Amazon.ca describes this book as a "dark and powerfully absorbing novel, brilliantly executed". It's narrator calls it "just as small story, really." Jump in with both feet and surrender to one of the most gripping, unusual, hilarious books I've read in years. It's a book about books, about hate, about love, and about how words can be our most powerful weapons.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Point of View
Having Death tell this story is what makes it really unique. How does it affect your reading of the novel?
I think that having death tell the story is what makes it interesting. I think that because all novels i've read are narrated by people. Not only does this change my perspective on the book, it changes my perspective on death. It gives me the impression that death is almost like a person rather than just something that happens to people. Death being the narrator really makes you think. Since the story is told from liesels journal, and death shares his opinions it's like the story is told from two perspectives. In my opinion, if it were told from anyone elses point of view it would be kind of boring.
i totally agree with veronica. having death as the narrator really takes the story on from a whole different look. if the story was to just be told from leisel's point of view we would only have a one sided story which would be dull and boring, but with death as the narrator we get to see in everyones head. this really adds quality into the story from a perspective not usually seen in many books
i agree as well. Having the book unfold through the eyes of death gives it kind of a creepy sense, but it also makes the book so much more intresting because it shows how powerful death really is. Since death can see into anyone's mind,the thoughts of the characters are also shown and that makes it easier to see and understand the story. It really is a unique way to unfold what happens in the book.
I agree with all of the above. Death is normally percieved as a negative character, but the way Zusak gives compassion to the character of death makes him seem not scary at all. When asked to think of death as a person, I think of an evil, cloaked figure. After getting into The Book Thief, I realize that death carries away the good as well, not just the evil.
Death I believe is the perfect narrator for this book. The reason I believe this is because he gives such a broad view of everything happening in the book. He also knows all of the thoughts and feelings of the characters which gives myself a better understanding of the book.
It's really cool to have an outside view as the narrator so he can tell us about things that aren't happening in the house, or that are happening in the future. It's interesting to be given glimpses of future events in the midst of the story.
I believe that hearing the story from the point of view of death makes the story more interesting and also different from most other books. It helps to understand what is going on in the story because he knows all the thoughts and feelings of the characters. I also like how death has the little notes throughout the book. It helps you understand what the other characters are talking about. I also think that death is a fitting narrator since so many people died during this time.
I also agree with almost everything that has been said. For some reason though, I don't find having death tell the story all that creepy, I just find it extremely interesting and odd because I've never really thought of death as a person with feelings and a job before. Also, the thought never occured to me that if death was a person he might not like his job.It makes death seem more humane and normal. It makes the idea of death sad in an entirely new way, because not only is the fact that somone just died sad, it's sad that death will have to keep doing his job that he dislikes until the end of time. It's sad on a bigger scale as well as a smaller one. Thankfully though, I find having death be the narrator in this story makes everytime someone dies a bit less tragic and final. It's not like the characters that die are gone forever then, just gone from the story because death carried their soul off somewhere.
I think it's interesting that death is the narrator because it is definitely different, but every so often while i'm reading I think that Leisel is narrating so I get confused and I don't really know what is really going on.
I think that having death as the narrator is very interesting. I think it is a really cool way to tell the story. Although, sometimes I feel like death is not the narrator, instead I think that Liesel is narrating the story even though she's not. I think that having death as the narrator might give away the ending. But, I still like it, and find it interesting.
I think that Death is a very interesting narrator, because he has a sort of undescribably different way of describing the present situation and telling the story. I particularily like the way that he notices colours and the way he describes human's behaviors, as if he's seen it all before, but still doesn't quite understand why. The way he foreshadows with little pieces of information helps me stay interested and eager to read further.
The Way death is depected, it gives death a personality, which has probably never been done before, I particularly enjoy how death seems almost simpathetic because of the syntex of his language. Its pretty amazing that anyone author can take such a sufficient effort in creating death, completely different than ever before. It has changed all of the pre-preceptions that have been thought of before as death. If death were made a person, this is how he would be personified. I really enjoy the insight.
