Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Z is for Zusak...Markus Zusak

by Kim Van Sickler

I was in awe of Markus Zusak's storytelling talent after I finished reading The Book Thief. If you haven't read this book, please go to your Goodreads page and put this one number one in your queue.

Did you know that Marcus Zusak is Australian? His mother grew up in Germany and his father was raised in Austria, and their reminiscences inspired the book.

...that The Book Thief has already been performed as a play by Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago?

...that the movie, directed by Brian Percival of Downton Abbey fame, is filming in Germany right now, and should be released early in 2014?

...that his upcoming book is called Bridge of Clay and Zusak's fans are dying to read it!!!!! (On a side note: I can't believe that someone else has an MC of a current book by the name of Clay????!!!! The MC of my latest novel Muleskinner is a boy named Clay.)

...that one of his favorite pieces of advice came from his dad, who's retort when a young Marcus thought he won a race but wasn't recognized as the winner, was that "he didn't win by enough." He took that advice to heart and translated it to his storytelling by developing his own distinct style.

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Who's your current author crush?

14 comments:

  1. Excited the movie is coming out. Congrats on finishing the challenge.

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  2. Have you read 'I am the messenger'? It's not as good as The Book Thief (I think that is one of the best books ever written), but it's still an amazing read.

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    1. I haven't read I Am the Messenger yet, but I plan on it!

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  3. I enjoyed this book, although I listened to the audio version while driving, and I have to say I drifted out for some of the chapters. I would like to read this in print since reading and listening are different experiences.

    Quite excited for the movie, I think some pretty big names have been cast. Should be good.

    Whew! What a ride for the A to Z challenge! Here's my entry for today: A Girl and Her Diary

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  4. The title sounds vaguely familiar...
    My current author crush is Jasper Fforde

    Glad I had the opportunity to meet you and look forward to future posts :D

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    1. Same here! Thanks for chiming in! Your Jasper Fforde's pretty prolific, with multiple series running at once. I have to say The Last Dragonslayer series looks entertaining.

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  5. I still haven't read The Book Thief. I keep meaning to.

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  6. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Didn't see you in the A-Z, but can see this is an interesting site.

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  7. I have The Book Thief on my list of books to read. So happy to finish this A- Z challenge....congrats.

    jules
    A Dose of Jules

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  8. Never really thought to retell my parents' stories. Hummmmm Excellent Z!

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  9. The Book Thief is an AMAZING book. The best that I read in 2012. It's one of those stories that stays with you, l-o-n-g after you've read it...
    Congrats on finishing the A to Z challenge.

    Writer In Transit

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  10. You've just jogged my memory with this post. The Book Thief is definitely one I shall purchase. It sounds like my kinda read :)

    And no, I did not realise Markus Zusak was an Australian. A lot of good things come from Down Under :)

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  11. I'm visiting on the A to Z Road trip, and have really enjoyed your challenge! It's the first time I read a collaborative blog and that works really well, you seem to have a good thing going here!
    I recently started reading The Book Thief by Zusak, am still in the beginning and really excited to continue, so who knows, this might be my new author crush!
    galeriaredelius.wordpress.com

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