The Book Thief: Week of 1/20/14

Pages Read: 451- 550 (END)

Throughout my reading of the book thief I encountered several words I have never heard. Other times I encountered words I have heard except in a different context. These words are: 

-preemptively

-misogynistic

-immaculate

By the context of the word preemptively I could tell it had something to do with trying to stall something from happening. I can also tell that word misogynistic has something do with the attitude of having something against women. From the context of the word immaculate I can tell that it is some type of compliment to a person. More specifically in the book, it is a compliment to Hans Hubermann's handwriting.

I have finally finished reading The Book Thief, it is now currently my favorite book, and I expect to be that way for a long time now. I have always loved Holocaust related books, The Book Thief, is exactly that and more. Most people might say that it is way too long to read I do not blame the the book is 550 pages long. Keep in mind that reading 550 pages worth of a book is completely and utterly worth it. If and when you are able to get over the painstaking thought of having to read 550 pages you can learn to appreciate the author Markus Suzak and his work. For example the fact that the narrator of the story is Death. This fact has changed several of my thoughts on life, death, and those we truly care about, or those we truly despise. Another great factor to the reason I loved The Book Thief, would be the diction of the author. Suzak manages to use high-leveled vocabulary words without confusing the reader, which is something very hard task to manage.

The Book Thief contains several life lessons and morals that one can not simply and easily decipher (another reason to love the book.) In my opinion several of the morals are in a way hidden in the writing, which I truly enjoy. Despite all this, I feel that one of the most important lessons found in the book is that words and propaganda can change everything. Like during World War II, Hitler's word swayed the opinions of an entire nation and the opinions of others. People do not seem to realize that sometimes silence, or the words of people can literally change the future easily. Words can raise peace, mend broken hearts, inspire the minds of people, it can also help ignite perseverance in a person. On the other hand words can begin a war, tear a person's heart piece by piece, it can discourage the dreams of a person, and help rip away the hopes of anyone and everyone. You also learn that even though we might hate the words people say or have fallen truly, madly and deeply in love with them, all we can do is hope that we ourselves have made them right.