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Thief of Time

A Discworld Novel

by Terry Pratchett

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A superb send-up of science and philosophy, religion and death and a host of other timely topics, Thief of Time provides the perfect opportunity to kick back and unwind.

It was only a matter of time before Terry Pratchett would win the minds and hearts of America. Already a worldwide sensation and Great Britain's indisputable number one author, this intellectually audacious and effortlessly hilarious writer sold more hardcover books in the United Kingdom during the previous decade than any other living novelist. His novels have reigned supreme on English bestseller lists since before the Iron Lady left Downing Street, and though some things have changed since then, Pratchett, thankfully, continues to pen insightfully irreverent tales set in a world a lot like our own -- only different. Celebrated as one of the keenest practitioners of satire and parody at work today -- alongside Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen -- Terry Pratchett commands a loyal and ever-increasing number of readers and appreciative critics from coast to coast in our own country. As he skewers all aspects of modern life -- and especially our sacred cows -- Pratchett makes us laugh and challenges us to think. And he's at his sharpest, most uproarious best in Thief of Time. Everybody wants more time, which is why on Discworld its management is entrusted to the experts: the venerable Monks of History, who store it and pump it from where it's wasted, like underwater (after all, how much time does a codfish really need?) to places like cities, where harried citizens are forever lamenting, "Oh where does the time go?" And while everyone always talks about slowing down, one clever soul is about to stop. Stop time, that is. For good. Going against everything known (and the nine tenths of everything that remains unknown), a young horologist has been commissioned to build the world's first truly accurate clock. It falls to History Monk Lu-Tze and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd to find the timepiece and stop it before it starts. For if the Perfect Clock starts ticking, Time -- as we know it -- will stop. And then the trouble will really begin. A superb send-up of science and philosophy, religion and death (after all, isn't that where time stops, for most of us, anyway?), and a host of other timely topics, Thief of Time provides the perfect opportunity to kick back and unwind. So don't put off till tomorrow what you could do today. Read Thief of Time. Right this minute. Because tomorrow may not come. (You'll have to read the book to find out why. This is a Terry Pratchett novel, after all.) Tick ...

Chapter One

According to the First Scroll of Wen the Eternally Surprised, Wen stepped out of the cave where he had received enlightenment and into the dawning light of the first day of the rest of his life. He stared at the rising sun for some time, because he had never seen it before. He prodded with a sandal the dozing form of Clodpool the Apprentice, and said: "I have seen. Now I understand." Then he stopped and looked at the thing next to Clodpool. "What is that amazing thing?" he said. "Er . . . er . . . it's a tree, master," said Clodpool, still not quite awake. "Remember? It was there yesterday." "There was no yesterday." "Er . . . er . . . I think there was, master," said Clodpool, struggling to his feet. "Remember? We came up here, and I cooked a meal, and had the rind off your sklang because you didn't want it." "I remember yesterday," said Wen, thoughtfully. "But the memory is in my head now. Was yesterday real? Or is it only the memory that is...

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Book review: “Thief of Time” by Terry Pratchett

Madam Frout, headmistress of the Frout Academy and pioneer of the Frout Method of Learning Through Fun, is pretty dopey in an over-educated way.  As Terry Pratchett explains in his 2001 Discworld novel Thief of Time :

Madam Frout wasn’t very good at discipline, which was possibly why she’d invented the Method, which didn’t require any.  She generally relied on talking to people in a jolly tone of voice until they gave in out of sheer embarrassment on her behalf.

However, one of her employees, Miss Susan Sto Helit, isn’t the sort of person to give in or feel embarrassed about anything. 

She is, after all, the granddaughter of Death.  Her mother was a young girl adopted by Death for reasons he was never sure of, and her father, a former apprentice of the Old Man.  Both died in a tragic accident, so Susan is Death’s sole surviving relative. 

Of course, she’s not a blood relative since the skeleton that is Death has no blood, and she’s fully human.  But she also has some extra powers that she uses sparingly around adults such as Madam Frout, but not with her children who are still of an age to accept field trips to the far reaches of the Discworld as routine if that’s how the teacher treats them.

Madam Frout isn’t sure how to handle Miss Susan who demands to be addressed in this manner while at the school despite Madam Frout’s emphasis on teachers being called by their first names, and who dresses all in black, and whose blond-white hair has a single black streak and is worn in a bun.  Madam Frout is creeped out by the black clothing and doesn’t like that bun since “it suggested an Archaic Image of Teaching” which she says with “the assurance of someone who could pronounce a capital letter.” 

But she didn’t dare disapprove of the way Miss Susan moved, because Miss Susan moved like a tiger.

Not only that.

The girl had this terrible ability to give you Her Full Attention .  You had to be a better person than Madam Frout to survive the intensity of that attention.  It inspected your soul, putting little red circles around the bits it didn’t like.

All-star cast

Susan is a bright presence in Thief of Time as are an all-star cast of characters from Pratchett’s 25 earlier Discworld books:

• Death, of course.  (He’s the main character in at least five Discworld books and makes an appearance in all but one.)
• Death of Rats, a sidekick of the Grim Reaper, a tiny skeleton who wears a robe and speaks volumes by saying, “Squeak!” (He’s a minor character in four novels and makes an appearance in four others.)
• Nanny Ogg, one of the two major witches of the mountainous Lancre who, unlike her colleague Granny Weatherwax, is ribald and many times married and a midwife of great renown.  (She and Granny are the central people in eight Discworld books.)
• The History Monks who work behind the scenes to keep Discworld and life as its residents know it going.  (Important people in this book and two others in the series.)
• The hyper-logical un-embodied Auditors of Reality who do everything they can to rationalize things because messy humans are very un-rational. Hence the need for the History Monks.  (Important in the same books as the History Monks.)

And, as if all those Discworld heroes weren’t enough, other characters include:

• Myria LeJean, an Auditor who takes on humanity in order to get a perfect clock built that will stop time in its tracks and, thus, rationalize those messy humans into immobility.
• Jeremy Clockson, a brilliant but socially limited master clockmaker who takes on the job to build the perfect clock.
• Lu-Tze, also known as the Sweeper, a droll and powerful member of the History Monks.
• Lobsang Ludd, an apprentice of Lu-Tze who has a preternatural way with time.
• Ronnie Soak, a guy who delivers milk but who once was somewhat more famous.

A lot of personality

That’s a lot of characters for Thief of Time , and they all provide a lot of personality for the story.

Among my favorites is how Myria LeJean goes pretty much insane as she tries to live within a body that has its own illogical demands.  And how the Auditors who follow Myria into human bodies have no defense against the taste of chocolate. 

