Zusak, Markus. “The Book Thief”

The Book Thief relates the story of the Jewish girl Liesel, the titular book thief, who is in hiding with a German foster family during World War II. The novel is narrated by the personification of Death, who is exhausted from his “job” of “carrying [humans] gently away” (4). Death, who maintains he is not nice or fair, but a result of human’s actions, describes how he uses distraction as a coping mechanism for the stress of the task he feels pressured to fulfil (5). In this way, The Book Thief is both a coming-of-age story, and a plea by Death, whose reasoning exemplifies several reasons for (continued) perpetration, such as implication, disconnection from labour and decision-making, obedience and conformity, and duty. Marketed as a children’s book in some countries, and as for adults in others, the novel could be used for teaching the complications of perpetration to a wide range of students. The book also lends itself to explorations of broader themes in Perpetrator Studies, such as challenging the victim-perpetrator dichotomy. Lastly, as allegorical literature, The Book Thief is a fictional space in which the representation, and relatability, of perpetrators can be safely discussed.

Author of this entry: Lisanne van Rossum

Markus Zusak, “The Book Thief” (2005).