The internationally bestselling story of a young girl in Nazi Germany who steals books, now a major motion picture starring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson.

Here is a small fact - You are going to die 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall. Some Important Information - This novel is narrated by Death. It's a small story, about: a girl an accordionist some fanatical Germans a Jewish fist fighter and quite a lot of thievery. Another thing you should know - death will visit the book thief three times.

It's a small story, about:
a girl
an accordionist
some fanatical Germans
a Jewish fist fighter
and quite a lot of thievery.
"Extraordinary, resonant and relevant, beautiful and angry." Sunday Telegraph "...a beautifully balanced piece of storytelling...Unsettling, thought-provoking, life affirming, triumphant and tragic, this is a novel of breathtaking scope, masterfully told. It is an important piece of work, but also a wonderful page-turner." Guardian "A moving work which will make many eyes brim." Independent on Sunday "This is a weighty novel worthy of universal acclaim. A sense of dread prevades this beautifully written novel. As The Book Thief draws to a close, Death says: "There's a multitude of stories that i allow to distract me as I work." The story of the Book Thief, who tried to change the world in her own small way, proves one formidable and inspiring distraction." The Daily Express "Brilliant and hugely ambitious ... the kind of book that could be life-changing" New York Times Book Review
Markus Zusak was born in 1975 and is the author of five books, including I am the Messenger and the international bestseller, The Book Thief, which is translated into more than forty languages. He lives in Sydney with his wife and two children.