And how Susan gets extra-interested when she learns that Time has an offspring who, like her, is pretty much human but also with special powers.  And how the Igor who works for Jeremy is weirded out by the young man’s crazy sanity.  And how the Death of Rats appears in Miss Susan’s classroom and is summarily dealt with. 

And how Lu-Tze finds clever ways to avoid fighting.   And how Lobsang is mystified by his own talents.  And how the head of the History Monks has been reincarnated as a baby and has to do History Monk business while also demanding food and a diaper change.  And how Nanny Ogg is recruited to handle a special birth.

And how Ronnie Soak goes back on the road.

All of these characters are one of the strengths of Thief of Time .  They are also, from my point of view, a minor weakness

This is an ensemble book. All of these characters have been recruited for a story that Pratchett wants to tell about time, employing a lot of modern theories about how time isn’t exactly what we think it is.

This permits him to play around with time being stopped and with ways in which Lu-Tze and Lobsang are able to travel quickly through time and with the conundrum of how a yeti can have its head chopped off and then show up with it firmly attached.

At one point, on a very beautiful — indeed, perfect — day, Wen, the head History Monk, is telling his acolyte Clodpool that he will create a monastery and make sure that every day thereafter will be “this perfect day.”

Clodpool is confused, worrying that it might get a bit repetitive.

“That is because you don’t know how to deal with time. But I will teach you to deal with time as you would with a coat, to be worn when necessary and discarded when not. “Will I have to wash it?”

I am Clodpool.

What I mean is that all Pratchett’s talk about bending time and snipping it up and stitching it together — it all goes over my head.  Pratchett is a writer who likes to play with ideas like this, speculations about time, space, matter and other scientific stuff.

I’m the kind of guy who talks about “scientific stuff.”

So, this is one area of Pratchett’s storytelling that, perplexed and befuddled, I’m just along for the ride. 

It reminds me of when I would read one of Patrick O’Brian’s 20 novels about Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship’s surgeon and close friend Stephen Maturin around 1800.  O’Brian would describe something about the rigging of the sailing ship or some maneuver of the vessel, and, frankly, I had no idea what he was talking about.  Couldn’t visualize it.  So, I just trusted him and keep reading since the rest of the story was so rich and delightful.

“Temporary collection of atoms”

The same is true for Pratchett, and for Thief of Time .

I may be bewildered about all his time play, but I trust Pratchett and keep on reading since I know he is going to provide so much fun, interesting, insightful stuff.

Such as Susan’s abilities as a human and more:

Well, she was partly immortal, and that was all there was to it. She could see things that were really there, she could put time on and take it off like an overcoat. [That, I can understand.] Rules that applied to everyone else, like gravity, applied to her only when she let them. And, however hard she tried, this sort of thing did tend to get in the way of relationships.  It was hard to deal with people when a tiny part of you saw them as a temporary collection of atoms that would not be around in another few decades. [Hence, her intense interest in an offspring of Time.]

Such as Myria LeJean who, by this time, has changed her name to Unity:

“I am insane.  I know this.  But the first time it happened to me I found such horror that I cannot express it.  Can you imagine what it is like?  For an intellect a billion years old, in a body which is an ape on the back of a rat that grew out of a lizard?  Can you imagine what comes out of the dark places, uncontrolled?”

Such as when Death explains why the Auditors have stopped time:

“IT IS THE FEAR AND HATRED THAT MATTER HAS FOR LIFE AND THEY ARE THE BEARERS OF THAT HATRED.”

“ANGEL CLOTHED IN WHITE”

And such as the angel who shows up for the Apocalypse only to learn from Death that he’s been written out of the scripture:

“YOU ARE THE ANGEL CLOTHED IN WHITE OF THE IRON BOOK FROM THE PROPHECIES OF TOBRUN, AM I CORRECT?  I DON’T KNOW HOW TO TELL YOU THIS BUT YOU ARE NOT OFFICIAL. “THE BOOK OF TOBRUN HAS NOT BEEN CONSIDERED OFFICIAL CHURCH DOGMA FOR A HUNDRED YEARS.  THE PROPHET BRUTHA REVEALED THAT THE WHOLE CHAPTER WAS A METAPHOR FOR A POWER STRUGGLE WITHIN THE EARLY CHURCH.  IT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE REVISED VERSION OF THE BOOK OF OM, AS DETERMED BY THE CONVOCATION OF EE.” “I’ve just been thrown out?  Just like the damn rabbits and the big syrupy things?” “YES. “Even the bit where I blow the trumpet?

Only Pratchett could come up with an exchange like that. 

Yes, I got confused at times in Thief of Time with all the time talk, but, as always when I read Pratchett, I had a good time.

Patrick T. Reardon

Written by : Patrick T. Reardon

For more than three decades Patrick T. Reardon was an urban affairs writer, a feature writer, a columnist, and an editor for the Chicago Tribune. In 2000 he was one of a team of 50 staff members who won a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. Now a freelance writer and poet, he has contributed chapters to several books and is the author of Faith Stripped to Its Essence. His website is https://patricktreardon.com/.

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Book Review: Thief of Time

Title: Thief of Time Author: Terry Pratchett Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Today I am reviewing Thief of Time, another comic fantasy novel penned by one of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett. It is the 26th novel in the Discworld series. Astute readers may notice that my last review was the 25th novel in the Discworld series.

This novel sees the return of the dreaded Auditors of Reality. Regular readers of the Discworld series might remember this horde of cosmic auditors from the previous books,  Reaper Man   and  Hogfather . 

The Auditors are, as their name implies, the beings responsible for enforcing The Rules. According to the Discworld Wiki:

They make sure that gravity works, file the appropriate paperwork for each chemical reaction, and so forth. Discworld Wiki

While they enforce The Rules, in a sense, they  are  The Rules. They are an anthropomorphic personification of the Laws of Physics.

The Auditors hate life. It is unpredictable and messy. It is hard to square life with the Rules. And so, they hate it. And so, not for the first time in the Discworld series, they have set out to wipe it out.

Why not do it directly? That is against The Rules. They have to get life to do it themselves. That is not against The Rules. And so the book begins with the sinister plots of the cosmic bureaucrats.

The book explores the nature of what makes us human. Now, I know, isn’t that the role of all fiction? True enough. However, let me present one false alternative, one held by the Auditors.

The Auditors are creatures that are part of a soulless hive mind. They are immortal beings with no imagination and no grasp of life at all. 

The Auditors attempt to understand life as if they were physicists! They cannot understand humans’ desire for anything. To them, food is merely there to keep the meat sacks running. What other purpose could it serve?

However, if you attempt to understand humanity as a physics problem, you are doomed to failure. You cannot understand human psychology on a purely chemical level. You cannot understand human sociology on a purely chemical level. 

And you certainly cannot get much of anywhere with art by studying physics! For that, you need to study psychology and philosophy! That is what the Auditors are missing. They do not understand that you cannot understand humans on a purely mechanical level. 

