MixedWashington PostA relentlessly visceral memoir ... It’s a raw, unsettling read. There are moments of beautifully precise writing ... But there are also pages and pages that feel so personal, so unfiltered, so full of pustules, sores, vomit, fibers, meltdowns and suicide attempts, that some readers might be less appreciative of her openness than overwhelmed by the gory, upsetting minutia ... The book jumps back and forth in time, which makes the nightmarish but doggedly detailed story difficult to follow ... Readers with chronically ill spouses might find this memoir comforting; those who can’t resist rubbernecking might find it fascinating.
Markus Zusak
RaveThe Washington PostThe narrator of The Book Thief is many things — sardonic, wry, darkly humorous, compassionate — but not especially proud ... book's length, subject matter and approach might give early teen readers pause, but those who can get beyond the rather confusing first pages will find an absorbing and searing narrative ... Death meets the book thief, a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger, when he comes to take her little brother, and she becomes an enduring force in his life, despite his efforts to resist her ... Death recounts all this mostly dispassionately — you can tell he almost hates to be involved. His language is spare but evocative, and he's fond of emphasizing points with bold type and centered pronouncements, just to make sure you get them.