I also agree that death isnt a creepy way of narrating the novel, but interesting. It makes me want to read the Book Thief more becuase of the different point of view. I have never read a book thats had a creative narrator like this , it makes the book more appealing.
I agree with Amanpreet because I don't feel death is creepy, he is really interesting. And, it does make the book a lot more appealing, because I feel that death as a narrator isn't common and very different/interesting.
When I first started reading this novel I honestly did not catch on right away that death was the narrator because I couldn’t picture him as a person with actual opinions and feelings. I knew when he said that he sees colours when people die that I would like the book because I could tell that the story was going to be told in a unique perspective and that’s a really refreshing thing. I’m so used to reading stories that are told in either first or third person but I wouldn’t consider death either of those. I like how one minute I’ll be reading about Liesel and Rudy’s wild stealing sprees and then the next i’ll be reading about death’s “travels” and “pickups”. It really makes me think about death, not as a thing that happens, but as a person that goes around and picks up people’s souls as they are leaving their bodies. I try to not to think about death because honestly it kind of scares me but after reading this book it kind of reassuring. I used to get angry when I thought about the fact that someone was getting taken away from everyone but this book just makes me see things in a whole new way.
I also agree with Nicole that I did not notice death was the narrator right away not until he started saying he held souls in his arms. It made me realize oh yeah, death is the narrator. Then things started making more sense as I read on.
i think that having death as the narrator through out the story helped me clarify things that i probably would not have understood if it was someone else narrating. Death has helped make this book clear for me and more interesting as i continue to read.
In my opinion the Death’s way of narrating, as first creates a cynical feel to it, but as you continue on with the book you start to forget that it’s Death who is tell you the story. The narration of Death gets lost a little bit because it seems as if it’s Liesel who is telling us how everything that had happened. At times Death has its moments where it interjects a few moments of humour or a reference to its feelings about colors and how they are tied in with how he feels connected to the human world. In a way, I guess Death creates an image that is really more than just what’s happening on Himmel Street. The author really tied in the world events nicely with the simple or rather not so simple life of a young German girl. Also the author had many ways for creating the point of view perspective like third person or even from just Liesel’s point of view, but Death is like the creature that is there to observe the death around him, it’s like his presence in the reading pulls you in at times, making you invasion the fields and streets of dead people, which it is all about since we were definitely not born during the World War II and we were not there to experience such an immense lost of all those lives.
I find the way death narrates the book is different, and I like how you get to feel what hes thinking but I find that I can almost tell how some the characters feel as well. I have found it has really let me know the characters in more detail without actually having them narrate the book. I can almost tell when Liesel or Rudy is angry or upset and it makes reading the book easy. I thought having death narrate the book might make it harder to understand but it has actually been quite helpful. I agree with Nicole that I didnt really notice at first, but knowing gives me a different perspective on the story.
I really enjoy death as a narrator. I feel like death is a person. The way death talks about not liking his job, and no one else would take it. And how he is so gentle with the souls that he takes from the bodies. He is also kind of humorous when he said " At that moment, you will be laying there (I rarely find people standing up)." when I was reading that, it made me laugh to myself. It changes my perspective on death because I never thought of it as a human or as it being someones job and you kind of feel sorry for him.
I really like how death as the narrator uses colours many times throughout the book to describe a scene, object or even an expression. It helps to paint a picture in the readers mind. Everyone can relate to colours easily.
I agree with Schlyar. In the story the author has really made me feel like death is a person with human qualities; sick of his job, nobody understands him. He is quite funny at times too and i feel that sometimes hes there to lighten up the story a little bit. with all of the death and misery going on in Germany it's nice to have a narrator like Death who can just lighten up the mood for even a second and be there to clarify and point out things that any other narrator like Liesel, Max or Rudy would not be able to.
