Words of a Bibliophile

I expected to like this as much as I liked The Book Thief, but I didn't. The writing was good, but the novel moved rather slowly and had a sense of quiet detachment to it. Instead of really getting absorbed into the story I was held back into being a distant observer, maybe because Werner himself felt detached in his powerlessness over the things that happened around him. But the ending left me with tender feelings for him.

The novel uses several symbols and motifs, like the way the radio and its broadcasts for children represent knowledge and science in its purest form, untainted by politics or war. What I'm not so sure about is what the precious jewel from the museum is supposed to symbolize, either hope or greed or something else, but I didn't feel it had that much of an impact in the story except to provide an additional element of danger.