Balance and Book report

I'm taking a break today. We had our Open House yesterday, with lots of guests. It was fun and I'm glad we could open our doors to friends and family. But - I'm exhausted from trying to get the house together in time. So today is a day to balance back out. Rest, relax, listen to some music, do nothing, oh yes - and blog. Luckily tomorrow is also a holiday for me, so I'm looking forward to more of the same.

Book Report: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.

I can't answer the question, "How is it?" in the way I might for a Janet Evanovich (FUN!) or a Jane Austen (CLASSIC!) or a Margaret Atwood (FANTASTIC!) or a Malcolm Gladwell (FASCINATING!). First of all, the context of the book - Nazi Germany - does not lend itself to saying the book is "good." And the Narrator is definitely unique; however, not someone I care to know personally at this point in my life.

Still. Still, this book is immensely interesting, powerful, and yes, GOOD. It is the beauty in tragedy, the sweetness in bittersweet, the good feeling that comes on the heel of pain when you gently press a bruise. It's a glance at how people constantly reach deep down into themselves to their core, be it kind or cruel or indifferent or grieving - that when the shit comes down, people act like their core selves, whatever that self may be. And it's about people who live in grey times (where things are really not as black and white as hindsight makes them seem), where the legally or morally right action might mean infinite loss and the legally or morally wrong action means gain. In my opinion, this book is just as important to read as "Diary of Anne Frank." My only quibble is with its classification as a young-adult book. I think many adults may miss out, if they think of it in this context.

If you read it, please share your thoughts. This is one author I'll be following, even though I'm long past "young adult."