We understand other people precisely because we do not approach them as math problems. We comprehend that people have emotions and ideas. People are not math problems. People are not chemical equations to be solved.

You cannot understand the human experience by reducing it to a mechanical problem. That is a major theme of the book and one I enjoyed the most. 

But the book is called “Thief of Time”, so does time come into it? Yes, it does! Time is another theme of this novel. 

To quote the book: 

People have been messing around with time ever since there  were  people. Wasting it, killing it, sparing it, making it up. And they  do  it. People’s heads were  made  to play with time. Lu-Tze

In the book, this is very literal. Time is literally being taken away. Time is a very real thing on the Discworld and people can have it taken away from them. Seconds, hours, and years are being taken away from people. 

In reality, of course, time is not so literally real. We invented this concept of time. We can waste it, use it productively, make it up, and do many things with it.

I don’t consider this nearly as interesting as the other major theme of the book. We have this concept called time management. Some of us are better at it. Some of us are worse with it. 

I have discussed the primary antagonists of Thief of Time , the Auditors. These soulless creatures are rather compelling enemies. 

Is it right to say that they are evil? I am not convinced “evil” is the right word. The Auditors are amoral beings, soulless beings. They do not understand life. They are opposed to its existence. 

Watching the Auditors struggle to understand humanity, or merely the concept of individuality, is revealing. Imagine if the laws of physics were conscious. Imagine if those laws tried to relate to us. 

We meet a strange Order of monks known as the History Monks. This secretive religion ensures that time follows its correct path. These custodians of time are something like the Time Lords from Doctor Who, if that helps.

The History Monks have abilities to do things like manipulate time. They can “slice” time. This allows them to move much faster than anyone around them. They can move time from one place to another and manipulate it in other strange ways. 

I will not go into it much here. It can all be confusing, even in the book, if you are not paying close attention. 

The History Monks we spend most of our time with are Lu-Tze and Lobsang Ludd.

 Lu-Tze is a wise elderly monk known as The Sweeper. He also uses a lot of seemingly paradoxical anecdotes, some of which he may not have noted down properly. Such as “It never rains, but it pours” and “Do unto otters as you would have them do unto you”.

We also met Lobsang Ludd. He is a gifted History Monk and apprentice to Lu-Tze. He was an orphan and a former member of the Thieves Guild in the city of Ankh-Morpork. 

Lobsang has a natural talent for the work of a History Monk. The History Monks found him when he stopped time as he was about to hit the ground just after falling off a building. 

Susan, the adopted granddaughter of Death, makes an appearance. Susan has inherited traits from her grandfather. She can walk through walls and manipulate time. And do many other supernatural things Death can do. 

In this book, she is a schoolteacher. She uses her powers to make things rather interesting for her students. All very useful for this story, as you will see.

And finally, we have Jeremy Clockson. He is obsessed with making clocks. He can’t understand people. But he understands everything there is to know about clocks. As you may guess, clocks play a major role in the plot of this story, so I cannot say too much more. Not without wandering into spoiler territory.

The Auditors of Reality are a collection of all-powerful celestial bureaucrats. They despise life. And yet, they seek to understand it. For all of their knowledge of The Rules of reality, they cannot understand life. Why?

The Auditors could not understand humanity. They view humans as a physics problem. The Auditors’ failure was the best part of the book. I loved it!

You cannot reduce human behavior to the sloshing of chemicals or the tracking of the dancing of atoms. Not even if you are the most skilled godlike cosmic accountant. It does not work like that.

Thief of Time does not give very much detail about why it does not work like that. Why is this? The reasons are fairly obvious. Human behavior is too complex, and we have free will.

The book explores this hilariously and with great color. It is worth reading for this alone.

Thief of Time is a little slow-paced in several places. I think Thief of Time spent too much time on Lu-Tze and the History Monks. 

The theme of time is not that interesting or novel. While I think it is a valid theme, I don’t think it is all that interesting. And I do not think the plot supporting it is all that interesting. 

Nor do I think it integrates well with the other Auditor plot. I think it should have been made shorter.

Lu-Tze is not a very interesting character. Most of his should be condensed or cut. 

There is some forced romance near the end. I think it is only mentioned to be covered in later books, but it seems to have no impact on this book. It seems forced and out of place here. 

Thief of Time is a highly amusing book! I would highly recommend it if you want to see why a mechanistic view of humanity does not work.

Are you a fan of the Auditors or stories about alien lifeforms trying to understand humanity? Then you will love this book. 

I was not a great fan of the temporal aspect of the plot, but your mileage might vary. Perhaps you will disagree. Perhaps you like stories about monks slowing down time, playing with time, and that kind of thing. If so, check this out.

If you like Discworld, enjoy comic fantasy, and want to read a highly philosophical story about the human condition, I would certainly read this.

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Thief of Time: Trademark storytelling, symbolism, setting, wit

Posted by Jesse Hudson ´s rating: 3.5 | Terry Pratchett | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Thief of Time opens at a monastery where the History Monks keep the spindles of time greased and spinning eternally. Lobsang Lud, a common monk, averts a major disaster one day and earns himself an apprenticeship with the master, Lu-tze. Meanwhile in Ankh-Morpork, a down-on-his-luck clockmaker, Jeremy Clockson, is commissioned by an Auditor-in-disguise to build the world’s first glass clock, and is not told that the giant mechanism will in fact stop time rather than measure it. The Auditors, who want time to stop so they can have time to account for all the matter and molecules in the world, send one of their own, Myria Lejean, to ensure Jeremy performs his commission, little knowing the effects and influence mortal life will have on her. When Lobsang and Lu-tze learn of the secret plot, they rush to Ankh-Morpork to stop the end of time. All hell breaks loose — literally and figuratively — when they arrive in town. It seems everyone on the Disc is a stakeholder in the moment.

DISCWORLD (thankfully) lacks the linear progression of so many fantasy series, so Thief of Time would be considered a “Death, Susan, Auditors, Four/Five Horseman of the Apocralypse, History Monks” novel, with its setting being both Ankh-Morpork and the unnamed monastery of the Monks.

Don’t worry, the humor is all there, too. The subject of time is the source of many an idiom, expression, and phrase in English and Pratchett picks and chooses his battles, inserting puns and jokes in signature style. The narrative is also not without its opportunities for quick but relevant insights regarding time and humanity. In fact, little of our lives and language is untouched by time, so Pratchett has no shortage of avenues in which to expand his theme and make it amusing in the process.

