A heartbreaking tale of life for ordinary Germans in Nazi Germany during WWII. Ordinary Germans who were not card-carrying members of the Nazi party (although some were, as a mechanism for survival), nor did they feel love for the Führer or hate for the Jew. Just ordinary Germans trying to cope through tremendous hardships in their lives.
Extraordinarily though, it is narrated by the Grim Reaper. And with a difference, in that he's depicted as someone just doing a job. He's very matter of fact about it, death being part of the cycle of life & all that, but he can't help but feel concern about about some of his charges. Like those who he feels he's had to visit too early or the grief of those left behind after his visit. "It kills me sometimes, how people die." he laments.
He feels for humans - "Even death has a heart." he tells us. And perceiving the human capacity to struggle onwards, he observes, "I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race - that rarely do I ever simply estimate it."
The protagonist is a young girl, given up to foster parents, who genuinely love her. She is a tenacious & spirited young girl, who will not be put down & fights all her own battles. Initially illiterate, her foster father teaches her to read & in books (and words), she finds solace & provides it to others. There are numerous sub-plots, which I won't go into, as that would be giving the story away.
And the narrator? In his own words, "I do not carry a sickle or scythe. I only wear a hooded black robe when it's cold. And I don't have those skull-like facial features you seem to enjoy pinning on me from a distance. You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue." And that, "I'm haunted by humans."
I did the audiobook version of this book & was in tears as it was ending. A really moving tale, although it's aimed at the Young Adult reader. Sadly, I hear from the reviews of the film adaptation that the movie has not measured up to the book. But then again, when has it ever?