In the fall of 2013, a military film called "The Thief of Books" appeared on the screens of cinemas. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name, written in 2005. Its author is the Australian writer Markus Zuzak (another version of the transliteration of the surname into Russian is Zusak). In addition to The Book Thief, he created five more novels.
Biography of Marcus Zuzak
The future writer was born on June 23, 1975 in the largest city in Australia, Sydney. His parents, Helmut and Lisa, are immigrants from Austria. The family had three more children: one boy and two girls. Marcus is the youngest child.
Zuzak graduated from Engandin High School, received a higher education at the University of Sydney. After graduating from the university, he worked at a school for some time where he taught English.
In his interviews, Markus Zuzak often mentions that in his childhood he heard many stories about the horrors of World War II, Nazi Germany, and about the persecuted Jews. This was told to him by his mother, who at that time lived in the German city of Munich and became a direct witness to the events. It is these stories, as the writer notes, that later inspired Marcus Zuzak to create his most popular novel, The Book Thief.
Zuzak began to write at a young age, when he was about 16 years old. However, 1999 can be considered the immediate beginning of a literary career - it was then that the first publication of the novel “Podpesok” took place.
Immediately after his debut, Marcus Zuzak was recognized as one of Australia's most promising young authors. The next work entitled “Against Ruben Wolf”, which is a logical continuation of the first novel, was released in 2001.
The books of Marcus Zuzak quickly won the success of readers and received positive reviews from critics. The writer has repeatedly become the winner of various literary prizes.
At the moment, the authorship of Marcus Zuzak owns 6 novels. It is known that he is working on the next work, the publication of which is officially scheduled for October 2018.
Personal life
The writer is married to a woman named Mika. The spouses have two children: a boy and a girl. The family lives in Australia, in the hometown of Zuzaka - Sydney.
Bibliography. Book Thief
The novel was written and published in 2005. In Russian, first published in 2009 by Eksmo Publishing House.
The action begins in the non-existent small German town of Molking in 1939 and covers six years of events.
The main character is a girl named Liesel Meminger, who is 9 years old at the time of the beginning of the novel. However, the narration is conducted on behalf of another character - Death. This is the most mysterious hero of the work: the image of Death is very vague, but plays an important role in the narrative.
Father Liesel is a missing communist. The mother, unable to care for the girl and her brother, makes a difficult decision to send the children to a foster family. But the boy does not live to see his new parents, having died of illness on the way to Molking. This leaves a deep imprint on Liesel.
As the plot develops, the main character also grows and changes, makes friends, finds mutual understanding with adoptive parents.
The whole novel is permeated with the theme of World War II. The new Lizel family does not support Hitler’s ideology, however, it cannot express its position explicitly.
The film adaptation of “The Book Thief” by Marcus Zuzak received the slogan “Courage Without Extra Words”, which fully reflects the essence of the work.
The Wolf Brothers trilogy
Zuzak’s debut novel, “The Podzapesok,” became the first book in the “The Wolf Brothers” series, which also included “Against Ruben Wolf” and “When the Dogs Cry”. The trilogy tells about the life of people opposing difficult circumstances and themselves.
In the center of the plot are three main characters: brothers Stephen, Ruben and Cameron Wolfe. Their life in the slums of Sydney can hardly be called happy and prosperous: the father was injured, because of which he lost his job, and the mother is forced to provide for the whole family alone. The money she receives is hardly enough even for the most necessary.
Therefore, when three brothers have a chance to earn money, they quickly agree. Now the youths are participating in illegal boxing fights. Thanks to his rich experience of participating in school fights, Ruben - the youngest of the brothers - becomes the most successful. Stephen and Cameron lose more often, but continue to enter the ring.
Sometimes they have to fight each other, but this does not make the brothers enemies. Wolves are still close.
“I am the Messenger”
The novel by Markus Zuzak, “I am the Messenger,” was written in 2002, and published in Russia in 2012 as part of the series “The Intelligent Best Seller. Reads the whole world. "
The main character is a young man named Ed Kennedy. His life is quite ordinary: working as a taxi driver in a small town, frequent failures in gambling and in his personal life.
It would seem almost impossible to break out of such a routine. But once in the life of Ed there is an event out of the ordinary - being at the right time in the right place, he heroically breaks the bank robbery.
From this moment, the former taxi driver becomes the so-called Messenger. Now the mission of Ed is to carry out various tasks, helping people. But the main character still has a lot of questions: why is he? Who and why chose him as the Messenger?
Prizes and awards of the writer
In 2006, Markus Zusak was awarded the Michael L. Prince Literary Prize for his work “I am the Messenger.” The American Library Association recognized the novel as "the best book written for teens."
The following year, the writer again became the winner of this award for the novel "Book Thief." In addition, the book won two more awards - the Kathleen Mitchell Prize and the National Jewish Literature Prize. It has also been on the New York Times magazine's best-seller list for more than 230 weeks.
In 2014, Marcus Zuzak was awarded the Margaret Edwards Prize for his contribution to literature for teens. In total, the writer is the winner of more than 10 awards.
Readers and critics
Zuzak was a successful writer even before the release of the adaptation of his novel, but after the world premiere of "The Thieves of Books" more people became interested in his work.
The New York Times called the Book Thief a book that “will be extolled for the insolence of the author.” "USA Today" prophesied that the novel would undoubtedly become a classic.
The Wolf Brothers trilogy is also a success with readers and critics alike. Some see in the series similarities with the writer’s most popular novel, while others, on the contrary, are surprised at the enormous difference between these works - in the manner of narration, ideas and message.
The work of Marcus Zuzak is mainly positioned as literature for adolescents. It is their peers who will be the closest heroes, and the thoughts and actions of the characters are understandable.