Markus Zusak, Author, The Book Thief

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Markus Zusak's favorite books:

1. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
   
   
   "The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I love this book because there’s a gem on every page – an image where you stop and say, ‘What a great moment.’ "
   
   


2. What's Eating Gilbert Grape
   
   
   "What’s Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges shows that great characters make great books. Each character is unforgettable."
   
   


3. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
   
   
   


4. The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen
   
   
   


5. My Brother Jack by George Johnston
   
   
   "My Brother Jack by George Johnston is arguably the best Australian book ever written. It’s honest, it’s beautiful, it’s cruel, and it was one of those bitter-sweet moments when I was reading it where I thought, ‘This is so brilliant...and if only I could write like this."
   
   


6. The Barrytown Trilogy
   
   
   "My favorite writer is Roddy Doyle, who wrote the Barrytown Trilogy"
   
   

What was your favourite book as a child?

I loved a strange character called Grug. It was a whole series. Grug and the Big Red Apple, Grug and the Rainbow, Grug and the Green Paint, all by Ted Prior. I could describe him in more detail... Actually, I can't. Grug pretty much defies belief.

1. The Barrytown Trilogy
   
   
   "My favorite writer is Roddy Doyle, who wrote the Barrytown Trilogy"
   
   


2. Grug and the Green Paint by Ted Prior
   
   
   


3. Grug and the Rainbow by Ted Prior
   
   
   


4. Grug and the Big Red Apple by Ted Prior
   
   
   

Source:
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk
http://www.associatedcontent.com
http://www.teenreads.com

Markus Zusak Who?

Australian author Markus Zusak grew up hearing stories about Nazi Germany, about the bombing of Munich and about Jews being marched through his mother’s small, German town. He always knew it was a story he wanted to tell.

“We have these images of the straight-marching lines of boys and the ‘Heil Hitlers’ and this idea that everyone in Germany was in it together. But there still were rebellious children and people who didn’t follow the rules and people who hid Jews and other people in their houses. So there’s another side to Nazi Germany,” said Zusak in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.

At the age of 30, Zusak has already asserted himself as one of today’s most innovative and poetic novelists. With the publication of THE BOOK THIEF, he is now being dubbed a ‘literary phenomenon’ by Australian and U.S. critics. Zusak is the award-winning author of four previous books for young adults: THE UNDERDOG, FIGHTING RUBEN WOLFE, GETTING THE GIRL and I AM THE MESSENGER, recipient of a 2006 Printz Honor for excellence in young adult literature. He lives in Sydney.

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