In the end, Thief of Time is one of the best offerings in the DISCWORLD — though I suppose everyone has their favorites. My reasoning is the complementary nature of plot, theme, and humor, facets which Pratchett usually grabs in pairs rather than threes. Trademark storytelling, symbolism, setting, and wit from Pratchett are all on display, so Thief of Time is not a bad entry point into the series for the uninitiated. Readers who enjoy the above mentioned characters will also want to check it out, while fans of the series in general will not be disappointed.

Discworld — (1983-2015) Discworld is a satirical fantasy world created by Terry Pratchett to poke fun at 1980s fantasy novels. Since then, they’ve evolved so that they now make fun of everything. Mr. Pratchett explains Discworld: “The world rides through space on the back of a turtle. This is one of the great ancient world myths, found wherever men and turtles are gathered together; the four elephants were an indo-European sophistication. The idea has been lying in the lumber room of legend for centuries. All I had to do was grab it and run away before the alarms went off… There are no maps. You can’t map a sense of humor. Anyway, what is a fantasy map but a space beyond which There Be Dragons? On the Discworld we know There Be Dragons Everywhere. They might not all have scales and forked tongues, but they Be Here all right, grinning and jostling and trying to sell you souvenirs.” The Discworld novels are presented here in publication order. To read more about the Discworld “arcs” and reading order, see this  Wikipedia article .

Discworld for Kids:

JESSE HUDSON, one of our guest reviewers, reads in most fields. He lives in Poland where he works for a big corporation by day and escapes into reading by night. He posts a blog which acts as a healthy vent for not only his bibliophilia, but also his love of culture and travel: Speculiction .

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June 19th, 2014. Jesse Hudson ´s rating: 3.5 | Terry Pratchett | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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Books to give you hope: Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett

The giddy invention in this novel is a spirit-lifter in itself, but its vision of all too familiar folly comes with a heartening reminder that we can learn from our errors

Why we’re writing about books to give you hope this summer

Imagine something that will change everything irreversibly. Something that will bring disaster on everything and everyone around you. Something that doesn’t need to be invoked, that shouldn’t be invoked, but that will still be invoked because, as Terry Pratchett explains in Thief of Time:

Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some caves somewhere, with a sign on it saying ‘End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH’, the paint wouldn’t even have time to dry.

Imagine also a world in which “democracy at work” is really just reckless and mindless chaos. Imagine a world in which one of the chief aspects of humanity is, as noted by Death (a character with so much gravitas that he always speaks with caps-lock on): “ARROGANCE, PRIDE AND STUPIDITY.”

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? So familiar that reading Thief of Time after the Brexit vote is a strange, disconcerting experience for me. I’ve just finished the novel and I felt at times that Pratchett, who died in 2015 , must have foreseen our current sad story. But it also felt like he was bringing good news. Alongside a few stern words about our collective idiocy, the great writer had a message of hope. Someone in Thief of Time does inevitably push that awful button – which in fact concerns a clock that traps time rather than cuing Article 50– buthe reassures us with: “We can learn. That’s how humans become humans.” We may do bad things, but there’s also something about humanity that helps us go on.

It’s a comforting thought. But even without my current political obsessions and fears, I’m certain that I’d find other kinds of solace in this wonderful novel. Pratchett understood human nature, for better or for worse. I imagine future generations will be seeing their own mistakes in this novel, just as clearly as I’ve seen our own. And I find such thoughts comforting: there’s nothing new about folly. Humans have always got it wrong, but we’ve generally muddled through too.

There are other reasons to find hope in Thief of Time, chief among them that it’s a delight to read. The story is as complicated, daft, hilarious and satisfying as vintage PG Wodehouse: part kung fu epic, part philosophical novel, part mind-bending experiment with chaos theory (and a piss-take of those three things). Pratchett has an admirable ability to land home truths, be very silly and also very wise all in one go:

Wen considered the nature of time and understood the universe that is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.

Yes, it’s a lampoon. But it’s also full of warmth and sympathy. The same is true of the rest of the book. Pratchett may think us fools – but he still likes us. That too is consoling.

I’d suggest we can even find hope in the very fact that this novel was written. It’s a fillip for anyone who believes in the craft of writing, that practice brings you closer to perfection and that experience and age can be as important as youthful exuberance. This was Terry Pratchett’s 26th book, published in 2002, during his 54th year, and arguably marks the peak of his career. I’m sure it will come to be regarded as one of his masterpieces.

When it was released, AS Byatt suggested that it should win the Man Booker prize . She also made the splendid suggestion that at the age of 12, everyone in Britain should be given a Terry Pratchett book , like this one, to read and enjoy. I imagine Britain would be a better, kinder and more sensible place if that were to come to pass. Although, I know, that’s probably too much to hope.

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Thief of Time

Published 3rd May 2001

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The Discworld is very much like our own – if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . .

Time is a resource. Everyone knows it has to be managed. You mess with it at your peril. You can let it move fast or slowly but what you mustn’t do is  allow it to stop.

The Monks of History have the glamorous job of time management in the  Discworld . They store it and pump it from the places where it’s wasted (like the underwater – how much time does a codfish need?) to places like cities, where there’s never enough time.

But with the construction of the world’s first  truly  accurate clock starts a race against, well, time begins for History monk for  Lu Tze  and his suspiciously talented apprentice  Lobsang Ludd .

Because a truly accurate clock will stop time.

And when time stands still, everything in human existence stops with it. Then, there really is no future. _________________

The Discworld novels can be read in any order but  Thief of Time  is the fifth book in the Death series.

Thief of Time Book Review

• by Content Gap Books
• April 14, 2024

Welcome to our book review of Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett . In this captivating novel, Pratchett takes us on a journey through the intricate themes of time and morality . With his witty and humorous writing style , he explores the creation of a perfect clock and the fascinating characters involved, all while delving into the essence of time and the nature of humanity .

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways:

• Thief of Time is a captivating book that explores the intricate themes of time and morality .
• Terry Pratchett’s witty and humorous writing style adds a delightful touch to the narrative.
• The book presents a unique take on the moral dilemmas faced by its characters .
• The rich cast of characters adds depth and complexity to the story.
• Thief of Time offers a message of hope and reminds us of the resilience of the human spirit.

The Intricacies of Time and Morality

In Thief of Time , Terry Pratchett skillfully explores the intricate relationship between time and morality . Through his storytelling, Pratchett delves into the profound impact that time has on individuals and the choices they make. As readers journey through the book, they are presented with a humorous and thought-provoking examination of the moral dilemmas faced by the characters. The narrative goes beyond surface level questions and delves into the deeper philosophical inquiries surrounding the nature of time itself.

Pratchett’s insightful exploration of time and morality captivates readers and prompts them to reflect on their own relationship with these complex concepts. With his signature wit and humor, he invites us to ponder the consequences of our actions and the choices we make with the limited time we have. The book challenges preconceived notions and encourages a deeper understanding of the moral dimensions influenced by the passage of time.

