Markus Zusak On The Book Thief, The Necessity Of Storytelling, And Some Hopefully Helpful Advice For Aspiring Writers
We spoke to the Sydneysider, whose bestselling novel has just received the Hollywood treatment.
“That’s a nice way to describe a book, actually: There’ll be very ordinary people in this book.”
Despite the suggestion that “ordinary” characters seem to be a fixture in his work, Markus Zusak — Sydneysider and beloved author of international bestsellers, The Messenger (2002) and The Book Thief (2005) — seems to understand the qualities that have attracted so many fans to his novels. “They do amazing things as well,” he says. “And that’s what I love. I’m not interested in superheroes. I’m interested in people who have no superhero qualities doing special things.”
The particular book he’s referring to has sold over eight million copies since its release eight years ago, and garnered a bunch of awards and acclaim, including love from popular American author and blogger John Green (The Fault In Our Stars), who praised it as “life-changing” and “brilliant” in a review for The New York Times. And now, it’s been given the Hollywood treatment.
Currently in cinemas, the film adaptation of The Book Thief stars Aussie hero Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson as the foster parents of young Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nelisse), the book’s titular character. Set in Germany in 1939, it follows Liesel’s attempts to escape from an environment of war and poverty through a burgeoning love of literature and the influence of a Jewish fistfighter, who her family are hiding from Nazi authorities.
We spoke to the author about his thoughts on the film, his future plans, and his advice for aspiring writers. Take notes, kids.
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How a little thing became unexpectedly big
In its early stages, The Book Thief was meant to be an eighty-page novella. Somehow, Zusak got carried away and wrote 580 pages instead. The final tome is something he never imagined would be published in the first place, let alone turned into a film, and he admits he’s been finding all the attention that comes with a newly-released adaptation both strange and enjoyable.
“I’m used to just spending a lot of time alone, sitting in my room, working in solitude,” he says. “But I’ve been proven totally wrong about this book over and over again. It’s just sort of had a life of its own and dragged me along behind it for the ride, and I’ve been really happy to go with it.”
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On the necessity of storytelling
Stories — the power of words, and their potential to change lives — lies at the heart of The Book Thief. “We’re made of stories,” says Zusak. “That’s what our lives amount to, and that’s kind of what The Book Thief is about. You’ve got Hitler destroying people with words, and in a sense, you’ve got Liesel stealing the words back and writing her own story with them… I’ve always had that love of stories, and I think we all love hearing a good story, whether it’s about someone’s spectacularly bad driving on their way to work or, you know, one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to them.”
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On working with Geoffrey Rush
Given the adaptation’s heavy premise (which might’ve been pitched to producers as “It’s set in WWII, nearly everyone dies, and oh, it’s narrated by Death!”), director Brian Percival (mostly known for his work on Downton Abbey) and screenwriter Michael Petroni have delivered a fairly loyal representation of Zusak’s novel. But it’s the magnetic performances from the cast — including Geoffrey Rush, champion stink eye-giver Emily Watson, and precious 12-year-old Sophie Nelisse — that’ll make you sweat from your eyes.
“Geoffrey’s just a really down-to-earth nice guy,” replies Zusak, to a question he probably gets asked a lot. “He won’t just shrug away and sit in the corner on his own and say, ‘I’m too busy!’. He’s very generous with his time, he’s very talkative and willing to listen, and it’s nice to see people who love their work. You can see how involved he is in what he’s doing; it was really inspiring to be around him.”
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His thoughts on the adaptation
As for how Percival’s vision of The Book Thief compares with his own, Zusak sees the adaption as something separate from his own work, and says he didn’t feel the need to have any real input into its making.
“It’s like seeing it for the first time from the outside in, like looking in the mirror and there’s someone staring back at you,” he says of the film. “You hear enough horror stories about authors who do get involved… I can only control what I can control — and that’s my own words. That’s why I like being a writer of books: my set costs nothing, my actors cost nothing.”
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Some (hopefully) helpful life advice for aspiring writers
“Don’t be afraid to fail,” says Zusak, when pressed for the secrets of his success. “When I tried to write my first book, I was 16 and it lasted for about six pages ‘til I thought, ‘This is the worst — it could be entered into a competition for the worst book ever written!’, and so I stopped. But then I started again a few months later — you’ve just got to be able to keep getting up off the floor. If you end up back at your desk, that’s how you know you’re a writer.”
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And some wonderful news for fans everywhere
While he’s enjoyed the “craziness” that’s come with The Book Thief, Zusak makes it clear that he’s eager to move onto the next chapter (bad pun, sorry) in his writerly callings. He’s currently at work on a new book titled Bridge Of Clay (“Clay is trying to build a bridge that is perfect and he wants to walk along the top of it when a river floods, but we’re not sure if he’ll be able to,” he offers as a teasing synopsis), which he’s been struggling to get back on track with amidst the current, ahem, interruption.
“You look at [the film], and you say, ‘I really appreciate this… But it’s not the real job.'”, he says. “The real job is sitting quietly on your own, and getting a book written. And I think you’re always clearing space to get to there. I can’t wait to get to that new book again.”
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The Book Thief is now showing in cinemas nationally.
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Small doggies terrify Andy. So do small children. That said, she is a fairly functional and friendly human who writes, edits Vertigo, falls down a lot, and works on So Hot Right Now, 2SER’s flagship arts show.