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

5/5 stars

Does the perfect book exist? Maybe. I may have found it. This might be it.

Seriously, I did not expect to love it as much as I did. I knew it would be sad and heart-wrenching (as WW2 stories always are) but did not expect so much laughter—those bits of childish memory that are downright hilarious—and a narrator that sweeps you away in a grand tale that steals every bit of you.

Y'all know that I'm a sucker for an interesting narrator. I love stories that are unconventionally written, but when the unconventional is intentional. And who better to narrate this story than Death himself? Other than the obvious (i.e. there is so much death in this story, and we get the "inside scoop," so to speak), Death was also witty and endearing, and the audiobook narration was on POINT.

I feel the need to revisit this book in a year or so. Though the storytelling is straightforward, I feel like a lot could be gained from a second read, one where I take my time and really let the story sink in. Such a clever book... It's on of those rare few that deserves its rave reviews.

I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race—that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.