Set against the backdrop of world war ii germany, the book thief is a compelling and moving story about a young girl sophie nelisse who is taken in by foster parents geoffrey rush and emily watson. Interview with author of the book thief steppenwolf theatre. Liesels father was taken away by the nazis prior to the novel starting because he was a communist, and the reason her mother paula meminger. It allows the author to show the different aspects of humans and their ability to love. Interview with markus zusakauthor of the book thief.
Based on its title, you might think that the book thief is a spy thriller or a. In an interview with the sydney morning herald, zusak explained his motivations for writing a sympathetic portrait of germans during world war ii, saying, we. She writes in the basement and is doing so when himmel street is bombed. Ilsa presents her with a blank book, and liesel begins writing the story of her life, called the book thief.
When riordan ran out of myths to tell him, his son asked him to make up one. The book thief is a historical novel by australian author markus zusak and is his most popular. He started the story when his oldest son got interested in greek mythology. Whether standing in front of a group thats come to hear him speak or writing the words to a book, he has the uncanny ability to weave a story that keeps people on the edges of their seats until the very end.
My parents were teaching me how to write, just by the way they related their stories. Like most ideas, i stumbled across bits and pieces over time and started using them for no apparent reason. First person limited the book thief is narrated by an extremely overworked being who identifies himself as death. Another prevalent theme is the overall idea of the inevitability of death. The characters in the book thief exhibit great courage in the face of great adversity. Actress, writer and director heidi stillman wrote the stage adaptation of the book thief, playing at steppenwolf theatre this fall. The character relationships developed in the book thief is an important part of the writing style incorporated into the book.