The only thing I don't like about death being the narrator is that he knows what is going to happen in the end so he lets us know ahead of time. For example when he stated that Rudy was going to die at the end. I wasn't thinking at all that Rudy was going to die, but then he told us. I would've liked to find that out for myself.
I actually like the way that death foreshadows for us throughout the book. For me it keeps me intersted in reading further to find out exactly how it happens. Because once I know it happened, I want to know how it happened. I think it would get the reader excited to read on. It is a nice change.
I just wanted to quote one of my favourite paragraphs in the book because I think it is one of the most descriptive things I have ever read and it put such vivid images into my head which really helped me to imagine the horrible things these people went through.
"They watched the Jews come down the road like a catalog of colours. That wasn't how the book thief described them, but I can tell you that that's exactly what they were, for many of them would die. They would each greet me like their last true friend, with bones like smoke and their souls trailing behind."
That is one of those paragraphs in the book that really draws me in and when I first found out that death was going to be the narrator I was a little skeptical about how the book was going to be but its turned out to be one of the best written books i've ever read.
I like what the author wrote after "*** A LAST NOTE FROM YOUR NARRATOR***". The concept of death being haunted by humans, the people that it, itself is said to haunt. I can't help but wonder what, specifically haunts death about humans. Could it be that we are heartless enough to attempt to wipe off a whole part of our population, or that we have the strength to live through such horror and continue as a functional race. Humans that are haunted by death are typically fear permanently leaving their loved ones and the beauties of the Earth, but what does death have to be haunted about from humans?
I think that Death as the narrator really allows you to see different perspectives of the story. The way he gives hints as to what direction the book is going to go to next keeps me interested and makes me think what the author is going to change to make such a thing happen. I also like how Death shows his feelings towards some of the events in the story such as how he feels that Nazi Germany was brought together by the love to burn things. I think that Death as a narrator also helps me to enjoy the book more because this is the first time that I have read a book that uses Death as a narrator which is something much different from most narrative novels.
There was one specific part of the novel where I really loved the fact that death was the narrorator and found that it made the moment so much more important and interesting. This part is on page 455 when Liesel is giving Rudy a christmas present from his father's shop, and Rudy falls. "On the floor, Rudy laughed. Then he closed his eyes, clenching them hard. Liesel rushed over. She crouched above him. Kiss him, Leisel, kiss him. 'Are you alright, Rudy? Rudy?'" This part already would have had tension even if death weren't the narrator because the reader wants to know what's wrong with Rudy, knows that deep down Liesel wants to kiss Rudy, and that Rudy obviously wants to get a kiss from Liesel. It's as if the words "Kiss him, Leisel, kiss him." Are going through both Rudy and Liesel's heads at the same time, and this part seems like a natural point for their kiss to happen at, even though the reader knows it's not going to occur. Having death be the narrorator, however, means that this message is coming from death as well, so it gives the statement more meaning. It's as though it emotionally pains death that Rudy and Liesel never got to have a real kiss, and he wishes badly it could happen for them and that he could warn Liesel that time is running out for Rudy, but he can't. When you think about that line after you read it you realize that there's more to it than you first thought, and it personificates death and accentuates the idea that death isn't the real enemy here on earth, that we are our own enemies even further. When I read this line I think of death clenching his eyes shut like Rudy's are, muttering it under his breath to Liesel in desperation, because it hurts him to recount this part of the story and think about how much can never happen for Rudy and Liesel.
I found it interesting that death found Liesel's life so fascinating, that he was able to make a story about it. Even though he goes around the world and collects many other souls and sees many other people, he payed so much attention to Liesel instead.
I agree with Brittany. How would death have the time to pay so much attention to one persons life? Especially while Hitler was killing so many people along with the people that die everyday because he does have a lot of work to do.
