Convincing you to read the books I've read

-
     THE BOOK THIEF
               by Markus Zusak

     I first heard about the Second World War in primary school. This historical event features in the movie, "Sound of Music" and has movies dedicated entirely to the people who lived through this war. It's the reason behind the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

A side note
  What if Hitler's propaganda had won?

     "The Book Thief" is set in Nazi Germany but it isn't just any war story. The narrator of this story is Death. 
( If that hasn't already made you want to read it, then I don't know what will.)
     In the book, we see death as an onlooker who can be anywhere but has singled out and chosen to study a little German girl, Liesel Meminger, who lives with her foster parents after her biological mother can no longer cater for her.
      Liesel only grows closer to her foster father because she is fueled by the desire to read her first stolen book "The Gravediggers Handbook" which is quite a morbid book for a girl her age. She so badly wants to read this book either because it's the only reminder of her brother(who died on their way to the foster home) or to make sure he was buried right. 
     The book teaches the power of words and if anything, moved me to want to write more. It revealed the insight that Hitler's first power was his words. "He planted them day and night and cultivated them" till he could get other people to put their arms and weapons to use. Which says a lot about the power of words and is an excuse to insert a quote from the movie, Dead Poets Society.
Photo from Pinterest

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is in love with words and old enough to deal with the idea of death.
     In other words, if you've read this review to the end, then you should read "The Book Thief".

                                               Wholeheartedly,
                                                     Yours_Truly.


Comments

  1. OluwatofunmiDecember 5, 2024 at 2:15 AM

    This is so good
    I read the first page a long time ago, I might as well finish it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. OpemioneDecember 5, 2024 at 12:09 PM

    Well written! I believe it's worth exploring.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HUMANS USED TO THINK.

-
At some point in my life, I believed that the world would end due to a robot apocalypse... That was after watching a movie in which robots became sentient and managed to develop human emotions and sentiments including the will for rebellion and destruction. I had mind maps of all the places I would hide and possibly enough determination to survive long into the apocalypse. Recently, I’ve come to believe that this fear of mine is most unlikely to come true; at least until 2035(according to I, Robot) . For now, I am of the opinion that if human creativity dies before human extinction, it would be as a result of the misuse of Artificial Intelligence. I must agree with people who have suggested that if Artificial Intelligence were to destroy the world, it would be in a philosophical and not necessarily an apocalyptic sense. An article in 2023 mentioned that Artificial Intelligence or the excessive use of it, can alter the way people view themselves and degrade abilities or experien...
Read more

Convincing you to read books I've read again

-
THE VEGETARIAN  by Han Kang  translated by Deborah Smith Of the books I've read this year, this happens to be one of the weirdest ones as much as I have been unable to stop thinking about it.  I initially thought it was going to follow one of those "I hate my wife," narratives that manage to achieve nothing other than invoking pure infuriation from me as a reader. However, as the story unfolded, I felt more sadness and disappointment(in the system and characters not the book), than the anger I initially anticipated. The themes brought to light in this book could be treated as a universal problem even though the writer originally intended to bring forward issues in South Korea where the book is set. Again drawing to mind that the struggle of women anywhere is the struggle of women everywhere. In the book, we follow the story of Yeong-hye who is viewed as a sister, daughter, sister-in-law or wife and in my opinion, overlooked as a person. Her decision to become vegetarian a...
Read more

Ending my beef with Amy March

-
Image
When I laid my hands on my first copy of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, I never let it go. I had never seen anything like it. The description of Jo was the most beautiful mix of words I had ever read. We had so much in common! From a shared interest in writing, to being labeled as moody, to the shared disdain towards marriage. It goes without saying, I was in awe. I read the book over and over, every time I got the chance; I had never felt so seen and when my sister took a pen and doodled all over its pages, my reaction was almost similar to Jo's when Amy set her manuscript on fire. I didn't like Amy... I don't like anyone who ruins people's hardwork because why would you do that?? I never thought I would ever forgive Amy but I forgave my sister and because of Greta Gerwig's adaptation of the book in 2019, I don't quite hate Amy anymore. In retrospect, Amy was quite responsible. She, like Jo recognized that she would have to aid the family financially and...
Read more