This months book
club was all about ‘The Book Thief’ which is one of my favourite books (my
second reading) so you can assume my opinion on it already! We had a great
discussion about the characters in the story, the way it was written and its
subject. The book is narrated by Death which gives it an automatic curiosity factor. This seemed to appeal to some but others felt that it didn’t impact the
story as much as it could have and was perhaps a bit forced in places. We discovered last night that it is actually a children’s book which
most of us had not realised. This made me love it even more (if possible) as I know this is something I would have both loved when I was young and would read again and again as I grew older.
The book is
beautifully written and the characters are so vivid. You knew the subject of Nazis and the
holocaust loomed in the background with an angry face, but it was really about a
little girl called Liesel. Surrounded by death from the very start
of the story, we saw her grow into a gutsy, vibrant young woman, who was
strong, loving, fearless and courageous.
We each gave it a
score out of 10, ranging from 6.85 (Neil started with points!!) up to 10 out of
10 from me and Kelly (sorry 'Kelly and I' hee hee). We also talked
about who our favourite characters were. There were so many to chose from because each was so well crafted, so easy to
imagine as a real person that you almost felt that you knew these people. My favourite character was Hans who is Liesel’s
foster father. He reminded me a little
of my grandad and his relationship with Liesel I saw as more of a grandaughter and
grandfather. Although he didn’t say much you knew what he was thinking and what a sensitive person he was. The secrets they shared, looks definitely spoke louder than words. Smoking roll ups, playing
the accordion, teaching Liesel to read in the basement and being there for her
from the moment he opened the front door through every nightmare.
Some of the most
touching moments in the book were due to the relationships that Liesel had with
Max the young Jewish man who they were hiding in their basement. She drew the
weather on the wall, even brought snow into the house so he could make a
snowman to keep him in touch with the outside world. They were a poor family and presents
consisted of thoughtful stories written on tatty painted pages. The other relationship which I loved was with
her best friend Rudy, who she played football with, went out stealing and
bantered with.
They really loved each other. As Eve said last night Rudy was the kind of cheeky boy you'd love to be friends with too.
I could go on and
on about this but all I will say now is that you should read this
book. This one is definitely not going to the charity shop, it stays tucked in my
bookshelf amongst my favourite reads of all time.
So instead of
folding up little pieces of paper with numbers on this week (as I end up taking
these home and littering them around the house) I numbered the list and asked
Jennie to pick a number between 1 and 12 and the choice for this month was
*drum roll*
‘Before I go to
Sleep’ by S.J.Watson
This was actually
one of my additions to the list, its still in the chart, a relatively new book
and a thriller so something a bit different to what we have read so far at book
club! It is rated as being gripping and slowly terrifying which seems perfect
for this month as we have decided that next months book club will be held on
Halloween! WOOOooooo *scary ghost impression*
So what’s it
about I hear you say…
‘Memories define
us. So what if you lost yours every time
you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you
love – all forgotten overnight. And the
one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine’s life.’
Next Book Club
Meet:
Date: Wednesday
31st October 2012
Time: 7.30pm
Location: TBC
(need a venue that will not be too rammed being Halloween – possibly the dog
and bull pub, am also toying with my house? But suggestions welcome)
Fancy dress
optional…treats a necessity