The way Death narrates the novel is giving me a different perspective of death in life. As people have metioned before, you see that Death has devolped a personality of sorts, with feelings. The whole idea of death is a scary thought for a lot of people but reading this has changed that for me. I see death in a less negative way. The feelings Death shares with the reader makes it seem more personel and like Death cares about each person. Death seems to be almost sympathetic. I find it really interesting to continue to see Death's role develope.
This novel is told in first person limited form by death. the story could have just as easilyt been told in objective form, but having death tell it gives it a more personal appeal. Liesel could not have told the story, even though deathw as using her diary to tell it. She could not have known what was happening in other parts of germany and in other parts of the world like death did.
I agree with Vesna about liking the pieces of information we get about other events happening at the same time in other parts of the world that we wouldn't get if Liesel was the narrator. It makes the book a lot more intriguing when we get to hear about things from the past, present, or future that are happening in other places but still relate to the story being told. I enjoy this point of view much more than the usual forms such as first person, or limited omniscient.
One of the biggest reasons I find this POV unique is that it really broadens the mind of the reader and makes them ask themselves, exactly what is death? In our blogs he/it's been talked about as a character, a theme, and a point of view, so I think that's it's safe to conclude death is an important part of everyone of our lives, because without death their would be no life. Is death really revenge-seeking and greedy like our stereotypes? Does death talk to you when you die like Zusak imagined? Does death too have feelings and dislike his job like the majority of people? Or is death something that just is? A rule of the universe that humans don't understand and therefore have trouble accepting? Whatever the answer, for me this Point of View inspired the questions and I wouldn't get half as much out of the novel if it were told any other way.
Now that I am done the book, I look back and I'm really glad that the author decided to make death the narrator because it just makes the book so much more descriptive and unique. There are so many areas in the book where death makes comments about certain things and it actually makes me picture the situation much clearer than I probably would if he didn't say anything about it. Towards the end of the book I was starting to get used to death not only as the narrator of the story but I do consider him a character as well because he made many important contributions to the book.
Having death tell the story was both a good and a bad thing for me. Death gave all of the information needed to fully understand the book. Death also gave the book a much more personal feel and he made me really think about what death is, and what if death were really a person. He also kept me interested by hinting on things that were about to happen in the novel. But that reason is also the reason that I didnt like death as the narrator. I didn't mind the "status updates" until death announced Rudy's death. I found myself angry and felt that the book was ruined. I also found myself skimming the pagges that didn't have Rudy or bombings in them. I do admit that it kept me reading, but since I skimmed and missed out details and I had to go back and reread. Death also made me angry when he would put the story on pause and talk about his feelings. The only reason I found this boring was again because it didn't involve Rudy. I think death would have been a great narrator if he didnt give so much of the ending away, and for that reason I think I might've enjoyed the book more if it was written in objective third person form.
It was very intriguing having death tell the story, I liked that it was an unexpected narrator. But, I often have to re-read parts of the book because I forget that it is death telling the story and not Liesel. He will mention something about "the girl" and I won't know who he was talking about because I think it is her.
Just like man yother people I did enjoy death telling the story. It was a very unique style of writing and the bold sections put were interesting and very informative. What I did not like about the narrative style was that it was not clear as to how and when death was actually witnessing events. I say this because I believe by the end of the book we find out that Death was actually reading from Liesel's book.
Death being the narrator is a nice change for once but i think he almost gives away parts of the book because of his hints throughout the novel. This has almost spoiled some parts of the book for me.
I think that every one pretty much covers the whole death being the narrator. I agree it is fascinating and unique but the author could have taken it to the next level. The author could have evolved the Death's character and development in the novel. It said that death has been on Earth for a long time, why not dedicate a chapter or two of giving us a little detail on how death came to be, or how and why he feels as a human would. I understand that the author might have wanted death to have a humane connection to Liesel and he did, but it all gets lost because the story is all about her. That is why I think the whole idea of death narrating is really irrelevant to the reader because truth be told, I'm sure at least once the reader had to forget that death was narrating.
