The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS REVIEW CAN BE FOUND ON AFTERWORDS!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Source: paperback
Publisher: Black Swan
Publication Date: January 30th 2014
Age Genre: Young Adult

HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE

1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.
Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH

It's a small story, about:
a girl
an accordionist
some fanatical Germans
a Jewish fist fighter
and quite a lot of thievery.

ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES

The Book Thief has been reviewed many times over. I bet everything that could be said about it, already has been. But... as a Jew, reading this book, I feel obligated to add in my two cents. So bear with me. This is going to be a very personal review. In fact, it's going to speak largely about things surrounding the book instead of the book itself.

Originally, I never intended to read the Book Thief. As a general rule, I don't read Holocaust based novels. In Israel, we study the Holocaust extensively (in relations to Jews mostly, for obvious reasons) from the first grade to the twelfth. We annually mention and mourn the 6 million lost on a special day. And, honestly, every damn holocaust book I read brings me to a sobbing mess, and I don't enjoy that.

I always tell my grandma, who made it her mission to read as many of those testimonies as possible, that one day, I'll probably start seeking those stories, but right now, I am too overcome by the darkness that engulfs me when I read of it.

So, again, I wasn't planning on reading this. But then the movie was coming out, and the book was on sale, and I found out Death was narrating the story, and that it's about a young German girl in the holocaust and I became curious. So I started it.

I was almost immediately disappointed (wait, let me explain, both why and how come this is a four star despite this). I did not like the narration, even though it was the thing I was most looking forward to. Death's voice felt a bit choppy to me, and I did not like how he felt the need to end every chapter (or what felt like) on these ambiguous notes. It took a long while to get used to It's voice.

I was feeling very dejected (even though I was loving Lisel and her Papa), when Max came into the picture. And from that moment on, I was hooked. I didn't know (and maybe I should've), that this book tells the story of what we call khassidey umot ha-olam, and in English is apparently referred to as: "Righteous Among the Nations".

I've always loved those stories. The stories that show there were people who resisted the brainwashing; resisted the propaganda; kept their humanity intact; saw through the veil over their eyes. That's what always been the hardest to swallow, for me; how people were able to boycott and humiliate and demean people who have been their neighbors, their friends, their partners. And yet it happened, on a massive scale.

Hans Hubermann did not forget his friends, though. He wasn't fooled. I loved that. I loved Max. I loved the relationships that bloomed between the Hubermanns and Max. I loved everything that had to do with that.

And, I'll admit, I loved reading of the Holocaust from a different perspective. Not from the direct victims, but from the eyes of a little German girl. How her life was affected by it all. What the war did to her. To them.

Like death, I still pity those in the concentration camps a lot more than the Germans. I still pity the families broken or obliterated far more. I can't deny that--nor do I feel the need to. But this story was still powerful, and served to show everyone gets hurt in a war. 

And, yes, I admit it: I cried. I was quietly sobbing in my room from part ten on. It was heartbreaking. In a different way than most of the holocaust books I've read before, but not any less powerful.

(BTW, anyone else shipping Max and Lisel despite the ten-year age gap?)

   Nitzan★

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Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS REVIEW CAN BE FOUND ON MY NEW BLOG!

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices #1
Source: Bought Paperback
Publisher: Walker Books
Publication Date: March 1st 2011
Age Genre: Young Adult

Magic is dangerous — but love is more dangerous still
When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Friendless and hunted, Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Drawn ever deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated by — and torn between — two best friends and quickly realizes that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Yep, you're reading this right. A mere three and a half stars. I thought Clockwork Angel might be a different reading experience to me than TMI--pretty much everyone agrees it is the better of the two series. I desperately wanted it to be. I wanted to be swept into Clare's world like so many other do. But alas, such was not the case.

I think the main issue I have with Clare's books is that they just fail to properly grab me. I always end up reading them really slowly, unable to consume large quantities at once. It tires me. In this particular story, I kept flipping to the end, in the hope of peaking my interest. It mostly didn't help, aside for spoiling the Big Bad for me, which in turn made me upset about the lack of hinting in his direction (that I could note).

Then there was the romance. In TMI (first trilogy), I was kind of onboard. I liked Jace, and I liked that there was never really a love triangle. I was looking forward to the romance in TID, seeing as everyone freakin' loves Will and Jem.

