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Bridget Pedersen
Bridget Pedersen
Des Moines, IA 50313
Des Moines, IA 50313
Dear Markus Zusak:
Upon reading your book, "The Book Thief', I felt as though I was a part of the story. I felt as though I was on Himmel Street, in the alleys. I felt like I was the soccer ball that was being kicked around in the dirt oh-so-routinely. Back and forth, back and forth. I was fighting an internal battle with myself. Should I put it down? Should I read till the end? 1 wanted to put it down because 1 picked up your clues about the ending, and how it wasn't going to be an especially happy one. After 1 realized this, 1 wanted to be done with the book. And then suddenly the next second, something astonishing would happen, and 1 would be glued to that book for the next hour.
I was taken aback at Death's immense personality. Who knew Death could be so ... human? I thought it was unusually insightful that Death preferred to see things through colors. I've never heard of the world described as though it were on an easel. Now, after reading, I view the world as an easel with my mind as a paintbrush. I think that the sky would look awesome painted royal purple, and the clouds would look great if they were painted scarlet. I view spinach as a puce color, and I view July as a dark blue. I think thunderstorms are steel gray, and summer is a dusty green. The possibilities are so endless to me.
Also, when Liesel first learned to read, during those long nights of gruesome nightmares, I was learning to read, too, in a sense. I was learning to see things from multiple perspectives, with Death as my guide. If there's one thing I learned from my time with the Book Thief, it's that, hey, maybe things would change themselves if I changed my perspective.
I was also awakened by the fact that death, while not a joyous occasion, is a part of the natural cycle of life. I realized some people have to deal with it more than others. This book was especially enlightening to me because, coincidentally, I started reading your book almost immediately after my uncle was killed in a car crash. As I learned to see things from Death's perspective, it helped me cope. I wasn't exactly "thick as thieves" with my uncle, but I came to terms with the fact that I would never hear his voice or see him ever again.
As I was reading, 1 kept wondering, "How can so many awful things happen to Liesel in only a few years?" First it was her brother, then her mother, and finally, everyone she was close with, aside from Max. And to think that the climax of the ending happened in just a blink of an eye! It was almost too overwhelming for me. There's no one word to describe the ending. It's just not what you find at the end of a book. It's nowhere near happy, but it's not all too depressing either. If I had to give it a color, it would be pale crimson, maybe mixed with a shade of dark lavender. And as for my ending, I'm off to paint the
Upon reading your book, "The Book Thief', I felt as though I was a part of the story. I felt as though I was on Himmel Street, in the alleys. I felt like I was the soccer ball that was being kicked around in the dirt oh-so-routinely. Back and forth, back and forth. I was fighting an internal battle with myself. Should I put it down? Should I read till the end? 1 wanted to put it down because 1 picked up your clues about the ending, and how it wasn't going to be an especially happy one. After 1 realized this, 1 wanted to be done with the book. And then suddenly the next second, something astonishing would happen, and 1 would be glued to that book for the next hour.
I was taken aback at Death's immense personality. Who knew Death could be so ... human? I thought it was unusually insightful that Death preferred to see things through colors. I've never heard of the world described as though it were on an easel. Now, after reading, I view the world as an easel with my mind as a paintbrush. I think that the sky would look awesome painted royal purple, and the clouds would look great if they were painted scarlet. I view spinach as a puce color, and I view July as a dark blue. I think thunderstorms are steel gray, and summer is a dusty green. The possibilities are so endless to me.
Also, when Liesel first learned to read, during those long nights of gruesome nightmares, I was learning to read, too, in a sense. I was learning to see things from multiple perspectives, with Death as my guide. If there's one thing I learned from my time with the Book Thief, it's that, hey, maybe things would change themselves if I changed my perspective.
I was also awakened by the fact that death, while not a joyous occasion, is a part of the natural cycle of life. I realized some people have to deal with it more than others. This book was especially enlightening to me because, coincidentally, I started reading your book almost immediately after my uncle was killed in a car crash. As I learned to see things from Death's perspective, it helped me cope. I wasn't exactly "thick as thieves" with my uncle, but I came to terms with the fact that I would never hear his voice or see him ever again.
As I was reading, 1 kept wondering, "How can so many awful things happen to Liesel in only a few years?" First it was her brother, then her mother, and finally, everyone she was close with, aside from Max. And to think that the climax of the ending happened in just a blink of an eye! It was almost too overwhelming for me. There's no one word to describe the ending. It's just not what you find at the end of a book. It's nowhere near happy, but it's not all too depressing either. If I had to give it a color, it would be pale crimson, maybe mixed with a shade of dark lavender. And as for my ending, I'm off to paint the
town ... a nice emerald color.
Bridget Pedersen