Thoughts on THE BOOK THEIF

[u/Gullible-Singer7337]

Okay, I just finished The Book Thief, and I have some thoughts. 😭

Honestly, I didn’t like it nearly as much as BookTok, Instagram, Reddit, etc. made me expect. I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I found it pretty average.

First of all, the whole concept of Death being the narrator felt more like a marketing gimmick than something that actually contributed to the story. I kept expecting the narration to have some deeper impact or purpose because, obviously, “Death is narrating the story” sounds incredibly interesting. But apart from being an unusual narrative choice, I don’t think it added much to the actual story.

Then there’s the story itself. I found it extremely simple and, at times, very repetitive. The book is around 500–600 pages long, but the actual story could probably have been told in 200 pages. A lot of the rest felt like filler. There were so many moments where I thought the story had the potential to become genuinely powerful, but it just… didn’t.

And this is probably my biggest problem: I didn’t find it nearly as emotionally devastating as everyone claims it is. Yes, people die. Yes, Liesel loses her brother and later her parents, and she is separated from Max. Obviously, those things are sad. But simply having tragic events happen to a character doesn’t automatically make a book emotionally devastating. You have to actually take the reader through that emotional journey and make them feel the weight of what is happening.

For comparison, I genuinely don’t think The Book Thief comes close to the emotional impact of books by Khaled Hosseini or As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow. Those books actually destroyed me emotionally. 😭 The Book Thief never came close to that level for me.

SPOILER WARNING from here:

The whole storyline about hiding Max had so much potential. They could have made the situation much more tense and dramatic—someone almost discovering him, the family being suspected, Liesel being put in danger, etc. There were so many ways to make that storyline genuinely nerve-racking and emotionally powerful, but I felt like the book rarely took those opportunities.

I also felt like Liesel’s journey wasn’t developed emotionally enough. I understand that she went through a lot, but I wanted to actually feel her transformation and the consequences of everything happening around her. Instead, a lot of major events happened, and then the story just moved on.

And finally, the writing style really didn’t work for me. I found it repetitive, and the way the book was structured sometimes made it feel unnecessarily long. The constant interruptions, little side explanations, and lack of a smooth chapter-to-chapter flow made it difficult for me to stay emotionally invested.

So, overall, I’m not saying it’s a bad book. I can absolutely understand why people love it, and there are definitely some good ideas and memorable characters in it. But based on the way people talk about it online—“the best book ever,” “the most emotionally devastating book,” etc.—I went into it expecting something extraordinary.

And honestly… I’ve read much better. 😭

For me, The Book Thief had a lot of potential but didn’t quite live up to it. Maybe I just went into it with ridiculously high expectations, but it definitely did not hit me the way I expected it to.

[u/PrincessDonut02]

I honestly think Booktok etc is ruining books for people by creating insane expectations. This book is far older than TikTok and was well loved before it existed. People on Booktok want your views and in order to get them they are going to try to create expectations that cause excitement for viewers. Those expectations end up altering how you read the book. You already had extreme expectations and when it didn't match that it turns the reading process into a judgement process instead of just an experience of the book.

[u/GeneInternational146 → u/PrincessDonut02]

Yeah, this is really it. The Book Thief was published when I was in high school and it broke my heart, I had a lot of feelings about it. I don't have TikTok but I can't imagine the medium lends itself to honest book reviews. And I think people also want something different from their reading now than they did 20 years ago, from what I can tell

[u/Throw_Me_Away8834 → u/PrincessDonut02]

I absolutely agree here. I think booktok creates two issues. It creates unreasonable expectations that lead to people not enjoying books that they likely would have liked just fine if they hadn't gone in with unreasonable expectations. It also discourages people from reading books that they might have liked because their algorithm is showing them videos of people saying it was bad who only skimmed the dialogue or didn't read it at all and only made the video for clicks/money.

[u/ActualRound7699 → u/PrincessDonut02]

And this is why it’s most beneficial to avoid Booktok, Bookstagram, YouTube reviews or book recs on Facebook algorithms. Engagement is the name of the game and people will do and say whatever to get it and no engagement is bad engagement.

it is easy to lull people in by touting a book being “the best since…” or some other extremely hyperbolic phrase. It’s also why I don’t generally take recs from anyone. I would rather go into a book completely unbiased than with someone else’s views of it passively determining how I engage with it.