Did I get what I was hoping for? Nope. Aside for the fact I did not swoon for Will (he was kind of too inconsistent for me, hot than cold and over again, and while I'm sure we're going to explore his past and get his redemption, that's not done in this book), I did not understand why Tessa was falling for him.

The few decent interaction they had ended poorly. It was insta love, from start to finish. Jem, at the very least, was very sweet to our MC. Falling for him, especially at this point, would've made much more sense.

To be completely honest, I was way more interested in the side characters, such as Charlotte & Henry, and Sophie. I kept looking forward to their scenes, wanted to see how their stories would play out. If I read on (which will probably happen as I already own the third book), it will be mostly for these guys. Sorry!

   Nitzan★

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Oldie Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Series: His Fair Assassins #1
Source: Bought Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Original Post: April 3rd, 2013
Age Genre: Young Adult

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.
Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

When Grave Mercy came out, everyone were going gaga over the idea of assassin nuns. However, I wasn't planning on reading it. While the idea is superbly cool, I had my doubts on whether the book could live up to such an intriguing hype.

But one day, when I was cruising a site called Libbo (that has since stopped operating), I saw Robin LaFevers put the book up for grabs for those who publicate the book. So I did, not expecting to win. But then I did win, and now I had an e-book copy of this book everyone is talking about. So... I read it. And loved it. And bought it. Twice.

This book was unlike what I expected, but in a good way. It has it's flaws, but at the end of the day, I really enjoyed this mammoth of a book (the hardcover is HUGE. It could double as a lethal weapon, easy).

Grave Mercy is not really about assassin nuns. It's about blind faith, making your own choices and understanding "god's will". Understanding there is no such thing is absolute truth, or even a true truth.

The first installment of the trilogy tells the story of Ismae, a farmer's daughter who was sired by Death itself. Being Death's own, she ends up in the Covenant; a place that worships Death and carries His Will. In other words: Assassination.

She's brave and strong, and she grows and matures through the book as she takes off the wool over her eyes and starts thinking for herself and questioning what she is told, instead of blindly trying to prove her worth and loyalty to the Covenant.

The uncovering is set into motion by Duval, a man she is sent to keep an eye on for the suspicion of treason. But instead of a traitor, she finds the most loyal man. A man filled with compassion, care, kindness, strength and duty. A man she grows to care for, trust, and love. And if the covenant is so wrong about him--what else might they be wrong about?

And the romance between these two?

That pretty much sums it up, thanks! Slow burn. 

And the both of them are well suited, covering for each other's weakness and creating one whole together.

That said, I did feel it was lacking in the process of falling in love, especially on Duval's part (since we are not in his head). It was all rather sudden, missing those small moments that would have convinced me he loved her.

This book is pretty unique. I haven't read many historical YA novels before, and none that were also a cross with fantasy and mythology like this one. The mixture creates a delightfully fresh and complex story that you can't help but devour.

I do feel obligated to warn you: yes, they are assassin nuns. It does not mean that the book is fast paced though. The book starts slow and features many political intrigues; schemes; betrayals; as opposed to flat-out action, with the action meter going up slowly as we get farther into the story.

One of the greatest thing about this book is the realism of it. And yes, a fantasy YA novel can and needs to be realistic; in terms of making the reader believe that, were all these things possible, this is how it would've went down.

As for the writing itself... I did not like it. Yep, I know; WTF. This is the main reason the book is a four star; I just didn't connect with the writing style. It took me a long while to get into it and get used to the sound of it.

The other minus of this book is the character's names. They were just so distracting. I kept stopping and trying out different pronunciations, trying to figure out how the heck LaFevers meant for them to sound. And it wasn't just one or two names; it was all the names.
Nitzan★

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Brotherhood by A.B. Westrick

Brotherhood by A.B. Westrick
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Viking
Publication Date: September 12, 2013

The year is 1867, the South has been defeated, and the American Civil War is over. But the conflict goes on. Yankees now patrol the streets of Richmond, Virginia, and its citizens, both black and white, are struggling to redefine their roles and relationships. By day, fourteen-year-old Shadrach apprentices with a tailor and sneaks off for reading lessons with Rachel, a freed slave, at her school for African-American children. By night he follows his older brother to the meetings of a group whose stated mission is to protect Confederate widows like their mother. But as the true murderous intentions of the brotherhood—-now known as the Ku Klux Klan—-are revealed, Shad finds himself trapped between old loyalties and what he knows is right.

