The Book Thief: A Reader's Guide to the Markus Zusak Novel

By Robert Crayola

Few novels have offered the modern reader such a fresh view of World War II as Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. With this new guide, you will have an even greater understanding of the book. Included in this guide: a biography of author Markus Zusak, a look at the book's context, its literary elements, detailed chapter summaries, analysis, and suggestions for essays. This is the definitive guide to The Book Thief, concise, easy to read, and guaranteed to add to your enjoyment of this classic story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Crayola
• Release date: Jan 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310818028

Robert Crayola

Robert Crayola is the author of numerous educational guides and videos, plus the following works: COMICS Prince Pander (2014) The Pubic War (2015) Batman LSD: The Living Nightmare (2016) Star Wars: Vader & Son (2016) ILLUSTRATED BOOKS & STORIES William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience (2011) The Little Girl and the Little Boy (2016) The Past is Still Happening (2016) There Is No Government (2016) SHORT FICTION Savage Tales (2013) DRAMA 18 Plays For Untalented Actors (2012) NONFICTION Cheat Codes For Life (2010) FICTION Dr. Jew (2010) Ueda Sensei Solves Crimes of Depravity and Perversity (2011) Ueda Sensei Vomits on the Garbage of Humanity (2012) Ueda Sensei Castrates the Insidious Underground (2013) SHORT TEXTS Prayer Magic: Conversations With Reality (2008) Vipassana Meditation: My Experiences at a 10-Day Retreat (2012) ALBUMS Alpha Cat (2011)

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The Book Thief:

A Reader's Guide to the Markus Zusak Novel

by Robert Crayola

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Robert Crayola

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/robertcrayola

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CONTENTS

Introduction

The Elements of Literature

Characters

Glossary

Chapter Summaries & Commentary

Critical Questions & Essay Topics

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to The Book Thief: A Reader's Guide to the Markus Zusak Novel. This guide is designed to add to your understanding of the book and get you thinking about its deeper dimensions. We will examine it from a variety of angles and this guide will be beneficial whether you are totally new to the book or have already familiarized yourself with the text. I will be revealing all major details of the book, so if you don't want spoilers, go and read the book first.

Since its publication in 2006, The Book Thief has become a bestselling novel. It is about a young girl in Germany in World War II and the toll exacted by the war on her, her family, and her neighborhood. With the release of the feature film of The Book Thief in 2013, the book has been affirmed as a modern classic.

Let's begin our study of this book with a look at the author, Markus Zusak.

AUTHOR: Born in Sydney, Australia, on June 23, 1975, Markus Zusak got a lot of the material for The Book Thief from his parents' tales of their own World War II experiences. His mother was German and lived in a town like that in the book during the war.

Influenced from books at a young age, he cites The Old Man and the Sea, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and S.E. Hinton's books as critical to helping him choose to be a writer. His success was not immediate however. He submitted stories and was rejected for seven years before the publication of his first novel, The Underdog, in 1999. It was followed by a sequel, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, establishing him firmly as an author for young adults. His next book was When Dogs Cry, but it was with The Messenger in 2002 that he reached a new level of success and critical acclaim. His most recent book is The Book Thief, and he has a novel in the works called Bridge of Clay.

CONTEXT: The Book Thief was published in 2006, over sixty years after World War II had ended, and by that time there was an enormous amount of material available to work from to make the book historically accurate, although the town of Molching is a fictitious creation. Zusak worked on the book for three years, researching it heavily.

It's interesting to note that when The Book Thief was originally released in Australia, it was marketed to adults. It's only when it was marketed to foreign markets, particularly the U.S., that it was specifically aimed at the young adult audience.

THE ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE

WHAT KIND OF A BOOK IS THIS?: The Book Thief is