Friday 28 February 2014

The Book Thief - a Book and a Movie

A couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted to read the books before watching the movies of Labor Day and The Book Thief, I couldn't decide which one to read first and Kate from Another Clean Slate her opinion because I knew she had read both and well, I like her taste.


From the title you can see that she recommended The Book Thief and then another challenge was entered because it turns out that the movie had gone off circuit and was only showing at one cinema in Cape Town and being super freaked out that I would miss it, I read it as quickly as possible. I'll tell you know, I shouldn't have.

The book was really good. I wouldn't go so far as to say brilliant but it was interesting. Death narrates and It is intrigued by Liesel Meminger and her obsession with stealing books. Liesel is living with her foster parents in Nazi-Germany. They are struggling and Liesel who starts off uneducated cultivates a love for reading and writing wither foster father, Hans. However it is Liesel's foster mother that intrigues me most, Rosa, she appears to be a horrid person but in time I realised that she is actually extremely caring. It shows in her treatment of Max, the Jewish man they have taken in.

Liesel also has an immediate friend in her neighbour, Rudy Steiner, who starts off as a naughty child but he grows into a young man.



The movie on the other hand was disappointing. I'm not sure if I'm extra harsh because I pushed myself to finish the book by a certain date and then the movie was just sub par. I hated the narrator's voice while Rosa was cast well, her character in the movie showed her more as a self-centered woman compared to the kind hearted but loud mouthed lady in the book.Oh and to add insult to injury, I did not enjoy the movie dynamic between Liesel and Max.

Also the movie illustrated Liesel and Rudy's friendship more as a childhood romance than the friendship it really was.

All in all, I really enjoyed the book and I really did not enjoy the movie.

Have you read it? Or watched it? Do you agree or not?

I'd love to hear your thoughts...


PS: HAVE AN AWESOME WEEKEND!

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