The Engaging Characters of Thief of Time

One of the highlights of Thief of Time is the rich cast of characters that Terry Pratchett has created. From the captivating Susan, to the enigmatic monks and the auditors with their destructive plans, each character brings a unique perspective to the story. Pratchett’s masterful characterization adds depth and complexity to the narrative, making the book an engaging read.

One of the standout characters in Thief of Time is Susan, the granddaughter of Death. With her no-nonsense attitude and pragmatic approach, she provides a refreshing balance to the fantastical elements of the story. Susan’s strength and determination make her a compelling protagonist, and readers cannot help but root for her as she navigates the challenges presented throughout the book.

The enigmatic monks, known as the History Monks, bring an air of mystery and wisdom to Thief of Time . These time-controlling beings are tasked with maintaining the balance of events and ensuring history unfolds as it should. Their intricate knowledge of time and the universe adds an intriguing layer to the story, and readers are left captivated by their presence and actions.

The auditors, on the other hand, are a group of powerful entities determined to destroy time itself. Their relentless pursuit of order and structure drives the conflict in the book, adding tension and suspense to the plot. Pratchett masterfully portrays their cold, calculating nature, making them formidable adversaries for the main characters.

By weaving together these diverse and compelling characters, Terry Pratchett creates a world that feels alive and vibrant. Each character’s journey and interactions contribute to the overall narrative, building a sense of connection and investment for readers. Whether it’s the wit and intelligence of Susan or the enigmatic presence of the monks, the characters in Thief of Time leave a lasting impression.

Character Quotes

“I AM THE HORSEMAN! I’M SUPPOSED TO RIDE IN ALL FOUNDERERS! I…I love that feeling of riding faster than you thought possible. But it’s a love that kills.” – Susan

“Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you.” – Lu-Tze

Hope and Humanity in Thief of Time

Thief of Time offers a message of hope amidst the chaos and folly of humanity . Despite the characters’ flaws and the mistakes they make, Pratchett reminds us that humans have the capacity to learn and grow. The book explores the resilience of the human spirit and the potential for redemption, providing readers with a sense of optimism.

Through the engaging narrative, Pratchett highlights the inherent strength of the human spirit to overcome obstacles. Despite the challenges they face, the characters in Thief of Time embody the unwavering belief that there is always room for change and improvement.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

The book beautifully captures the complexities of human nature, showcasing both the flaws and the potential for growth. It reminds us that even in the face of adversity, hope can prevail.

Furthermore, Thief of Time explores the intrinsic value of humanity . Pratchett emphasizes that it is our shared experiences, emotions, and relationships that define us as truly human. In a world filled with distractions, the book serves as a powerful reminder to cherish our connections and strive for a meaningful existence.

As we delve into the pages of Thief of Time, we are reminded of our own capacity for compassion, resilience, and personal growth. Pratchett’s masterful storytelling paints a picture of hope and serves as an important reminder that humanity can prevail even in the darkest of times.

Pratchett’s Unique Writing Style

Terry Pratchett’s writing style is a testament to his genius as a storyteller. With a blend of wit, humor, and wisdom, Pratchett captivates readers in Thief of Time. His clever wordplay and satirical observations create a delightful reading experience that keeps us engaged from beginning to end.

“Pratchett’s ability to tackle complex themes with lightheartedness and depth is truly remarkable,” says renowned literary critic, Jane Richardson. “In Thief of Time, he seamlessly weaves together a captivating plot with astute social commentary, all while keeping us thoroughly entertained.”

Pratchett’s prose is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking. Through his unique writing style, he invites us to reflect on deeper questions about time, morality, and the nature of humanity. As we immerse ourselves in the story, we find ourselves pondering life’s complexities and contemplating our own place in the world.

Pratchett’s writing style resonates with readers on multiple levels. His ability to skillfully balance humor and profoundness creates a reading experience like no other. Whether we are laughing at his witty remarks or pausing to reflect on the deeper meanings embedded in his prose, Pratchett keeps us engaged and leaves a lasting impression.

Thief of Time showcases Pratchett’s mastery as a writer, solidifying his position as one of the most beloved authors of our time. It is a testament to the power of storytelling and the impact of a well-crafted narrative. So, if you’re looking for a book that will tickle your funny bone, make you think, and leave you wanting more, Thief of Time is a must-read.

Timelessness of Thief of Time

Thief of Time, a novel by Terry Pratchett, was published in 2002, yet it continues to captivate readers with its relevance and enduring appeal. Pratchett’s astute observations about human nature, the nature of time, and the universal quest for understanding make the book timeless. As readers delve into the story, they are reminded of the timeless nature of human folly and the potential for growth.

“Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you.” – Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

The themes explored in Thief of Time resonate with readers of all ages. Pratchett’s ability to infuse humor, wit, and philosophical ponderings into the narrative captures the essence of the human experience across generations. The book’s timeless quality transcends the boundaries of time and leaves a lasting impression on its readers.

In conclusion , Terry Pratchett’s Thief of Time is a must-read for fans of his work and those intrigued by the complex themes of time and morality. Pratchett’s writing style is both unique and captivating, filled with wit, humor, and thought-provoking insights. Through the engaging cast of characters, he explores the profound impact of time on our lives and the moral choices we make.

What sets Thief of Time apart is Pratchett’s ability to weave together humor, wisdom, and social commentary seamlessly. The book offers readers a timeless message of hope, reminding us of the potential for growth and redemption within the human spirit. Pratchett’s storytelling prowess shines through, making this book a standout in the fantasy genre.

With Thief of Time , Terry Pratchett solidifies his position as one of the most cherished authors in the literary world. His enduring legacy lives on in this captivating tale that delves deep into the nature of time, morality, and the human condition. Whether you are a longtime fan or new to Pratchett’s work, Thief of Time is sure to leave a lasting impression.

