- Read The Book Thief.
- Don't read The Book Thief.
There are expectations that naturally come along with a novel about the holocaust. A novel narrated by Death yields further expectations.
None of these expectations include a happy ending.
So why, encircled protectively in my armor of expectations, was I still so singularly devastated by this novel? To the point where I cried for close to a half hour after reading the final page last night, and remain in a sort of fog today, trying to focus on process documentation and project roadmaps while my mind still lingers on Himmelstrasse.
The Book Thief is beautiful. And terrible.
Read it.
But don't say I didn't warn you.
3 comments:
See -- now this is EXACTLY why I checked it out of the library and eyed it suspiciously while it sat on my dresser for two weeks -- and still couldn't bring myself to read it.
I'm thinking it's going to be a while before I get to this one.
It took four-plus years and two or three failed starts, but I finished this today. Thanks for the recommendation. I agree.
You're welcome. And, probably, I'm sorry. Crying can be cathartic though... umm, right?
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