I love getting into a movie and escaping reality for a couple hours, but as much as I enjoy them, I can get over them soon once they are over. Books are another story and rather fascinating in that they stay with you for days and weeks at a time. It's like you have a whole other world sitting quietly on your nightstand, waiting for you to visit. I bond with the story and the characters, and once I am done reading the story I sometimes say I have a book hangover. I might feel a little sad, or at a loss if the ending doesn't satisfy.There is some kind of pain knowing your first trip to that world has ended and visits with those characters are over. I can often judge how well I have enjoyed a book by how bad my book hangover is, and this next one left me with a bad hangover.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is the story of a young German girl, Liesel, that is sent to live with foster parents in the years leading up to WWII. She is heartbroken for having to leave her mother and losing her little brother on the journey to her new home. In fact, the first book she stole was from one of the workers that dug her brothers grave. Her foster mother is very cold and harsh at times, but does love her in her own way. Her papa is gentle and wonderful. He calms her from her nightmares each night and teaches her to read. They form such a sweet bond and as Liesel grows older, she finds more books to steal so that her Papa can help her with the words. Once the war breaks out, her foster parents take in a Jew, Max, and protect him from the Nazi's. Liesel and Max form an unlikely friendship and he encourages her to begin writing her stories. You can foresee potential problems because we are familiar with the history here but you don't know Liesel's fate until the end. The narrator tells the story in a hauntingly beautiful way, almost like poetry at times. Liesel's story truly pulled and tugged on my heartstrings and has found a nice dimly lit niche in my soul. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for WWII stories, but this could be my favorite book for the year. I highly recommend it if you are interested in European or WWII history and want to get as close to living it as possible.