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Book review - The Thief of Time, Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett is a fantastically entertaining writer that left us all too soon. The novel in question is his 26th Discworld one, part of a series that takes place in a fantasy world composed of a Disc drifting through space on top of 4 giant elephants, themselves standing on a giant turtle. As you can imagine, the tone is zany and humorous, and through the series one gets a parodic reinterpretation of themes mostly from fantasy, but from other genres as well. With the passage of time, Terry's novels got a tad more serious and started to show up character development and character arcs. Most of the Discworld novels fall into arcs, characterized by a certain chronological order and a prominence in said novels for a restricted group of people. The main ones are the Witch novels, centered on the Lancre coven of Nanny Ogg, Magrat and Granny Weatherwax; the Watch novels, about the Ankh-Morpork police force captained by Samuel Vimes; The Rincewind novels, which follow around an incompetent wizard and the Unseen University faculty; the Death novels, about the idiosyncratic incarnation of the Grim Reaper in this universe, and its granddaughter Susan; and what, for want of a better name, can be called the 'Technological novels', that explore the changes of a this-world technology developing in the Discworld. Thief of Time is the last of the Death novels, although Pratchett always plays with some juxtaposition of characters and arcs. It brings back the Auditors as the main antagonists, which appeared in most of the other Death novels, but also introduces the History Monks, that had only made some brief cameo appearance beforehand. The novel combines the 'time-preserving and stopping' plotline along with Death's shenanigans -joined here by the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse- and Susan's attempts at stepping into his shoes and solving the problem created by the Auditor's latest plot of making a perfect clock that will stop time and humanity in its tracks. In a way, it seems very similar to a previous Discworld novel, The Hogfather, swapping the Christmas parody present in that one with the time paradoxes in this one. This is your standard Pratchett novel. If you like his subject-matter and style, chock-full of puns and jokes and fast-paced action divided into small chapters, you are likely to enjoy it. I find Pratchett very entertaining and would recommend him and his world as a light and enjoyable read, although there is also a slightly 'fast-food' element to his writing. It is a light read whose only purpose is to entertain, and that is something that it does really well.

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THE THIEF OF TIME

by John Boyne ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2007

A gimmick in search of a plot, and far duller than it should have been, given the material.

Boyne ( Crippen , 2006, etc.) offers a historical fantasy about a 256-year-old man.

Matthieu Zéla is a fortunate man. He has discovered the secret of perpetual middle age, as Oscar Levant said of Zsa Zsa Gabor. Though never a father himself, he has lived through nine generations of nephews, each of whom, after fathering a son, has died in his 20s; Matthieu has been given their unused years. It’s a silly idea, but it does allow Boyne to dip into history at will. Matthieu was born in Paris in 1743. After his stepfather murdered his mother and was executed, 15-year-old Matthieu left for England with his five-year-old half-brother Tomas. On the cross-Channel boat, he met 19-year-old Dominique, also fleeing France; the three became a family. Boyne moves back and forth among many time periods. There is Matthieu’s coming-of-age year, 1760, and there is his present, 1999. In between, Boyne inserts several pieces of history, ranging from the 1793 Paris Terror to the Hollywood blacklist of the McCarthy period. The constant is narrator Matthieu, who makes money and connections with improbable ease, whether working for the pope in Rome as an arts administrator in 1847 or falling into a role as TV producer in 1940s Hollywood. Unfortunately, Boyne has no feeling for the past, and Matthieu’s voice is bland, so that even the guillotining of his first nephew counts for little; like the many other violent incidents, it is told with a practiced glibness. Boyne does a little better with Matthieu’s origins (Dominique’s death provides a rare moment of genuine excitement) and the present, in which Matthieu is trying to save his drug-addicted nephew, the star of a BBC soap, from yet another early grave. It’s a tough assignment, but Matthieu pulls it off; once said nephew is set for a long life, Matthieu can settle into old age.

Pub Date: March 6, 2007

ISBN: 0-312-35480-0

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2007

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A LITTLE LIFE

by Hanya Yanagihara ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2015

The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.

Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.

Yanagihara ( The People in the Trees , 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.  

Pub Date: March 10, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8

Page Count: 720

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015

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PERSPECTIVES

WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES

by Georgia Hunter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2017

Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.

Hunter’s debut novel tracks the experiences of her family members during the Holocaust.

Sol and Nechuma Kurc, wealthy, cultured Jews in Radom, Poland, are successful shop owners; they and their grown children live a comfortable lifestyle. But that lifestyle is no protection against the onslaught of the Holocaust, which eventually scatters the members of the Kurc family among several continents. Genek, the oldest son, is exiled with his wife to a Siberian gulag. Halina, youngest of all the children, works to protect her family alongside her resistance-fighter husband. Addy, middle child, a composer and engineer before the war breaks out, leaves Europe on one of the last passenger ships, ending up thousands of miles away. Then, too, there are Mila and Felicia, Jakob and Bella, each with their own share of struggles—pain endured, horrors witnessed. Hunter conducted extensive research after learning that her grandfather (Addy in the book) survived the Holocaust. The research shows: her novel is thorough and precise in its details. It’s less precise in its language, however, which frequently relies on cliché. “ You’ll get only one shot at this ,” Halina thinks, enacting a plan to save her husband. “ Don’t botch it .” Later, Genek, confronting a routine bit of paperwork, must decide whether or not to hide his Jewishness. “ That form is a deal breaker ,” he tells himself. “ It’s life and death .” And: “They are low, it seems, on good fortune. And something tells him they’ll need it.” Worse than these stale phrases, though, are the moments when Hunter’s writing is entirely inadequate for the subject matter at hand. Genek, describing the gulag, calls the nearest town “a total shitscape.” This is a low point for Hunter’s writing; elsewhere in the novel, it’s stronger. Still, the characters remain flat and unknowable, while the novel itself is predictable. At this point, more than half a century’s worth of fiction and film has been inspired by the Holocaust—a weighty and imposing tradition. Hunter, it seems, hasn’t been able to break free from her dependence on it.

Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-399-56308-9

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016

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'The Book Thief,' by Markus Zusak

Fighting for Their Lives

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Review by JOHN GREEN

• May 14, 2006

The Australian writer Markus Zusak's brilliant and hugely ambitious new young-adult novel is startling in many ways, but the first thing many teenagers will notice is its length: 552 pages! It's one thing to write a long book about, say, a boy who happens across a dragon's egg; it's quite another to write a long, achingly sad, intricately structured book about Nazi Germany narrated by Death itself.

Readers are introduced to this Death-as-storyteller concept in a too-long invocation that begins "The Book Thief." This is no Grim Reaper — we have here a kinder, gentler Death, who feels sympathy for his victims. As Death himself puts it on Page 1: "I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that's only the A's." Maybe so, but Death is so innocuous that he's not very absorbing. Or affecting. His periodic soliloquies aren't the most effective moments of the novel, and if he took an M.F.A. class, Death would doubtless be criticized for telling instead of showing.

Fortunately, this book isn't about Death; it's about death, and so much else. Principally it is about Liesel Meminger, whose little brother dies just before Liesel's mother leaves her with foster parents in a dismal town in southern Germany (her father, a Communist, has been taken away).

Her new Papa is the implausibly saintly Hans Hubermann (that is, über-man), so good a person he even manages to love his wife, Rosa, who is one of the more memorable foster moms in young-adult fiction. She looks, Death tells us, "like a small wardrobe with a coat thrown over it. There was a distinct waddle to her walk. Almost cute, if it wasn't for her face." Rosa periodically beats Liesel with a wooden spoon, and uses exceedingly foul language. Much of it can't be quoted in a family newspaper, but suffice it to say that she routinely refers to her husband and foster daughter as "filthy pigs." Still, she cares for Liesel — and as Death eventually shows us, "She was a good woman for a crisis."

