Post 5: The Book Thief Adaptation

In making the film adaptation of The Book Thief, the director no doubt ran in to challenging decisions, and roadblocks, as there is so much material and not all of it can be included. A big challenge was probably how to incorporate death as a narrator into the movie. In the book, death is a very ambiguous character, with no real description. His narration is also almost forgetful at some points, but his often sarcastic sidenotes remind you of his presence, I'd imagine that including those sidenotes and quick narrations would be pretty tricky to manuever in the adaptation process, as well as how to develop death as a character to be seen in the film.

There are so many important scenes and events in the novel that would definitely have to be in the film if it hopes to be a successful adaptation. First, they would have to include how Leisel's Papa discovered her hidden book, and instead of repremanding her for stealing, saw that she wanted to learn and took the oppurtunity to teach Leisel to read through their night reading sessions and their lessons in the basement. I think it would also be neccessary to include Leisel staying over in the Mayor's Wife's library, and how her and Ilsa's friendship was ruined by tough circumstances, but eventually salvaged by a mutual love for books and hope for better times. Most importantly though, at least in my opinion, is Leisel's relationship with Max. The film must show just how big of an impact Max has on Leisel, how keeping the secret of his existence affects her, as well as when she discovers that Max has been taken prisoner.

Since there is so much detail in The Book Thief, there are some things that can be left out. A portion of the book that may not be quite so important is when Leisel reads to Frau Holtzapfel towards the end of the story. Its overall significance is to move the story along, but it doesn't really impact Leisel's story as other parts do. Another part that the film could do without would be Leisel's early school years. They develop Leisel's character, but not quite as much as other events do, and ultimately could be left out or not as developed as they are in the book. For instance, the fact that Leisel beat up a boy in the schoolyard doen't really affect the overall plot.