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The Book Thief
- Narrated by: Allan Corduner
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
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The Book Thief
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Summary
Brought to life by the rich tone of narrator Allan Corduner's voice, The Book Thief is one audiobook that will stay lodged in your mind long after the final word has been spoken.
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Newcomer of the Year, 2008.
"It's just a small story, really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery...."
This novel is narrated in the all-knowing, matter-of-fact voice of Death, who witnesses the story of the citizens of Molching.
When nine-year-old Liesel arrives outside the boxlike house of her new foster parents at 33 Himmel Street, she refuses to get out of the car. Liesel has been separated from her parents, "Kommunists", forever, and at the burial of her little brother, she steals a gravedigger's instruction manual, which she can't read. It is the beginning of her illustrious career.
In the care of the Hubermans, Liesel befriends blond-haired Rudy Steiner, a neighbour obsessed with Jesse Owens, and the mayor's wife, who hides from despair in her library. Together, Liesel and Rudy steal books - from Nazi book-burning piles, from the mayor's library, from the rich people for whom her foster mother does the ironing. In time, they take in a Jewish boxer, Max, who reads with Liesel in the basement.
By 1943, the Allied bombs are falling, and the sirens begin to wail. Liesel shares her books in the air-raid shelters. But one day in the life of Himmel Street, the wail of the sirens comes too late.
A life-changing tale of the cruel twists of fate and the coincidences on which all our lives hinge, this is also a joyous look at how books can nourish the soul. Its uplifting ending will make listeners weep.
Critic reviews
"Allan Corduner is perfectly voiced as the narrator, who visits the 9-year-old book thief, whose parents have been sent to a concentration camp, three times. It¿s Zusak¿s first adult novel and it¿s breathtaking." ( Daily Express)
"Absorbing and searing." ( Washington Post)
"Zusak makes his ostensibly gloomy subject bearable in the same way Kurt Vonnegut did in Slaughterhouse-Five, with grim, darkly consoling humour." ( Time)
"Zusak's playfulness with language leavens the horror and makes the theme more resonant: words can save your life....It's a measure of how successfully Zusak has humanized these characters that even though we know they are doomed, it's no less devastating when Death finally reaches them." ( Publishers Weekly)
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What listeners say about The Book Thief
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Louise
- 21-01-15
Fantastic
I loved this story, touching, thought provoking, funny and totally heartbreaking. I could hear it all over again straight away.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fergus Anthony Dolan
- 01-11-13
A book to remember for a very long time
What made the experience of listening to The Book Thief the most enjoyable?
The pace of this book allows the story to develop with sublime style. You know from the very beginning how the book ends but when death is the narrator you will find it hard to turn away.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Book Thief?
Max is a Jewish man the family are hiding in the Second World War Munich. Starved of light in a bleak cellar he is so moved but the girl of the family's weather reports that he paints on the wall of the cellar a moving picture of her description of the summers day he can never see
Which scene did you most enjoy?
The discovery of the mother clutching her husbands accordion to her in her sleep as a way of holding on to him as he is away with the German army. Couple that to Max's boxing match with Hitler.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
How can a writer make some thing marvellous from the horrors of the Second World War. In the middle of the wretchedness this book makes us rejoice for those that lived through that unique period.
Any additional comments?
Full credit must go the narrator here. Every tear drop of prose is delivered in a great variety of voices. This is also a difficult book technically to read as it breaks ofF into tangents on vocabulary and history. Yet all the cast have their own unique voice to the end. Surely this is the voice of death and Death would certainly approve.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Holly-Anne
- 23-12-12
Thoroughly enjoyed!
I absolutely loved this book! I was hooked from the first chapter. Not only is it a captivating story but I found it really interesting hearing about war time Germany from the perspective of a normal (although special) person.I would reccomend it in a heart beat! .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- V
- 08-04-12
The Book Thief
I bought this as it had a high rating from other listeners. I was not disappointed. As well as being historical it is imaginatively written and beautifully read. I normally have audio books for the car for long journeys but I was finding myself tuning in even on short journeys. I would thoroughly recommend it.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Vivienne F
- 29-05-16
Unusual, deep, beautifully narrated
Any additional comments?
I loved and hated this book. The characters were extremely engaging and 3 dimensional, and the excellent narrator really brought them to life. There was a fair bit of spoken German in the book, and it was really nice to hear it spoken correctly for a change. I personally didn't like that the narrative voice was 'Death', but death really is at the centre of this story, so it does make sense.
Seen through the exploits of a young German girl living in Nazi Germany during the war, 'The Book Thief' illustrates powerfully the conflicts that arose amongst ordinary Germans, many of whom hated Hitler as much as the rest of the world. It is extremely deep and thought provoking, and the language is beautifully poetic. I think it would probably be worth reading the book as well, because I'm sure I've missed a lot of the subtleties. But although there are moments of levity, this is a very heavy book, that needs a lot of thought while you are listening to it - definitely not holiday reading! I kept having to rewind, as I felt I had missed an important bit.
When people say that the ending is wonderful and tragic, they actually mean the climax that happens just prior to the actual end of the book. The end of the book itself is extremely disappointing, as Death skips from the tragedy just unfolded so vividly to 60 odd years later. I wanted to know more about those 60 years! If the author didn't want to tell us, he should have ended the book more directly!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ally poole
- 31-08-16
A wonderful book
I have listened to this book over and over and still I find the last chapter so emotional. Brilliantly narrated and the characters are wonderfully portrayed.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- K
- 24-05-15
Brilliant
The book thief... Well... Brilliant storyline brilliant storytelling well narrated. Will definitely be listening again!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Katey Kooks
- 04-05-17
Brilliant narrator for a marvellous narrative!
Corduner as 'Death' is brilliant. What a beautiful story, which Zusak unfolds for us wonderfully. Not your usual World War 2 narrative; something very different, very special.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jackie Hammond
- 08-10-16
Loved it
I ordered this book on the daily deal offer and didn't know what to expect but it had great reviews. So glad I did, not my normal choice but enjoyed it immensely. Well recommended. Such an insight to the German families in the war which I think gets over looked in history
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 15-07-17
I love it
An enchanting yet devastating roller-coaster of a story. This can make you cry, laugh and gasp all at once.
The characters are so lovable and you feel empathy for all of them so much that you want to be part of the story. I really loved the narrators deep, comfortingly calm voice. Also, the way the story was told and written was perfect, I loved the idea of it being narrated by death.
The only bad thing I can think of is that you have to concentrate on what he is saying all the time to understand it and that you need to be motivated to get through it.
Overall, I think you will definitely not regret it if you get this audio book.
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