THE BOOK THIEF (Markus Zusak) - December 9/09

This incredibly long-winded book admittedly paints an extremely vivid picture of a small German town during WWII, and certainly features a number of compelling characters (especially Leisel and her adoptive father). But Zusak's decision to tell the story from Death's point of view proves distracting and gimmicky, and, in the final analysis, doesn't really add anything positive to the narrative. Likewise, Zusak tends to get bogged down in tangents that test the reader's patience (ie that story that Max wrote for Leisel), which ultimately ensures that the book feels about twice as long as necessary and effectively dulls the impact of the surprisingly downbeat finale. **1/2 out of ****