The Book Thief *sniff*

I adore books. One of my favorites is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I love this book so much that I sob uncontrollably when I read and re-read the ending. I love it so much that I physically take it off of my bookshelf and give it a hug from time to time. I know it sounds insane, but I’m sure those who have read the book may be able to better relate to my complete and utter obsession with The Book Thief.
When I was leafing through the pages (yet again) a few days ago, I came across a passage that I remember sticking out to me and affecting me the first time I read it during the beginning of eighth grade last year. The few lines occur in the first few pages of the story, when the narrator (Death) is explaining Liesel (main character)’s situation. A bomb has just exploded in Liesel’s hometown, and as Death describes it, “Yes, the sky was now a devastating, home-cooked red. The small German town had been flung apart one more time. Snowflakes of ash fell so lovelily you were tempted to stretch out your tongue to catch them, taste them. Only, they would have scorched your lips. They would have cooked your mouth.”
This paragraph explores the beauty of destruction, which is one of the underlying themes of the book. Zusak illustrates that the ashes, which are a result of the bombs, appear to be beautiful. They fall “lovelily” and seem as harmless and joyful as snowflakes (which they aren’t).
The small paragraph affected me around this time last year when I first read it because before I had fully read and digested this idea, I used to shy away from finding beauty in the unusual things. I used to think that the only things that could be beautiful were things that were “set” to be beautiful, things like flowers, blue skies, and smiley faces. I would shy away from thinking differently. After reading and understanding this, though, I have come to realize that beauty can be found in anything- from something as generic as sunshine to something as obscure and tragic as an explosion.
If I hadn’t read this passage, I may be been close-mindedly overlooking beauty in everyday occurrences today. The passage actually altered my thinking for the better, which is why I hold it as something so important to me.