I think that having death tell the story is what makes it interesting. I think that because all novels i've read are narrated by people. Not only does this change my perspective on the book, it changes my perspective on death. It gives me the impression that death is almost like a person rather than just something that happens to people. Death being the narrator really makes you think. Since the story is told from liesels journal, and death shares his opinions it's like the story is told from two perspectives. In my opinion, if it were told from anyone elses point of view it would be kind of boring.
ReplyDeletei totally agree with veronica. having death as the narrator really takes the story on from a whole different look. if the story was to just be told from leisel's point of view we would only have a one sided story which would be dull and boring, but with death as the narrator we get to see in everyones head. this really adds quality into the story from a perspective not usually seen in many books
ReplyDeletei agree as well. Having the book unfold through the eyes of death gives it kind of a creepy sense, but it also makes the book so much more intresting because it shows how powerful death really is. Since death can see into anyone's mind,the thoughts of the characters are also shown and that makes it easier to see and understand the story. It really is a unique way to unfold what happens in the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above. Death is normally percieved as a negative character, but the way Zusak gives compassion to the character of death makes him seem not scary at all. When asked to think of death as a person, I think of an evil, cloaked figure. After getting into The Book Thief, I realize that death carries away the good as well, not just the evil.
ReplyDeleteDeath I believe is the perfect narrator for this book. The reason I believe this is because he gives such a broad view of everything happening in the book. He also knows all of the thoughts and feelings of the characters which gives myself a better understanding of the book.
ReplyDeleteIt's really cool to have an outside view as the narrator so he can tell us about things that aren't happening in the house, or that are happening in the future. It's interesting to be given glimpses of future events in the midst of the story.
ReplyDeleteI believe that hearing the story from the point of view of death makes the story more interesting and also different from most other books. It helps to understand what is going on in the story because he knows all the thoughts and feelings of the characters. I also like how death has the little notes throughout the book. It helps you understand what the other characters are talking about. I also think that death is a fitting narrator since so many people died during this time.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with almost everything that has been said. For some reason though, I don't find having death tell the story all that creepy, I just find it extremely interesting and odd because I've never really thought of death as a person with feelings and a job before. Also, the thought never occured to me that if death was a person he might not like his job.It makes death seem more humane and normal. It makes the idea of death sad in an entirely new way, because not only is the fact that somone just died sad, it's sad that death will have to keep doing his job that he dislikes until the end of time. It's sad on a bigger scale as well as a smaller one. Thankfully though, I find having death be the narrator in this story makes everytime someone dies a bit less tragic and final. It's not like the characters that die are gone forever then, just gone from the story because death carried their soul off somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that death is the narrator because it is definitely different, but every so often while i'm reading I think that Leisel is narrating so I get confused and I don't really know what is really going on.
ReplyDeleteI think that having death as the narrator is very interesting. I think it is a really cool way to tell the story. Although, sometimes I feel like death is not the narrator, instead I think that Liesel is narrating the story even though she's not. I think that having death as the narrator might give away the ending. But, I still like it, and find it interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think that Death is a very interesting narrator, because he has a sort of undescribably different way of describing the present situation and telling the story. I particularily like the way that he notices colours and the way he describes human's behaviors, as if he's seen it all before, but still doesn't quite understand why. The way he foreshadows with little pieces of information helps me stay interested and eager to read further.
ReplyDeleteBe sure that you don't just repeat the comments of others; respond to them, or include a new way of looking at things from your perspective.
