Book #2 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

[Lori]

Some expansive points to ponder if you so choose (Chicago Book Review):


1. Guilt is a recurring theme in the novel. Hans Hubermann’s life was spared in France during World War I, and Erik Vandenburg’s life was taken. Explain why Hans feels guilty about Erik’s death. Guilt is a powerful emotion that may cause a person to become unhappy and despondent. How does Hans channel his guilt into helping others. Explain Max Vandenburg’s thought, “Living was living. The price was guilt and shame.” (p. 208) Why does he feel guilt and shame?


2. Comparing and contrasting the lives of Liesel and Max Vandenburg. How does Max’s life give Liesel purpose? At what point do Liesel and Max become friends? Max gives Liesel a story called “The Standover Man” for her birthday. What is the significance of this story?


3. Death says that Liesel was a girl “with a mountain to climb.” (p. 86) What is her mountain? Who are her climbing partners? What is her greatest obstacle? At what point does she reach the summit of her mountain? Describe her descent. What does she discover at the foot of her mountain?


4. Hans Junior, a Nazi soldier, calls his dad a coward because he doesn’t belong to the Nazi Party. He feels that you are either for Hitler or against him. How does it take courage to oppose Hitler? There isn’t one coward in the Hubermann household. How do they demonstrate courage throughout the novel?


5. Liesel Meminger lived to be an old woman. Death says that he would like to tell the book thief about beauty and brutality, but those are things that she had lived. How does her life represent beauty in the wake of brutality? How does Zusak’s poetic writing style enhances the beauty of Liesel’s story.

[Moonchime]

“I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”
~ The Book Thief

At times, I’ve wondered if it can be a detriment when authors speak through characters so intimately their own questions, perceptions, agendas, and values. In this case, I think it is sweet revelation and a lasting gift. That Markus Zusak loves the written word is deeply apparent in this amazing work, spun down and entitled simply yet poignantly The Book Thief.

Well all good things come to those who wait and it has been a pleasure to read your wonderful review full of perceptive analysis and thought.

I wondered the exact same thing Lori and came to a similar conclusion to you, although I suspect that it is inevitable that an author will be bound in the self however much he may try to be otherwise; admittedly in the case of this book the role of death makes the author's wonderings and opinions more transparent than they might otherwise be.
Occasionally I did question whether it was indulgent but I think there is no doubt that the book would not have had anything like the same power without the role of death. Death enabled Zusak to indulge his love of words and add poetry to what might otherwise have been a much more ordinary read. It enabled him to make it much more extraordinary.

“The best word shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words. They were the ones who could climb the highest. One such word shaker was a small, skinny girl. She was renowned as the best word shaker of her region because she knew how powerless a person could be WITHOUT words.”

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me? I don’t think so.

Yes we all know that however much we might like that to be true it really isn't. More's the pity, but then if words didn't have the power to hurt I suppose they wouldn't have the power to warm and nurture and thrill. We can't have the good, the rousing, the glowing without the painful, the harrowing and the bad.

Words are the wings of ideas.

So true and so beautifully put.

“I like that every page in every book can have a gem on it. It's probably what I love most about writing—that words can be used in a way that's like a child playing in a sandpit, rearranging things, swapping them around. They're the best moments in a day of writing—when an image appears that you didn't know would be there when you started work in the morning.” ~ Markus Zusak

Isn’t this the apex of art? The surprise of it all in this process of creation? Whether it be the written word, painted canvas, composed song, or….arranged stones in the water spiraling circular and shimmering in the sunlight, all things that appeared where first there was nothing and provide a sweetly jolting release from reality into the blue. Or perhaps an expression of reality named and therefore somewhat tamed. "Look at this thing. Look at the beauty - the tragedy - the triumph - the message - the memory...or simplicity speaking. The colors of humanity."

Yes I think it is a hugely important part of art that from small beginnings with the seed of an idea comes something greater than the sum of its parts; it may indeed be something of reality named,and in the naming comes the knowing and the thrill of recognition and as you so rightly say, some taming.

“It’s a small story really,

But, is it really? In my humble opinion, it is not a small story and it is not about the above seemingly small subjects.

No I don't think it is a small story, but maybe it was meant in the way of the commonplace being small - which of course it isn't either - and you're right it wasn't about small subjects; quite the reverse; it was about all the great emotions and struggles of being human which so often are depicted in the small and the everyday. And last, but certainly not least, it was about how ordinary people get caught up in extraordinary events; in this story all the main characters were basically good and helped others at their own risk, but in reality there were good people who did the wrong thing - and that could be a whole other book.

