Info on Markus Zusak, research on the author of "Book Thief"

Inspirations for Writing

Markus Zusak, the author of Book Thief, lived in a household whose parents lived throughout World War two in Austria and Germany. He says that Book Thief is mainly inspired from the many stories about Germany during World War two, and he believed that in order to make his story unique, he had to make it personal and include the fact that the main character loved to steal books to demonstrate the importance of words and knowledge. Why Zusak chose to emphasize on the importance of words was because he believed that it wasn't guns and violence that made war, but how Hitler used words to murder and ostracize and then juxtaposed that to the main character's use of words in the story. 

Zusak's Childhood Pushed Him to Be the Writer he is Today

 Markus's dad was a house painter, which heavily influenced young Markus to also become a house painter, even though he was horrible at the job. Markus then realized, at the age of 16, that he wanted to become a writer after reading two inspirational books The Old Man and the Sea and What's Eating Gilbert Grape. At 18, he finished the manuscript to his first book and tried getting it published, after numerous rejections, it pushed Zusak to write even better he believed that this indicated that he needed to work harder.

Markus Zusak's Lifestyle as a Professional Author

Living in Sydney, Australia, Markus Zusak works at leisurely pace. He starts his day with writing from 7 AM to 11 AM and then take a long afternoon break with a few hours of writing added at the end. However, when Zusak nears the end of a book, he changes his schedule, starting his day off with some early morning surfing and then starting off his writing at 10 AM. 

SMALL FACT: Zusak doesn't attempt writing crime and fantasy novels

Although Markus Zusak may live a leisurely lifestyle down south in Australia, his past with his immigrant parents define his life in every step he takes and the way he crafts his writing.