ReplyDeleteThe Way death is depected, it gives death a personality, which has probably never been done before, I particularly enjoy how death seems almost simpathetic because of the syntex of his language. Its pretty amazing that anyone author can take such a sufficient effort in creating death, completely different than ever before. It has changed all of the pre-preceptions that have been thought of before as death. If death were made a person, this is how he would be personified. I really enjoy the insight.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that death isnt a creepy way of narrating the novel, but interesting. It makes me want to read the Book Thief more becuase of the different point of view. I have never read a book thats had a creative narrator like this , it makes the book more appealing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amanpreet because I don't feel death is creepy, he is really interesting. And, it does make the book a lot more appealing, because I feel that death as a narrator isn't common and very different/interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started reading this novel I honestly did not catch on right away that death was the narrator because I couldn’t picture him as a person with actual opinions and feelings. I knew when he said that he sees colours when people die that I would like the book because I could tell that the story was going to be told in a unique perspective and that’s a really refreshing thing. I’m so used to reading stories that are told in either first or third person but I wouldn’t consider death either of those. I like how one minute I’ll be reading about Liesel and Rudy’s wild stealing sprees and then the next i’ll be reading about death’s “travels” and “pickups”. It really makes me think about death, not as a thing that happens, but as a person that goes around and picks up people’s souls as they are leaving their bodies. I try to not to think about death because honestly it kind of scares me but after reading this book it kind of reassuring. I used to get angry when I thought about the fact that someone was getting taken away from everyone but this book just makes me see things in a whole new way.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Nicole that I did not notice death was the narrator right away not until he started saying he held souls in his arms. It made me realize oh yeah, death is the narrator. Then things started making more sense as I read on.
ReplyDeletei think that having death as the narrator through out the story helped me clarify things that i probably would not have understood if it was someone else narrating. Death has helped make this book clear for me and more interesting as i continue to read.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the Death’s way of narrating, as first creates a cynical feel to it, but as you continue on with the book you start to forget that it’s Death who is tell you the story. The narration of Death gets lost a little bit because it seems as if it’s Liesel who is telling us how everything that had happened. At times Death has its moments where it interjects a few moments of humour or a reference to its feelings about colors and how they are tied in with how he feels connected to the human world. In a way, I guess Death creates an image that is really more than just what’s happening on Himmel Street. The author really tied in the world events nicely with the simple or rather not so simple life of a young German girl. Also the author had many ways for creating the point of view perspective like third person or even from just Liesel’s point of view, but Death is like the creature that is there to observe the death around him, it’s like his presence in the reading pulls you in at times, making you invasion the fields and streets of dead people, which it is all about since we were definitely not born during the World War II and we were not there to experience such an immense lost of all those lives.
ReplyDeleteI find the way death narrates the book is different, and I like how you get to feel what hes thinking but I find that I can almost tell how some the characters feel as well. I have found it has really let me know the characters in more detail without actually having them narrate the book. I can almost tell when Liesel or Rudy is angry or upset and it makes reading the book easy. I thought having death narrate the book might make it harder to understand but it has actually been quite helpful. I agree with Nicole that I didnt really notice at first, but knowing gives me a different perspective on the story.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy death as a narrator. I feel like death is a person. The way death talks about not liking his job, and no one else would take it. And how he is so gentle with the souls that he takes from the bodies. He is also kind of humorous when he said " At that moment, you will be laying there (I rarely find people standing up)." when I was reading that, it made me laugh to myself. It changes my perspective on death because I never thought of it as a human or as it being someones job and you kind of feel sorry for him.
ReplyDeleteI really like how death as the narrator uses colours many times throughout the book to describe a scene, object or even an expression. It helps to paint a picture in the readers mind. Everyone can relate to colours easily.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Schlyar. In the story the author has really made me feel like death is a person with human qualities; sick of his job, nobody understands him. He is quite funny at times too and i feel that sometimes hes there to lighten up the story a little bit. with all of the death and misery going on in Germany it's nice to have a narrator like Death who can just lighten up the mood for even a second and be there to clarify and point out things that any other narrator like Liesel, Max or Rudy would not be able to.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I don't like about death being the narrator is that he knows what is going to happen in the end so he lets us know ahead of time. For example when he stated that Rudy was going to die at the end. I wasn't thinking at all that Rudy was going to die, but then he told us. I would've liked to find that out for myself.
