Ahead of an ABC adaptation of his novel, Zusak talks about life after The Book Thief and why he thinks the show is better than his book
ust like big moments, big books have a before and after. When The Book Thief became the phenomenon it did – 16m copies sold, global book tour, Hollywood film – it seemed no one knew what to make of its author, Markus Zusak: a smiley, self-effacing thirtysomething from Engadine who wrote novels mainly read by Australian teenagers, and who had now produced a huge bestseller in the form of a 500-page novel set in Nazi Germany and narrated by Death.
“I was 30 but I was still just a kid,” the 47-year-old says. “I’ve never been a very assertive or confident person. I’m still not. You’re always at war with yourself. But I say this with a smile on my face –” and he is often smiling – “if you believe the great reviews, you’ve got to believe the bad ones.”
The eight-episode arc sees Ed come up with solutions ranging from small acts of kindness to outright deception and violence. He befriends an elderly woman who thinks she is his wife, takes on an abusive husband and attempts to unite two fighting brothers, among many tasks.
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