A powerful and unflinching story of a family caught in the enormous social and political upheaval of the period of Reconstruction.

All I feel about Brotherhood is conflict. On one hand, I liked learning more about the Civil war era South, and the rebuilding of it after the war, but on the other hand, I didn't really care for the actual story. Or the main character, Shad. And I sort of have a clear reason to why I dislike him - he's a jerk.

"Oh, it's fine to associate with them in private, but I gotta snub my nose at 'em in public." I didn't like that about him. He spent so much of his time worrying about what other people thought - which meant he didn't even think about what he thought. He was so conflicted inside about it that it just tore him up! While this is very historically accurate, I didn't really like the thought of it.

I did notice another thing about Shad, though. No matter how badly his big brother treated him, he wanted to grow up and be just like him. He's doing what he thinks his dead daddy would want, and he's also doing what he feels is right by joining the KKK. Which I do understand on one level, I'd just like to know how he got to be so easily lead around.

He definitely needed to sort out his priorities. His brother was all meanness and spite, so I'm not sure why anyone would wanna be like him. Seemed like he was all trouble. All in all, this was a mostly character driven book, so I don't have much else to say. It was okay, but not fantastic or anything. The history was interesting. I guess it just wasn't really for me.
 

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review: city of thieves

book  info
on sale: now
copy  from: school library
pages: 258
review written: February 7th and 8th 2013

During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserted name Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.

By turns insightful and funny, thrilling and terrifying, City of Thieves is a gripping, cinematic World War II adventure and an intimate coming-of-age story with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men.

My thoughts:

David Benioff is a name that sounds like any other author’s name, and I thought little of it as I picked this book out from my school library. I’d like to express that despite my discontent with the books that my high school decides to buy (appealing to young adult readers with a massive collection of the latest dystopian/chick-flick books), there are some gems. I researched him just now, and discovered his amazing career as a screenwriter. He was actually the screenwriter of Troy (2004) and produced some of my favourite lines ever. He’s also created Game of Thrones and X-Men Origins. I had no idea that he was such a famous person, who actually had been a high school English teacher. From all this, I would not expect him to have written this type of story.

The page before the title page, reserved for dedications, has two beautiful and intriguing quotes. I’ll share the first one, since I believe it’s more relevant. The second one is one I’ll share later on, as it’s a bit confusing.

“and if the City falls but a single man escapes
he will carry the City within himself on the roads of exile
he will be the City”
-Zbigniew Herbert

The preface of the story is David asking his Russian grandfather about World War II in Russia. “My grandfather, the knife fighter, killed two Germans before he was eighteen” is how it starts.  He will later tell the story of his grandfather, weaving in fiction with fact.
I didn’t know it was possible to write an uplifting, horribly gruesome, horribly sad and yet laugh-out-loud funny story in this way.  I’ll borrow someone else’s words on this one as well:

[the book]  "features a snappy plot, a buoyant friendship, a quirky courtship, an assortment of menacing bad guys, an atmosphere that flickers between grainy realism and fairy-tale grotesquerie and a grim but irrepressible sense of humor,"
- Donna Rifkind of Los Angeles Times

This describes perfectly how I felt when reading this book, as if it were a film. This seems fitting as Benioff is a screenwriter. The book itself was something I really enjoyed. It’s crude, disgusting, sarcastically humorous and delightfully raw. One of my favourite aspects of this book is the relationship between Lev and the handsome Kolya. It’s strange how opposites attract. Lev is the shy, awkward and “unattractive” virgin whereas Kolya is the handsome, tall German-looking (Aryan) womaniser. Their friendship was odd and yet it worked. Their dynamic produced the most hilariously crass dialogues I've read in a long time. It’s hard not to fall in love with Kolya’s charming character. He who loves literature, desperately wanting to shit (pardon my language) and passionately rants about fictional characters (sounds like someone I can relate to). However, he has a cold, fearless side to him that adds layers of complexity to his character. Other than that, he’s quite comedic at times. I'm flipping to a random page (147) and I've found this:

“Kolya nudged me with his elbow and whispered under his breath “ I've got a little bit of a hard-on”
“What’s that?” asked Korsakov.
“I said my cock’s going to fall of it we stand out here much longer—pardon my language”.
City of Thieves, page 147

I can’t quite detect the subtly of their possible homosexuality. It’s slim, almost non-existent. But this is where the second quote I mentioned comes in.

