“The Book Thief ”Turns 20: Author Markus Zusak Reflects on Two Decades of His Powerful Ode to Reading (Exclusive)
“The Book Thief ”Turns 20: Author Markus Zusak Reflects on Two Decades of His Powerful Ode to Reading (Exclusive)
Lizz SchumerMon, March 9, 2026 at 6:30 PM UTC
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Markus Zusak and 'The Book Thief'Credit: Michael Lionstar 2016; Random House Children's Books
The Book Thief came out 20 years ago, and now there's an anniversary edition to celebrate
Author Markus Zusak chatted with PEOPLE about the book and its legacy
"Books don't stay alive on their own, so I'm just really grateful to readers who've just taken it so much to heart," he says
"It's set in Nazi Germany, it's narrated by death, nearly everybody dies, it's 560 pages long — you'll love it," says author Markus Zusak with a laugh.
It's his witty — and accurate — way to describe The Book Thief, which came out 20 years ago. Publisher Knopf Books for Young Readers is celebrating two decades of the smash hit bestseller with an anniversary edition featuring marked-up manuscript pages, original sketches and excerpts from the author’s writing notebook.
As for its creator, Zusak is just grateful to be along for the ride.
"I think having had 20 years to think about it, I've come to this idea now that it's kind of like your more talented older brother that sort of drags you around behind it," he says. "Books don't stay alive on their own, so I'm just really grateful to readers who've just taken it so much to heart."
For the book's legions of fans, that swept-up-in-something feeling probably sounds familiar. The book, which is indeed narrated by death, follows Liesel Meminger, a foster girl growing up in Nazi Germany who steals books and learns to read from them with the help of her foster father as they shelter from air raids with their neighbors — and the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
"Every time I thought of a new idea for the book, or a bit of a gamble, I took it," Zusak says of his narrative choices. "And so, there are times where I look back and I go, 'oh, I went too far sometimes with that book.' And then I think, but it was probably better to go too far than not quite far enough."
The Book ThiefCredit: Random House Children's Books
Zusak, who was first inspired to be a writer by what he calls "the magic act of black words on a white page making you see the world in color," said he loves creating that all-consuming sensation, "when you were inside a book and you believed everything in it."
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The alchemy of how words work together also draws him back to the page, again and again. "I really like that idea of putting two words in a sentence together, that's what brings them both to light. It's like dynamite when you bring those ideas together, and I love getting those sparks when I'm reading," he explains.
The fact The Book Thief is a bookworm's kind of book, Zusak posits, might have something to do with its success. "I think just the fact that it is in that way about stories, and how stories affect us. I think that's what people tap into, maybe a little bit."
And the stealing part is enticing, too.
"Readers are daring in their own way, and so I think the idea of stealing books kind of appeals," he goes on. "And I think we all have a story about either accidentally stealing a book, or, you know, even on, like, purposefully stealing a book from the school library."
Markus ZusakCredit: Michael Lionstar 2016
For all of these reasons, The Book Thief endures — and so does the medium. "I feel like you really become the characters when you're reading a book, and I think that's one of the reasons why I think books will never die," Zusak says. "People have been talking about the death of the book ever since I've been a writer, but if books were gonna die, they'd be dead already, I feel like."
But what Zusak likes to think about as a global family of readers keeps books — and the people who make them — going.
"I love being part of a worldwide community like that, of writers and readers," Zusak says. "I'm a reader, you know, and so I have readers, and I feel like we're all part of the same thing."
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The Book Thief anniversary edition is available now, wherever books are sold.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
