work, the book thief, war and the world

Yesterday I finished 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak, an amazing present from a close friend and a book that I have wanted to read for a long time, she read my mind and I am so glad she did. Every now and again I come across a book that I know will stay in my life forever, I remember the first book, it was 'Birdsong' by Sebastian Faulks, the second 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin,' the third 'Shadow of the Wind' and now 'The Book Thief.' For those of you that haven't read it I won't spoil the novel, but it is a story about the power of words, people and Hitler. In fact oddly you may or may not have noticed a running theme through the books that I have adopted, I cannot explain why I feel drawn to stories to do with war, I believe it has something to do with the way it forces humans to react, their instincts, desperation, love and short lives. Each of those books taught me something rare and true, 'Birdsong' showed me that true love does not always last a lifetime (a valuable lesson for any 17 year old). 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' taught me about trust and beliving in yourself. 'The Shadow of the Wind' taught me that people aren't always what they seem, and ironically not to 'judge a book by its cover.' So what did 'The Book Thief' teach me? Well other than reminding me just how powerful words can be, for me it carried another message, one that resounded in me the moment I read the very first page.
When I think of war I think of soldiers, the enemy, fighting. Any mention of WWII will make the majority think of Hitler (obvioulsy) but I had never truly thought about the German people, ordinary people, that hated Hitler and his motives as much as the Jews but were too scared to do anything but agree, too afraid for their lives to help, to do anything at all. I hadn't thought about the innocent German civilians who died under our fire, our bombs, I hadn't thought about the German soldiers put on the front line because they didn't agree with their leader, none of these people had been real to me unitl I met Liesel (the protagonist but not the narrator of 'The Book Thief', Zusak gives that job to death himself). And just as Louis de Berniéres had me thinking about Kefalonia's role and decisions during WWII long after I had finished reading 'Captain Correlli's Mandolin.' I know I will be thinking about the lost (and I couldn't choose a word more fitting than 'lost') lives of anyone who was or is touched by war, even the so called 'enemy' for a long time to come.