“At last Schenk thought he understood and began laughing louder. Then suddenly he asked in a serious tone, “Do you that the Russians are homosexuals?”
“You’ll find out at the end of the war,” I replied.
-Curzio Malaparte

There are ambiguous hints here and there, some more obvious than others, but I love how this adds a layer of intrigue and complexity to their already honestly odd friendship. For me, this book has been worth it because of this unique friendship.

Other aspects I feeling guilty about admitting that I actually liked was the gruesome descriptions and circumstances that Lev and Kolya stumble upon. I felt nauseous, horrified and shocked. Cannibalism? This appeals to the darker side of human nature for both me and the repulsive act of cannibals. Me, for actually being fascinated by the very thought of it (in a bad way, a disgusted fascination) and for the people who were pushed to such extremes as to disregard all civility. I remember reading that in a market, sausages made from grounded human was sold. The Siege of Leningrad (St Petersburg) was catastrophic and is said to be the most “lethal siege in history”. Numerous amounts of people died under the intense conditions. Civilians were give 125 grams of bread, mostly consisting of sawdust and anything else that would not kill a human and ration cards soon became restricted. Coupled with cold (to at least -30 degrees Celsuis) and bombardments from Germans on cities, I find Lev’s story absolutely amazing. This is a history I have never read in a historical novel on this part of history before, so City of Thieves, on top of being so uniquely written also provided me with details and accounts of the occurrences in Leningrad. I'm more interested in the social impact of war on the people than I am about the politics.

 Back on the note of the atrocities: I connected with Lev on the horrors he saw, and experienced the more serious, strangely cool and creepy side of Kolya. These horrors shaped Lev. Imagine being a youthful seventeen year old, witnessing these acts that abandon all morality, witnessing death on a daily basis. City of Thieves is definitely not the first book to describe such events, but what I found even more fascinating was the location. I have read little modern-day Russian based literature. I'm ashamed to say the last historical fiction novel based in Russia was over a year or two ago with Susanne Dunlap’s Anastasia’s Secret. Time and time again, I have read about the monstrous acts of the German Nazi’s, but never before like this, in Russia.

I warn readers that this book as outrageously crass language, sex, and repulsive acts that may or not may not be suitable for the preteen. In an age where young adults are more mature than ever before (less innocent, I mean) I’m troubled on what age group I would recommend this to. Whatever best fits your judgement.
All in all, I enjoyed it! Four trees!

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review: night

book info:
ages 15 and up
grades: 9-10 and up
years: 11 and up
on sale: now
copy from: public library
pages: 120

title: Night
author: Elie Wiesel, Marion Wiesel

Night A terrifying account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an agonized witness to the death of his family...the death of his innocence...and the death of his God. Penetrating and powerful, as personal as The Diary Of Anne Frank, Night awakens the shocking memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this horror must never be allowed to happen again. (read more)

My thoughts:
When I got this, and many of my other books that I've been reading, I found it in the classics section and checked it out. Many people have talked about how they had read this for school, and I do remember some English classes reading this at my school, but that didn't particularly affect my decision to read it.

I think this, like all Holocaust survival stories, is raw and emotional and somewhat detached, as if all were some horrid dream.
The book starts off with a brutally honest preface where Wiesel talks about his books, his reasons and his memories. "For in the end, it is all about memory, its sources and its magnitude, and, of course, its consequences" (Wiesel, xv)

The story starts off with a strange old homeless man called Moishe the Beedle, who taught Wiesel about God and religion. Elie wants to learn the Kabblah, a disciple derived from Judaism and Moishe teaches it to him. Throughout the story, Elie questions religion as he suffers.  They lived in a fairly rural area called Sighet and in less than a few pages, the Holocast begins. At first, it's just news heard on a radio. No one believes it will come to them, they are safe. It's something I understand too: whenever there are hurricanes about to hit the east coast, my parents always reassure me. It's safe, we won't get hit. They've said it for every hurricane and have been right, so I've forgotten to feel fear about hurricanes now. But unluckily, the same doesn't follow for Wiesel and his family.

