of the US. You have her French husband and family, who are condescending and nationalistic, and have no problem pretending that the less pretty in their past never happened. And of course she has a young daughter who is wise beyond her years that she looks to for support during her trying times.


I will admit that the chapters from the past are quite well written. But that’s the point: she can write as a young girl who has seen too much and and grown up too fast, but she can’t use that same voice with the modern day, spoiled daughter of our main charcter. It just sounds wrong coming from her.


So beyond atrocious pacing, unpleasant stereotypeing, and unsympathetic charactors, what do you have? You have a WWII holocaust story with an interesting setting that I haven’t seen before, but it’s absolutely not worth reading the rest to get to it.


Highs: The past story is engaging and heartbreaking that might have made a decent story on its own


Lows: The entire storyline that takes place during the present, along with the poor quality of writing and unlikable main character


Verdict: Pass


Further Reading: Maus, Diary of Anne Frank, Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms

Manga Monday: A reflective look at WWII by a resident of Hiroshima

Although manga has been taken seriously as a form of literature in Japan for much longer than graphic novels have been in the West, the West has a significant head start on the autobiographical and historical comic. Maus, first published in 1986, has been taught for years in high school and college courses. More recently, Persepolis has been made into an animated movie and Pyongyang has let Guy Delisle write several other books chronicling his travels throughout contested areas throughout the world.

Manga authors, on the other hand, haven't been as much a part of this movement. One of the first I've seen translated into English is Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms.

The author Fumiyo Kono was at first hesitant to write about such a dark time in Japan's history. Although born in Hiroshima, neither she nor anyone in her family was a survivor of the bombing. After a lifetime of avoiding the topic, and at an editor's request, she finally broached the topic with these two short works.

“Town of Evening Calm” takes place just a few years after the bombs fell. Having lost most of her family, either to the bomb or to the situation surrounding it, Minami lives with her mother in a shanty in town. Her brother had been sent to the countryside during the war, and since he escaped the bombing itself, was adopted out to his aunt. Beginning as a simple slice-of-life story, it shows both the physical and emotional scars left by the bombing.

“Country of Cherry Blossoms” begins in 1987, following the daughter of Minami's brother in Tokyo. This story is more of a contemporary look at the discrimination and near-superstition surrounding anyone connected to the bombings, no matter how remote the ties.

This is an important piece on many levels. Because of the reception of these stories in Japan, it seems like these topics are simply not discussed. Part of the reason Kono wrote the stories was to bring it up for discussion among the Japanese people. There is also a bit of an undertone of anti-Americanism woven into the anti-war message. It's not mentioned, of course, that it was a Japanese attack that brought the US into World War II in the first place.

Barring that, though, it's an amazing look into a piece of Japan's history that isn't discussed, and that many would like to pretend never happened.

Highs: The simplistic art style is clean enough to not distract from the story, and shows the fragility of human life

Lows: It's impossible to completely depoliticize a story based on a wartime act, though the author gives it a try

Verdict: An important book for both the Japanese and anyone else trying to understand the Asian front of WWII

Further Reading: Pyongyang, Persepolis