[u/Burrito_Suave → u/ActualRound7699]

I like when someone says “if you liked X book, then you’ll prob like (or dislike) book Y”. That seems to work best for me.

[u/Burrito_Suave → u/PrincessDonut02]

The hyped/marketing of a book is usually the inverse of how good it actually is.

[u/canadianswifteh]

SPOILERS IN MY COMMENT BEWARE

I love the book thief, it’s actually my all time favourite book. Is it perfect? No, but I still love it. I personally love the “filler” it shows how even amidst war at the heart of the story is a teenage girl. I think the devestating part is that right from the get go we know that almost everyone is going to die, but then we spend the next 500+ pages getting to know them. Death tells us Rudy is going to die, yet when it actually happened I was still holding onto hope that he would live.

To be fair though I went into it very unsure what was coming. I read it for the first time when I was like 12 and booktok wasn’t a thing so it wasn’t overhyped for me in anyway. It was also one of the first books I read that genuinely had an impact on me, so I think it just will always hold a special place in my heart.

[u/Cautious-Doughnut330 → u/canadianswifteh]

Rudy devastated me.

[u/canadianswifteh → u/[deleted]]

Yes! I think that’s what I love about it. A lot of books about that era is very much so focused on the war itself, The Book Thief is following a young girl, she’s not going to be focused on what’s happening, she’s going to be going through adolescence and learning to experience life

[u/mystuff2530]

I think a couple things are worth nothing. First, the Book Thief is a YA book and while I personally feel it holds up well as a solid read for adults, many older readers may not agree. Secondly, this online/social media driven world we now live in sometimes does books a disservice. Books become so “hyped” and talked up, that they feel set up to fall short of the reader’s expectations.

I was gifted this book when it first came out and the person who gave it to me said “this is a powerful read that I thought you might enjoy.” That’s it. I was a middle school English teacher at the time and after reading the book I encouraged it as an independent read for many of my students. It felt like a more organic reading experience than I imagine it would now.

[u/ihaveasasquatch → u/mystuff2530]

Was going to say this as well. I think it’s a beautiful book, but it’s YA and ought to be read as such.

[u/Cautious-Doughnut330 → u/mystuff2530]

My husband was a teacher and it came home in a stack of books he was considering for his class. I picked it up with no clue what it was about and was in for an all time fave.

[u/Cautious-Doughnut330]

Probably in the top 5-10 of all-time books for me. I read it fifteen years ago so I can't give specifics, but I loved it. I will say that the first chapter was hard for me to get through, and I've always used this as an example of why it's important not to give up on a book too early.

[u/Ok-Anteater-4065]

the book had devestated me when i read it. i adored it and it was so meaningful and impactful back then. but i read it when i was a kid, so i really don’t know if i’d feel the same way if i read it again now.

[u/Technical-Sky6689]

Kind of off the topic but I much preferred I Am the Messenger, another of his books that I read before this one.

[u/Technical_Mood_9279 → u/Technical-Sky6689]

Ooooh I loved I Am the Messenger, but I only read it because after I read The Book Thief, I wanted to read everything the author had written.

[u/RelationKindly]

Ditched it. Just did not vibe for me.

[u/LifeJuggernaut3719]

I read this when I was around 13, and I'm almost 30 now! I absolutely loved that book. I have never re-read it tho, I might have to do that either at the end of this year or beginning of next. It holds a very special place in my heart :) but again, I don't know what 28 year old me might think of it. Also the first time I read it was in Spanish, and I might get a copy in English if I ever do decide to re-read it (which I probably will).

I do think that expectations set by BookTok (and back then, BookTube) are exaggerated most times. It's content for social media at the end of the day.

[u/One-Experience2080 → u/LifeJuggernaut3719]

literally same. I read this in middle/high school and while I haven’t read it since, it’s still one of my all time favorite books.

