I saw today that The Book Thief is now a movie!  I cannot wait to see it, and hope it stays true to the book.  If you haven’t read it yet, pop it on your reading list for 2014!

Below is a blog post of mine from last year… I may even pick up the book and read it again before seeing the movie…

Haunting little sketches dotted throughout the book

When i’m not writing I try my hardest to find time to read as much as I can. At the moment i’m reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and I have been sucked into the life of The Book Thief from the first page. How many books have you read where the opening chapters are written in the third person, that third person being Death? You know you’re in for something new.

The way Markus has described certain situations and moments in this book are really impressive to me, and put me right in the room with the characters, keeping me reading long into the night when I should really be sleeping!  Here’s a few I really liked and wanted to share as I think are great examples of descriptive writing;

Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster fathers eyes. They were made of kindness and silver. Liesel upon seeing those eyes, understood that Hans Hubermann was worth alot.

She would wake up swimming in her bed, screaming and drowning in the flood of sheets.

He had eaten only the foul taste of his own hungry breath for what felt like weeks, and still nothing.

Smoke was rising from Liesels collar.
A necklace of sweat had formed around her throat.
Beneath her shirt, the book was eating her up.

Does anyone have a great line or paragraph from a favourite book that demonstrates great descriptive writing?