ReplyDeleteI actually like the way that death foreshadows for us throughout the book. For me it keeps me intersted in reading further to find out exactly how it happens. Because once I know it happened, I want to know how it happened. I think it would get the reader excited to read on. It is a nice change.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to quote one of my favourite paragraphs in the book because I think it is one of the most descriptive things I have ever read and it put such vivid images into my head which really helped me to imagine the horrible things these people went through.
ReplyDelete"They watched the Jews come down the road like a catalog of colours. That wasn't how the book thief described them, but I can tell you that that's exactly what they were, for many of them would die. They would each greet me like their last true friend, with bones like smoke and their souls trailing behind."
That is one of those paragraphs in the book that really draws me in and when I first found out that death was going to be the narrator I was a little skeptical about how the book was going to be but its turned out to be one of the best written books i've ever read.
I like what the author wrote after "*** A LAST NOTE FROM YOUR NARRATOR***". The concept of death being haunted by humans, the people that it, itself is said to haunt. I can't help but wonder what, specifically haunts death about humans. Could it be that we are heartless enough to attempt to wipe off a whole part of our population, or that we have the strength to live through such horror and continue as a functional race.
ReplyDeleteHumans that are haunted by death are typically fear permanently leaving their loved ones and the beauties of the Earth, but what does death have to be haunted about from humans?
I think that Death as the narrator really allows you to see different perspectives of the story. The way he gives hints as to what direction the book is going to go to next keeps me interested and makes me think what the author is going to change to make such a thing happen. I also like how Death shows his feelings towards some of the events in the story such as how he feels that Nazi Germany was brought together by the love to burn things. I think that Death as a narrator also helps me to enjoy the book more because this is the first time that I have read a book that uses Death as a narrator which is something much different from most narrative novels.
ReplyDeleteThere was one specific part of the novel where I really loved the fact that death was the narrorator and found that it made the moment so much more important and interesting. This part is on page 455 when Liesel is giving Rudy a christmas present from his father's shop, and Rudy falls.
ReplyDelete"On the floor, Rudy laughed.
Then he closed his eyes, clenching them hard.
Liesel rushed over.
She crouched above him.
Kiss him, Leisel, kiss him.
'Are you alright, Rudy? Rudy?'"
This part already would have had tension even if death weren't the narrator because the reader wants to know what's wrong with Rudy, knows that deep down Liesel wants to kiss Rudy, and that Rudy obviously wants to get a kiss from Liesel. It's as if the words "Kiss him, Leisel, kiss him." Are going through both Rudy and Liesel's heads at the same time, and this part seems like a natural point for their kiss to happen at, even though the reader knows it's not going to occur.
Having death be the narrorator, however, means that this message is coming from death as well, so it gives the statement more meaning. It's as though it emotionally pains death that Rudy and Liesel never got to have a real kiss, and he wishes badly it could happen for them and that he could warn Liesel that time is running out for Rudy, but he can't. When you think about that line after you read it you realize that there's more to it than you first thought, and it personificates death and accentuates the idea that death isn't the real enemy here on earth, that we are our own enemies even further. When I read this line I think of death clenching his eyes shut like Rudy's are, muttering it under his breath to Liesel in desperation, because it hurts him to recount this part of the story and think about how much can never happen for Rudy and Liesel.
I found it interesting that death found Liesel's life so fascinating, that he was able to make a story about it. Even though he goes around the world and collects many other souls and sees many other people, he payed so much attention to Liesel instead.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brittany. How would death have the time to pay so much attention to one persons life? Especially while Hitler was killing so many people along with the people that die everyday because he does have a lot of work to do.
ReplyDeleteThe way Death narrates the novel is giving me a different perspective of death in life. As people have metioned before, you see that Death has devolped a personality of sorts, with feelings. The whole idea of death is a scary thought for a lot of people but reading this has changed that for me. I see death in a less negative way. The feelings Death shares with the reader makes it seem more personel and like Death cares about each person. Death seems to be almost sympathetic. I find it really interesting to continue to see Death's role develope.
