Book: The Book Thief

2 months. It took me 2 months.

This story is written in the perspective of Death and he consistently reveals who is going die before the plots actually gets there. There are a lot of jump cuts back and forth. I do appreciate it and i think it does soften the blow of the characters dying but due to my inconsistent breaks in between, the deaths of the characters come as a shock to me despite the author's best intentions.The format of the story is refreshing and it was overall a really good read.

Almost all the characters died at the end of the story. It seems like i am putting out a spoiler but really, it isnt. Right at the beginning, you are warned by Death that people are going to die. Besides, this is a war story. What else do you expect? Unfortunately for me, i had never doubted that the characters would live forever. I had forgotten that these characters have lives. When their dreams and emotions and experiences are being penned into words, they are given lives. That was when i realised why it was so important for the book to be thick. It has to describe the details of each characters' passions, emotions and experiences so that people would care. They are precious because each person has their own story to tell.

I was reflecting about this in the car and i realised it is the same for humans as well. Everyone of us is precious because each of us has our own story to tell. Our dreams, our feelings, our experiences, our thoughts form the individual we are. We do not merely have a body, we have a soul.

There's another insight i got from The Book Thief. I should have known it in the early stages and especially from the book title but because of my inconsistent reading patterns, i only realise the value behind this book at the last quarter. How silly was i to have missed it.

Words.

Words that can breathe life and summon death. Nobody think much about words. We use words carelessly and indifferently. The author demonstrates through a story about a war about how no one thinks twice about words even though they are so important. Food was important. Shelter was important. Health was important. Words? Who would give a damn about words in a war? But people had forgotten that it was words that started the war. And with the correct usage, it can give people hope and life. That is how negligible words seem to be; that is how powerful words can be.

“A small but noteworthy note. I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They are running at me.” 

“The consequence of this is that I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both.” 

“The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn't be any of this.” 

“You can kill a man with those words.
No gun. 
No bullets. 
Just words and a girl.” 

"I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."

"The only thing worse about a boy who hates you: a boy who loves you."

“He does something to me, that boy. Every time. It’s his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry.”

“... And the boy whose hair remained the color of lemons forever.”