Having been on The New York Times Best Seller list for over 230 weeks, “The Book Thief” was a summer reading assignment for rising AP English Juniors and was September’s Richardson Reads One Book.
Markus Zusak, author of “The Book Thief,” came to Richardson High School’s Black Box Theater to speak to AP English Juniors about his book. Organized by Richardson Reads One Book, the council funded Zusak’s trip for National Literacy Month.
“It being our 10th anniversary, we wanted to do something big,” said Librarian Nancy Kubasek. “This book just had an appeal to a wide range of audience.”
Flying in from Sydney, Australia, Zusak signed students’ books and discussed an upcoming film that is based on his book. In addition to talking about the book, Zusak spoke about becoming a successful author, explaining his writing process and inspirations when writing “The Book Thief”. Zusak told different stories of his childhood experiences and how they have affected his writing.
“Amazing things happen to us all the time, and those are the inspirations for our writing,” Zusak said.
The Book Thief, set in Nazi Germany, describes the life of a young girl named Liesel Meminger living with her foster parents and a Jewish fist-fighter who hides in their home during the escalation of World War II. The book follows Liesel’s adventure using the power of words to fight Hitler.
“The book has a thought,” Zusak said. ” It is that people destroy people with words, and Liesel stole that from Hitler.”
Many students enjoyed Zusak speak on his book and his experiences as a writer. Some were especially surprised to hear Zusak debunk the myths that are associated with authors.
“It was interesting. Most of the time, whenever I think of a writer, I think of someone who is perfect or a genius,” Junior Deliah Appiah said. “Markus Zusak disproved that.”
However, not everyone attended just to listen to Zusak speak on his book.
“I love his Australian accent,” Junior Aisleen Menezes said.
Not just students but teachers also enjoyed Zusak speak. Many of the teachers that attended were especially happy to hear the advice about writing.
“I think there’s something really nice about hearing an author talk to students about his book; there is something inspiring about it,” AP English Teacher David Townsend said. “Every English teacher in here was happy to hear Zusak tell students how important rewriting is.”
For many students, the journey with “The Book Thief” has not yet ended. The film adaption of the book comes out November 15th of this year.