Markus Zusak was born on June 23rd, 1975 in Sydney Australia. His parents were both immigrants, moving to Australia before he was born. His father was from Austria and his mother from Germany. Zusak is the youngest of four children, and grew up hearing his parents’ stories of living through the Second World War. He studied teaching at a university, and taught high school English. He also spent some time as a janitor. His love for writing and reading began when he was young, and he started writing his first manuscript when he was sixteen years old. The Underdog was his first novel, published in 1999. The Book Thief, his fifth novel, was published in 2006 in Australia. Since then, more than one million copies have been sold worldwide. The Book Thief also received the Printz honor. In interviews about The Book Thief, Zusak says that his inspiration for the novel came from hearing his parent’s stories about growing up in Germany and Austria. He says of this, “When I was growing up, I heard stories at home about Munich and Vienna in war-time, when my parents were children. Two stories my mother told me affected me a lot. The first was about Munich being bombed, and how the sky was on fire, how everything was red. The second was about something else she saw.“ That second story was about the time when she was a little girl, and witnessed a group of Jews being marched to the Dachau concentration camp. These stories profoundly impacted Zusak’s desire to write a story about the other side of the Holocaust. Again, when speaking of this he says, "We have these images of the straight-marching lines of boys and the 'Heil Hitlers' and this idea that everyone in Germany was in it together. But there still were rebellious children and people who didn't follow the rules and people who hid Jews and other people in their houses. So there's another side to Germany."
He goes on to say that he just wanted to write a small story, to show the other side of the coin. What ended up coming from that, however, was something much larger; a 550 page book. Some of Markus Zusak’s other works include I am the Messenger, When Dogs Cry, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Getting the Girl and The Underdog.
Interviews
Other Works
I Am the Messenger Meet Ed Kennedy—underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That’s when the first Ace arrives. That’s when Ed becomes the messenger. . . .
Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission?
Winner of the 2003 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award in Australia, I Am the Messenger is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.
When Dogs CryCameron Wolfe is hungry. He's sick of being the filthy, torn, half smiling, half-scowling underdog. He's finally met a girl. He's got words in his spirit. And now he's out to prove that there is nothing more beautiful than an underdog who's willing to stand up! Ages 12 and up.
Fight Club meets The Outsiders in this knockout debut, written in a voice both fierce and sensitive.
The working class family of Cameron Wolfe and his brother Ruben isn't having much luck these days. Their dad has just lost his job and is too proud to go on welfare. Their older brother has moved out of the house in disgust. Which leaves them open to suggestion when a local boxing promotor signs them up for illegal bouts. But it's more than the meager winnings that draws the two brothers in. Soon they find themselves fighting for something else. Is it pride? Love? Or just the experience of winning for once?
A knockout debut from the front lines of a family's recession.
Getting the Girl In this sequel to the award-winning FIGHTING RUBEN WOLFE, Cameron explores the ecstasy, the danger, and the cost of love.
Cameron Wolfe is a loser. He knows it. He's the quiet one, not a soccer star like his brother Steve or a charming fighter with a new girl every week like his brother Rube. Cam would give anything to be near one of those girls, to love her and treat her right. He especially likes Rube's latest, Octavia, with her brilliant ideas and bright green eyes. But what woman like that would want a loser like him?
Maybe Octavia would, Cam discovers. Maybe he'd even have something to say. And those maybes change everything: winning, loving, losing, the Wolfe brothers, and Cameron himself.
UnderdogBoys are like dogs - ready to bite, bark and beg to be given a chance to show their value.. "I vowed that if I ever got a girl I would treat her right and never be bad or dirty to her or hurt her, ever." Cameron Wolfe is a dirty boy. He knows it. His brother Rube knows it, because he's one too. they could change - but what would it take?
Soon to come…Bridge of Clay.
Information taken from book covers
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