What I'm Reading Wednesday - Book Thief

I started reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak at the first of the year. I'd heard good things about it and I wanted to read it before the movie came out. Almost 2 months later, I finished it last night. It took me as long to figure out what I didn't like about it as it did to finish it.

Early on, I asked Facebook if I should press on. Does it get better? Is it this way the whole book? I got mixed reviews, so I pressed on. After all, who wants to be a quitter?

The book isn't a difficult read. In fact, I like his writing style. Although dealing with a difficult subject, it isn't hard to read. The pages seemed to fly by. When I could sit down and make myself read. And I'm not the kind who has to be forced to read.

Last night, I decided to read other people's less-than-favorable reviews. I found someone else pin down what had escaped me for 550 pages.  "Nothing happens then {spoiler}." In other words, this book lacked plot.

YES.

While I liked the characters, I wasn't passionate about finding out what happened to them. Because as I read, nothing was happening. I kept reading, believing once the back-story was set up, the action would begin. But it never did.

Enough people liked the book for it to be made into a movie, so I won't tell you not to read it. But its definitely one of those love-it-or-hate-it kinda books. If you get 100 pages in and find yourself struggling. Give it up. Then email me and I'll tell you what you missed in 100 words or less.