Hello Guys!
It's been yet another long wait for my muse to show up; and this time it conjured up in form of a book/ movie "The Book Thief". Being a lover of fragrant written pages ever since my childhood... I was more than happy about the title. The movie especially the book has been appreciated and celebrated by many across the world....still felt like writing about it to spread the word.
It was a suggested read from my sister who raised the bar immediately labeling it to be one of her best reads so far...and once I turned the final page I must admit it was even better. Death as the narrator and Liesel Meminger as the main protagonist mesmerize, stun and warm your hearts all at the same time.
A little girl of 10 arrives at Himmel Street (loosely translated to Heaven in English) in Munich, in a warn-torn German. She is haunted by memories of her lost mother and dead brother every night taking solace and comfort in a Gravedigger's manual she steals from her brother's burial site....and thus begins the journey of our book thief...her journey of stealing books and finding words....her journey to find hope in a world full of hopelessness...her journey to find life in her words...to find and give comfort through those words bringing stories alive and much more.
Her papa Hans - a retired army cadet, who paints houses for a living now, mama Rosa - the abusive but kind laundry lady, her first admirer/ friend/ playmate Rudy - the boy with hair the color of lemons and a mysterious jew in their basement Max - all these characters lend colors, life, poetry and beauty to create a world that will forever be special to me.
Those of you fond of moving images on the screen than reading words on paper - do watch the movie which tries substantially to stay true to the plot and manages to evoke emotions all the same. The cast and crew have done a fantastic job bringing to life a fabulous story and it is worthy to be watched. Trapped in a nefarious and radical fanatic world; you realize the war wasn't only about antisemitism, battle strategies, warfare and political propaganda - it was about real people and families and kids - trapped in poverty, pain, hatred, weakness, hopelessness and misery - but nevertheless having the same desires and capability to love as everybody else.
Leisel's years on Himmel Street shows to prove once again the strength and power of the human soul to be good, kind, courageous and unyielding - but above all it makes us believe in the power of Hope :-) Even as death is all around reaping millions of souls in a world of insignificant and fragile human bodies; one little girl manages to catch his attention and as he admits in the final pages - "Death is always Haunted by Humans".
Kudos to Markus Zusak for writing a masterpiece and the film-makers to bring his work to life!
Cheers
Sucheta
