I recently finished a novel by the name of The Book Thief.
The Book Thief is a narrative that follows the life of a young Jewish girl in Nazi Germany.
As I read, I couldn't help but think the genre has been worn out.
Another book about the Holocaust. It will be sad. It will be long. Blah, Blah, Blah.
And I couldn't shake the fact that it was written by an Australian.
I kept waiting for the book to "steal" me away.
But as I read, it became apparent the book wasn't about Nazi Germany. Or even Liesel.
And it wasn't going to be a "I can't stop reading" kind of book.
However, the book did shed some light on some interesting concepts.
It was written from the point of view of Death.
I haven't thought much about what Death thinks of the living.
I don't think many have.
We are too afraid of Death to spend that much time with it.
There is a point in the novel where Death speaks these words:
"I am haunted by humans."
The irony is apparent.
We, as humans, are terrified.
Death ranks among snakes, spiders, and darkness.
We cannot solve, avoid, conquer, or kill it.
Death reigns over the earth.
Yet, it is haunted by humanity.
Which got me thinking:
No ruler has been so enslaved by it's people.
After all, Death is created through life.
We employ death from birth.
Events, people, and the like culminating to one point of fear.
But why would death be haunted by humanity?
Maybe it has to do with what Death sees:
The wake of Humanity.
War. Tragedy. Disease.
Lives wasted.
Really, there is a certain beauty in death.
The timely ending to a good story.
The merciful release from a world of suffering.
Evil being removed from the world.
We often times look at death as the ending.
But sometimes, there is much, much more to it.
This is what The Book Thief leaves us with.
It does not solve our curiosity or anxiety about the end.
But It does raise important questions about life through Death.
And challenges how the reader views their own ending and their now.