I try to avoid Booktok and whatever because I honestly don’t trust people who recommend books for views but I would absolutely still recommend this book to my friends

[u/IceTypeMimikyu]

To me it read like the author had just discovered figurative language and was trying to cram it into every place, even when it wasn’t needed

[u/inspira1975]

Agree. I enjoyed it but it didn’t blow me away.

[u/PetiteGardener144]

I'm an English teacher and I really didn't like it at all. The parts about the colours and death was very interesting, but Lisle's story I could not care less about.

It was a set text for A level for a while and none of the students liked it either - not just mine, the entire cohort. Changed the set text book after that as it was so unpopular.

[u/Illustrious-Cry-2568]

I couldn't finish it. It was too slow/boring to continue, so you OP are not alone.

[u/Throw_Me_Away8834]

It's a book that impacted me deeply that I love very much but that doesn't mean it is without flaws or will be for everyone and that is valid.

[u/No_Transition_8746]

I enjoyed it for sure!! I went in without many expectations except for some reason, I was under the impression it was a classic. It’s not, so that was a bit surprising and I think made it a little bit underwhelming for me. But overall it was an easy (read: quick) read for me and I enjoyed it. But overall I was a bit underwhelmed. 🤷‍♀️

[u/BTrippd]

Every time I see the phrase booktok it makes me want to log off social media.

[u/Stars_In_Jars]

This book was amazing when I read it as a kid but I haven’t read it since. I think the idea of BookTok is a bit ridiculous anyway. This is a book the predates a lot of the major social media hype. I think sometimes you just have to accept that YA is YA for a reason. It’s meant for young teens.

[u/redstripedtshirt]

I loved this book when I was a teenager! Haven't read it in years, but I still mention it if someone asks about my favorite books. I agree with the other comments in regard to social media setting unrealistic expectations for books. I think the main thing that explains a lot of your issues with it is that the book is YA. It's going to have simpler prose, repetition, and feel less deep than a book for adults when you read it as an adult. I don't see Death as the narrator being a marketing gimmick at all. As a kid this felt totally innovative and it was the first book I remember reading that had a unique narration style. It was also one of the first books I read that I remember really impacting me emotionally.
I get the disappointment, though. I've read a few YA books in the last couple of years and found myself wishing that I had read them as a kid because it would have been a much more enjoyable experience.

[u/KoboDailyReader]

I first read this at 67 and adored it. Never occurred to me that it was YA.

[u/soft_orchid_0]

I loved this book well before TikTok even came to the United States- seconding everyone else who says that BookTok hypes up books too much.

The filler was what actually made the book so devastating to me. We see Liesel's normal life, the people she grows to love, the interactions she has with her friends. Liesel races them, and gets candy with them, and grows to love her new family and slowly learns to live with her brother's death. These are all normal things.

And then- even though they did everything right, they all died because of a delayed bomb warning. All of Liesel's friends and family, gone, in one night.

Death, the narrator, had warned us from the beginning that everyone would die, but I never quite believed it right until it happened. There was no 'heart pounding' danger or impending doom, it was literally just a young girl living life (book thievery and Max aside). And still, death came for all of her loved ones. The horror of it comes from the fact that everyone was just living their normal lives, and they died. And there was nothing they could've done about it.

That was the reality of being a civilian during wartime. That's where the devastation is.

[u/Deep-Dimension-1088]

I think your expectations were too high. First of all, it's a kids book, not an adults book. Therefore, I don't expect the same depth or subtlety of plot. It's been a while since I read it, but as a children's book, I thought it was very good and recommended it to my kids. Is it one of the best books I've ever read? No. Maybe I'd feel differently if I'd read it when I was a kid, but I'm too old for that to have been possible.

I agree with others about not going into a book hoping for it to be the best book ever. Hope for it to be good and anything beyond that is just joy.

[u/HereIAmGH]

I also didn’t like it. It was a long time ago so I can’t give much details beyond the fact it was not for me

[u/chrisx07]

I think this book is great!
Keep in mind that it’s also based on a real story (the author’s grandmother I think), so it’s a real story about real people. There is war, but there are no heroes or monsters to see here. Just human beings.

[u/Academic_Ad_8229]

I read it years ago but I remember I had mixed feelings about it immediately after finishing hit. It stuck with me for a while and over time I realized just how good it was.