ReplyDeleteThis novel is told in first person limited form by death. the story could have just as easilyt been told in objective form, but having death tell it gives it a more personal appeal. Liesel could not have told the story, even though deathw as using her diary to tell it. She could not have known what was happening in other parts of germany and in other parts of the world like death did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Vesna about liking the pieces of information we get about other events happening at the same time in other parts of the world that we wouldn't get if Liesel was the narrator. It makes the book a lot more intriguing when we get to hear about things from the past, present, or future that are happening in other places but still relate to the story being told. I enjoy this point of view much more than the usual forms such as first person, or limited omniscient.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest reasons I find this POV unique is that it really broadens the mind of the reader and makes them ask themselves, exactly what is death? In our blogs he/it's been talked about as a character, a theme, and a point of view, so I think that's it's safe to conclude death is an important part of everyone of our lives, because without death their would be no life. Is death really revenge-seeking and greedy like our stereotypes? Does death talk to you when you die like Zusak imagined? Does death too have feelings and dislike his job like the majority of people? Or is death something that just is? A rule of the universe that humans don't understand and therefore have trouble accepting? Whatever the answer, for me this Point of View inspired the questions and I wouldn't get half as much out of the novel if it were told any other way.
ReplyDeleteNow that I am done the book, I look back and I'm really glad that the author decided to make death the narrator because it just makes the book so much more descriptive and unique. There are so many areas in the book where death makes comments about certain things and it actually makes me picture the situation much clearer than I probably would if he didn't say anything about it. Towards the end of the book I was starting to get used to death not only as the narrator of the story but I do consider him a character as well because he made many important contributions to the book.
ReplyDeleteHaving death tell the story was both a good and a bad thing for me. Death gave all of the information needed to fully understand the book. Death also gave the book a much more personal feel and he made me really think about what death is, and what if death were really a person. He also kept me interested by hinting on things that were about to happen in the novel. But that reason is also the reason that I didnt like death as the narrator. I didn't mind the "status updates" until death announced Rudy's death. I found myself angry and felt that the book was ruined. I also found myself skimming the pagges that didn't have Rudy or bombings in them. I do admit that it kept me reading, but since I skimmed and missed out details and I had to go back and reread. Death also made me angry when he would put the story on pause and talk about his feelings. The only reason I found this boring was again because it didn't involve Rudy. I think death would have been a great narrator if he didnt give so much of the ending away, and for that reason I think I might've enjoyed the book more if it was written in objective third person form.
ReplyDeleteIt was very intriguing having death tell the story, I liked that it was an unexpected narrator. But, I often have to re-read parts of the book because I forget that it is death telling the story and not Liesel. He will mention something about "the girl" and I won't know who he was talking about because I think it is her.
ReplyDeleteJust like man yother people I did enjoy death telling the story. It was a very unique style of writing and the bold sections put were interesting and very informative. What I did not like about the narrative style was that it was not clear as to how and when death was actually witnessing events. I say this because I believe by the end of the book we find out that Death was actually reading from Liesel's book.
ReplyDeleteDeath being the narrator is a nice change for once but i think he almost gives away parts of the book because of his hints throughout the novel. This has almost spoiled some parts of the book for me.
ReplyDeleteI think that every one pretty much covers the whole death being the narrator. I agree it is fascinating and unique but the author could have taken it to the next level. The author could have evolved the Death's character and development in the novel. It said that death has been on Earth for a long time, why not dedicate a chapter or two of giving us a little detail on how death came to be, or how and why he feels as a human would. I understand that the author might have wanted death to have a humane connection to Liesel and he did, but it all gets lost because the story is all about her. That is why I think the whole idea of death narrating is really irrelevant to the reader because truth be told, I'm sure at least once the reader had to forget that death was narrating.
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