Liesel finds ways of coping with her losses. But she is disruptive in school (she volunteers answers to questions) and is predisposed to fighting with boys. More important, she becomes a thief. She commits her first theft at her brother's funeral, taking "The Grave Digger's Handbook," which had fallen on the ground. Hans teaches her to read it at night. While Liesel sometimes joins up with a gang to steal food and the like, her only thieving passion is for books. Not good books or bad books — just books. From her bedroom to the bomb shelter down the road, reading helps her commune with the living and the dead — and finally, it is the mere existence of stories that proves to be her salvation.

Liesel is a very well-drawn character (and immensely likable), but many young readers will find the going slow until Max Vandenburg, a 24-year-old Jewish boxer, shows up at the family doorstep. Hans, as it happens, owes the fighter's dead father a favor, so he houses Max in the basement.

Aside from his friendship with Liesel (in one of the book's many resonant metaphors, he makes her a comic book using painted-over pages from "Mein Kampf"), Max is arresting because of his situation. He has abandoned his doomed family in order to live in hiding. After leaving them, "the relief struggled inside him like an obscenity. It was something he didn't want to feel, but nonetheless, he felt it with such gusto it made him want to throw up. How could he? How could he? But he did." There is a cowardice to Max's fight for survival, and his guilt and shame tear at him. He and Liesel both suffer from nightmares — but Liesel's grief is relatively uncomplicated. She must live with her mother's choices. Max must live with his own.

Max isn't the only fighter Marcus Zusak has written about. His first novel published in America, "Fighting Ruben Wolfe" (2001), follows the fistic exploits of Cameron and Ruben Wolfe, brothers who scrape by in a working-class neighborhood in Sydney. As boxers in an illicit league, Ruben becomes a champion and his little brother Cam, an inferior boxer, is known for his strong chin and resilience. In the end, it's Ruben who wants to be like Cam — better to be a fighter than a winner.

That novel was followed by a sequel, "Getting the Girl" (2003), which is about learning to fight for, and open up to, love, and then by the award-winning "I Am the Messenger" (2005), a strange and alluring novel about a 19-year-old compelled to vigilantism by anonymous instructions delivered on playing cards.

All of Zusak's protagonists have been fighters, whether born or made. But while his writing has always been ambitious and his characterizations precise, his early books merely celebrated fighting. In "The Book Thief," where battling to survive is sometimes an act of weakness, we see fighting in all its complexity. Max dreams, for instance, that he is boxing with the Führer. "There was only one round, and it lasted hours, and for the most part, nothing changed. The Führer pounded away at the punching-bag Jew." But then Max recovers and knocks Hitler down. Hitler takes off his gloves, seemingly defeated — until he whips the crowd into a fury. The "fists of an entire nation" attack Max, and he cannot fight them all off. This is fighting as "The Book Thief" understands it: winners often lose.

Indeed, everything is upside down in Zusak's Nazi Germany. Sounds are tasted, visions are heard, death has a heart, the strong do not survive, and your best chance of living may be a concentration camp. The entropy of this world is near complete.

Some will argue that a book so difficult and sad may not be appropriate for teenage readers. "The Book Thief" was published for adults in Zusak's native Australia, and I strongly suspect it was written for adults. Adults will probably like it (this one did), but it's a great young-adult novel. Many teenagers will find the story too slow to get going, which is a fair criticism. But it's the kind of book that can be life-changing, because without ever denying the essential amorality and randomness of the natural order, "The Book Thief" offers us a believable, hard-won hope. That hope is embodied in Liesel, who grows into a good and generous person despite the suffering all around her, and finally becomes a human even Death can love. The hope we see in Liesel is unassailable, the kind you can hang on to in the midst of poverty and war and violence. Young readers need such alternatives to ideological rigidity, and such explorations of how stories matter. And so, come to think of it, do adults.

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A Thief of Time: A Leaphorn and Chee Novel (A Leaphorn and Chee Novel, 8) Paperback – July 30, 2019

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Don’t miss the TV series, Dark Winds , based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, now on AMC and AMC+!  

“All of Tony Hillerman’s Navajo tribal police novels have been brilliant, but A Thief of Time is flat-out marvelous.”— USA Today

From New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman, A Thief of Time is the eighth novel featuring Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee as they find themselves in hot pursuit of a depraved killer.

At a moonlit Indian ruin where "thieves of time" ravage sacred ground in the name of profit, a noted anthropologist vanishes while on the verge of making a startling, history-altering discovery. Amid stolen goods and desecrated bones, two corpses are discovered, shot by bullets fitting the gun of the missing scientist.

There are modern mysteries buried in despoiled ancient places, and Navajo Tribal Policemen Leaphorn and Chee must plunge into the past to unearth an astonishing truth and a cold-hearted killer. In his breakout novel, Hillerman paints a stunning portrait of the psychology of murder—and offers a heart-rending example of love and forgiveness.

• Book 8 of 27 Leaphorn and Chee
• Print length 336 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Harper Paperbacks
• Publication date July 30, 2019
• Dimensions 5.31 x 0.76 x 8 inches
• ISBN-10 0062895486
• ISBN-13 978-0062895486
• Lexile measure 730L
• See all details

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About the author.

TONY HILLERMAN served as president of the Mystery Writers of America and received the Edgar and Grand Master Awards. His other honors include the Center for the American Indian’s Ambassador Award, the Spur Award for Best Western Novel, and the Navajo Tribal Council Special Friend of the Dineh Award. A native of Oklahoma, Tony Hillerman lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, until his death in 2008.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Paperbacks; Reprint edition (July 30, 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062895486
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062895486
• Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 730L
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.76 x 8 inches
• #240 in Native American Literature (Books)
• #2,048 in Westerns (Books)
• #2,635 in Police Procedurals (Books)

About the author

Tony hillerman.

Tony Hillerman was the former president of the Mystery Writers of America and received its Edgar® and Grand Master awards. His other honors include the Center for the American Indian's Ambassador Award, the Silver Spur Award for the best novel set in the West, and the Navajo Tribe's Special Friend Award. He lived with his wife in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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The Book Thief

By markus zusak.

‘The Book Thief’ is an incredible story of a young girl on the verge of adolescence who became bolder as she grew through life.

About the Book

Article written by Juliet Ugo

Former Lecturer. Author of multiple books. Degree from University Of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The young orphan girl Liesel Meminger lost her family due to the political crisis in Germany at that time and then went to live with Hand and Rosa Hubermann. While living with her foster parents, she learns how to read and this opens up her understanding of the world. She learned the power of words and how she can affect the people around her using words.