Stories like this do not need detailed descriptions or large, elaborate words. Wiesel's short words and honest account left me feeling haunted and sad. What I loved most was Elie's relationship with his father, and how they stuck together and how they cooperated. In the most darkest of times, it's comforting to have family.

The horrors of what happened are not...glorified. They are told as it happened, and that's just that. Sons killing fathers for a bit of bread, humans being killed for stealing a bit of soup, exhausted bodies being told to run for miles in freezing snow...But this isn't just an account of the Holocaust: it's a memoir of Wiesel as a young boy. I am amazed at how an older Wiesel wrote himself as a boy. I saw and heard an innocent boy and his mind working in the pages of this book. If I were to write about my childhood, I would have used big words and would have laughed at myself. But Wiesel succeeds in writing like the young boy he was and that's what makes this book incredibly real. The honesty, his views on humanity and the world forever altered and reading it as it happens...

Some part of me feels cruel for thinking that I enjoyed this book because the horrible events actually occurred  Things like this are hard for someone to make up, are hard to believe and gruesome to imagine. The darker side of human nature...but all this is what made me love this book. The Holocaust was the darkest moment of modern history and I absolutely hope that people will learn more about what happened. This book receives for trees, and I would recommend it to teenagers and adults alike to read.

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historical fiction: prepare to see more of it!

Historical fiction is one my most favourite genres, but I just haven't actually gone out and picked them up. Getting books from the young adult section at my library is easy, it's several bookshelves along a wall that are all YA. However, going to the adult fiction section is like, about eight massive bookshelves one after another: so getting books there has been a put-off. I do plan, however, when I go to volunteer there again this Thursday, to hunt through that section. I shelve adult fiction for now, so it'll provide me with that opportunity, hehe :D

What inspired me to actually start on historical fiction is this historical fiction blog called The Tiny Library. I'll be reading and reviewing a lot of books that Sam has mentioned, yay! It's really exciting. What to expect:

photo credit: goodreads

• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• A suitable boy : a novel by Vikram Seth
• In Arabian nights : a caravan of Moroccan dreams by Tahir Shah

I'm pleased to read Arab/Indian historical fiction. I'm slightly biased because I am Indian, so I'll be able to understand a lot. And my family hangs out with Pakistanis and Sikhs and the whole awesome bunch, so I'll also have background info on Arab based historical fiction.

So what do you think? Do you have any historical fiction suggestions? It'd be cool if they were slightly older, so I can get them at the library, I haven't got the time or money to drive all the way over to Barnes and Noble (quite a distance from my house) you know? Thanks!

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review: a separate peace

book info:
ages: 14 and up
grades: 8 and up
on sale: now
copy from: Barnes and Noble
pages: 204

title: A Separate Peace
author: John Knowles
stars: 4

"Set at a boys’ boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world."

my thoughts:

When books are assigned for school readings, all my classmates automatically groan. Throughout the duration of reading it, they will constantly complain about how boring and useless it is, how crappy the book is. However, as I enjoy books, school reading is like a gift.

 I'm a writer, and I'm currently planning out a novel set in England. Naturally, discovering that this book is set in England (close to the time period I'm writing in as well!) piqued my interest. The story is about boys, at an all-boys school. This is rare, as most young adult novels are written about girls. 

 At first, it may seem like a boring book, with over five pages of description about the school. But the more further it goes, the more complex the story is. It's not immediately exciting, or strikingly provoking. It's that hidden kind of profoundness, that deep and sensual type of wisdom. If you've read it, Lord of the Flies seems similar to this one. The psychology of the friendship between these two unlikely protagonists, and how it affects the story, is very...unspoken. It's not a story that's told, it's a story that's understood.

My favourite quote (a theme)

"Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence" (Knowles, 14)

 My classmates were shocked when I defended this book, when I told them it was great and I loved it. I recommend it to those who are willing to read through it. 

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