When Liesel Meminger enters her neighbour’s library, the books flutter above her like doves. As the crisp white pages shimmer on the shelves, the girl breaks into song – a number called In This Book. It is an example of how seriously this adaptation of Markus Zusak’s magnificent bestseller takes one of the author’s central themes: the power of the printed word.
It is a power that can be used for evil, as it was with every copy of Mein Kampf sold to a population bewitched by Adolf Hitler. And, of course, it is a power that can be used for good.
