Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Zusak's Latest Choices
One of Zusak's boldest choices as an author is when he tells the reader about Rudy's death before it happens. "He didn't deserve to die the way he did...He'd have been glad to witness her kissing his dusty, bomb-hit lips" (242). I found myself reading over the second part of this chapter a couple of times. I was surprised and also a little frustrated that Zusak chose to announce Rudy's death prematurely. I understand that the laws of time do not apply to Death, but for me, it disturbs the sequence of the story. The goal of an author is to provoke strong emotions from the reader, and I would have had a stronger reaction if we would have learned about Rudy's death when it happened. As I continue reading The Book Thief, I can't help but thinking about Rudy's death, wondering when the moment will come. Also, as there are sections of the book where Rudy does not appear as often as others, sometimes I feel as if his character is already dying. I find myself focusing less on his character, in my mind disturbing his importance in both The Book Thief and in Liesel's life. With all the tragedy in this story, having another looming overhead was not my favorite choice of Zusak's.
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I wonder if this sense of the ominous, created by Zusak's choice to reveal Rudy's upcoming death, is a way for Zusak to give us a fleeting sense of what it's like to live in a war zone. The bomb may drop, but...the soldiers may come...Max may be found out...That sense of dread that you & I have never known?
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with you, I felt Zusak did a good job with not giving too much information away and also getting the reader more curious and interested in what will happen next.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with you (Chloee) that I like this reveal of Rudy's upcoming death. In addition to the fact that death is just an enigma that operates in strange ways, death says that "mystery bores me." And that "it's the mechanisms that wheel us [to death] that [intrigue him]." Death doesn't care about the plot, he's only interested in characters' motivations. And for me, the language and hte complex characters used in TBT are much more fascinating than the actual plot.
ReplyDeleteI am torn on whether I liked knowing that Rudy was going to die, or if the great reveal spoiled the final parts of the novel. At times, knowing what was going to happen added clarity to Zusak's often times convoluted writing. However, I felt that reading the final chapters did not have that special "zest" present in previous pages. I understand Zusak's writer's choice, but I believe there could be a more effective way that still reveals a portion of what is going to happen, while not ruining the suspense.
ReplyDeleteHaving finished TBT, I still have the same opinion about what Zusak gives away about Rudy's death. I agree with Simone that the final chapters, including Rudy's death lacks strength that I believe could have been preserved if Zusak hadn't have given away so many details. Rudy is such an important character and while the telling of his final moments are still special, I think the moment could have been enhanced if several of the details weren't previously revealed. The goal of an author is usually to provoke as strong emotion from the reader as possible, and in my opinion, by taking all the suspense from Rudy's death away, Zusak weakens the reader's reaction as well.
ReplyDeleteJoe, I'm not sure how far you've read, but later in the story, even more is given away. I don't think Zusak did a good job with not giving too much information away because he gives the reader almost every detail about Rudy's death before it even happens. By doing so, how can the reader be curious about what will happen next when they already know?
ReplyDeleteGabe, I do agree with you that language and character development are more significant and fascinating than the plot. However since Zusak's character development of Rudy is so strong, and because of what Rudy means to Liesel,, I think that his death should have had at least a little more surprise to it than what Zusak provides.