She started stealing so she could satisfy her thirst for knowledge  and  was later encouraged by a woman she stole from, the Mayor’s wife. She also rescued some books that were being burned by the Nazis to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. It was her reading of books in the basement of their house that helped her escape destruction along with others when their street was bombed. Every other person in their house and surrounding died in the bomb blast. 

Markus Zusak deviated a bit from his previous novels in The Book Thief . Zusak’s other books were more literary works but this one was directed to young adults. He moved away from Australia where he has set the previous novels and went to Germany during World War II for this novel. He sets it in the fictional town of Molching, which is near Munich Germany. He also uses a female as his principal character, unlike his previous works where males are the protagonist.

Yet, The Book Thief is as interesting if not more than his other novels. Anyway, this one is focused on young adults with a young teenage girl as the protagonist. It helps the reader move through her emotions as she suffers from the loss of her own family to meeting a new family. She suffers and is bullied in school because she couldn’t read and then learns of communism and the Nazis and the Jews.

Horrors of War

The novel tells the story of what happened during the holocaust and the second world war in Germany. It was a hugely ambitious story with Death as the narrator which makes it unique in that aspect. Death lets us know what happened during those dark periods in Germany and the hardships experienced by human beings. At times, death expresses sorrow as having to collect so many souls, which usually happens when there is conflict and war in any nation. This is a unique trait in literature, giving death a compassionate attribute.

Going through the novel with death as the narrator helps us understand it more as he explores the various emotions inherent in humans like love, kindness, cruelty, wickedness, and more. He tries to understand how human beings can be kind or loving to their fellow beings yet also have the capacity to be cruel and treat others inhumanly. He mentioned in the book that he has noticed that he is always overestimating and underestimating human beings but never quite getting the correct estimate. All these were in connection with the cruelty, suffering, and death he saw in Germany during that period.

Man’s Mortality

Even though some people might say that the book is difficult and sad and so may not be appropriate for children especially teens. But the protagonist is a teenager that grew along with the story and so other teenagers will identify with her and her emotions. Again, having death as the narrator brings to life all the feelings and sufferings that humans go through.

Again, death discusses how people are dying and what happens when he is collecting their souls helps to move young adults and indeed everyone from the level of reality to a deeper level of understanding. Death as the narrator frequently interrupts himself to give us a foreshadowing of what is going to happen and who will die soon. He also talks about what happens when someone dies and how he collects their soul. He helps us to appreciate our frailty and mortality as human beings, as death says, our life is a line with a beginning and an end.

Family Life

This is a novel that parents will appreciate and they can read with their children. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned from anyone in the family. At the beginning of the novel, Liesel’s mother and brother are on a train to Himmel. At a point, the brother died and according to the story, it was due to a combination of malnutrition, sickness, and poverty. This lets us know that the mother is a destitute woman who cannot adequately feed or take care of her kids.

This was the reason why she was sending them to a foster family where she believed they would be better-taken care of. After settling in with her foster family and making many friends there, the cruel fate that was depicted in the novel still catches on with her, and her street was bombed and all her family and friends died. She only escaped because she was in the basement of the house, reading her books.

The story is well-written and using death as the narrator takes always the horrors of dying as he mentions that the souls he takes are healed and well-taken care of. This helps the reader to understand what happens after someone dies. Although having lots of death in the story can be depressing but then that is what obtains during war and conflicts.

The Book Thief is a story that shows heroism, love, sacrifice, friendship, kindness, courage, in the face of difficulties . This is a great novel that both adults and children will love to read even though it is graded as a young-adult novel. It is an exciting book that will keep you all night thinking about the themes and the messages that the author is passing across in the book. This is a life-changing book because it gives us a believable hope, the kind we see in Liesel.

Was The Book Thief ?

The Book Thief was not banned but at a time it was challenged. The reason is that the book depicts many features about the life of Nazis, the German people, and Jews during the periods that the second world war was fought. Again, the novel told the story of horror, suffering, cruelty as experienced by the Jews in particular and by other people affected by war. 

Is death in The Book Thief male or female?

In The Book Thief , the narrator Death’s gender was not revealed. But in different reviews on the internet, death is given to the male gender. Therefore, whenever the story is written about, death is referred to words like he, him, his. Since death is not a living being, it is genderless.

Who should read The Book Thief ?

The Book Thief is an exciting, adventurous book that is recommended for everyone. As long as you can read and understand, at least anyone from the age of 13 can read and enjoy the book. It is a serious story with many meaningful messages in it, and so younger kids may need adults to explain things to them.

What is the main message of The Book Thief ?

The major message that you can take away from The Book Thief is that even if you pass through harsh obstacles, you shouldn’t give up on life. All you should do is to calm down and try to deal with things in the right, peaceful way, and don’t lose hope no matter what.

Is The Book Thief an appropriate book?

The Book Thief is a great, interesting book that anyone should read. It is appropriate for people of all gender and ages. However, if your child is under 13, you need to read it with them so that you can explain certain things to them. This is because there are themes of sadness, grief, cruelty, and a bit of violence.    

The Book Thief: Markus Zusak’s Best-Loved Novel

Book Title: The Book Thief

Book Description: 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak is a poignant WWII tale through a young girl's eyes, uniquely narrated by Death, capturing the essence of human resilience and suffering.

Book Author: Markus Zusak

Book Edition: First UK Edition

Book Format: Hardcover

Publisher - Organization: Black Swan

Date published: May 17, 2005

ISBN: 0-613-98555-7

Number Of Pages: 552

• Writing Style
• Lasting Effect on Reader

The Book Thief Book Review

The Book Thief is an interesting book that you will remember for years to come. This novel is the compilation of what happened in Germany during World War II as heard from the stories that Zusak’s parents told him when he was little. With death as the narrator, it helps you see life, suffering and mortality in a different way. From the opening lines, it grips the reader and you keep reading until you get to the end. It is a powerful portrayal of life under the Nazi regime and how much suffering the Jews went through.

The Book Thief is Markus Zusak’s best-loved novel, read by millions of people all over the world. It has won best seller status in many countries as well as countless awards. It is enjoyed by young adults around the world and is being used in schools worldwide. This important account of the Holocaust and second world war as seen through the eyes of a young teenage girl shows the suffering that occurs when one loses their loved ones.

• Clear and concise language
• Interesting and adventurous storyline
• Death as the narrator is unconventional and unique
• Realistic characters
• Some spoiler effect due to a lot of foreshadowing in the story, when death tells the readers what was going to happen.
• Slow moving storyline

About Juliet Ugo

Juliet Ugo is an experienced content writer and a literature expert with a passion for the written word with over a decade of experience. She is particularly interested in analyzing books, and her insightful interpretations of various genres have made her a well-known authority in the field.

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