The ... descriptive colors of the day from beginning to end represent to me an arc of a life.

Yes I think that's a fine interpretation.
_________________________________________________________________

Oh, the characters forever milling about Himmel Street are permanently ingrained in our hearts!


[
I loved the flavored characters on Himmel Street. The Mayor’s wife, neighbors, villains.

Yes me too; I actually found some of the minor characters very endearing but the Mayor's wife I found awfully sad and felt she would never ever be the woman she once was again. Not the only character to suffer such a fate though.

DEATH: Mostly, however, I loved this Narrator with his pragmatic sensibilities (Death is a man, correct? ) and deep underlying tenderness. This book to me is more about the Narrator than Liesel, the ostensible main character. Indeed, when asked what Death looks like, he encourages the reader to “look in the mirror”. This is a reflective look at our layers.

I think that is so true Lori - Death is the one who really leaves the lasting impression isn't he? Oh dear I automatically wrote "he" without thinking.
I think he is a bit of a dichotomy though because the tenderness he shows would make his job unbearable.

I see their ugliness and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both."[/b]

For me that is the biggest and most enduring question.

[Dee]

Just finished the book, but I must sleep on it now. I think I cried through the last fifty pages. I look forward to reading through this thread so much tomorrow morning.

[Lori]

Yay, Dee!! This is an experience that one almost needs to digest before continuing, am I right ladies? Looking forward to teal font!

[Lori]

Zusak can immediately draw the reader in, stirring their curiosity about the colours of the sky and the observations of humans; making them wonder who this third person is. It enables a distance from events while allowing pertinent reflections on humanity and the terrible events that take place through the book. We are able to feel them even more poignantly through the “eyes” of the final incumbent of life. Death talks about “tenderly carrying” or being constantly in demand; it has the advantage of being able to comment as a non-human; although I for one, felt Death had a distinctly human side as evidenced by so many of his/her reactions:

"He does something to me, that boy. Every time. It's his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry.”

So Death does have a heart eh?

Oh my, I so agree! Death had a heart to the great extent that he/she(?) honed in on simple breaking beauty, basking in the colors of the sky and the solid friendship between two young humans. Death told a story that made the reader understand this thread running through humanity overrode the darkness. Death, in spite of attempts otherwise, craved this burning central ember and was drawn back to these seemingly simple humans caught in life's web and still bravely and with honor finding their way forward. You are so correct that Death was a perfect vehicle Zusak chose to enable "a distance from events while allowing pertinent reflections on humanity and the terrible events that take place through the book. We are able to feel them even more poignantly through the “eyes” of the final incumbent of life."

“A small but noteworthy note. I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They are running at me.”

Ah the sad truth of this.

Zusak chooses in the book to consistently fling a zinger at the end of each chapter to make us reflect. This statement really stung and lingered in the air. The honesty and insight literally was something to breathe in - a truth.

What a very powerful image this evoked and how "aptly he describes the hidden heart."

MC, I love how you put this (regarding Rosa's outward hard shell and inner heart). Beautifully stated and really a central theme throughout.

Liesel’s character is perhaps the one that develops most through the story as she grows in age and maturity, holding fast to her fascination for books and words throughout all that happens. Zusak is more than a little fond of using irony in the book and the very title, whilst catching your imagination, is not really accurate as Liesel is very careful to start with only to take books that no-one else wants. Her behaviour does change with Isla Hermann although even then she knows Isla is aware of what she is doing. She longs for books even though, originally she can’t read.

“She was the book thief without the words.”

How typically human to long for what she doesn’t have.
How wonderful then, that with the help of Hans she is able to slowly, but surely, conquer the world of the written word.

“Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain.”

That image of Liesel extracting every last drop of meaning and life from words is so powerful and helps you to understand the strength of her passion and need. It was in images like that I would feel the power of Zusak’s use of language and the poet in him. It didn’t happen with every description, but when it did it swept me away and it was that imagery that most moved me.

Yes, poetry with movement. As Zusak's work and most work is imperfect, I also occasionally became weary of certain indulgences or summations that would fall flat. However, those moments such as the ones you describe above were so satiating, I forgave...I forgave!

I found the chapter on the bombing of the street one of the hardest to read; Liesel coming up from the cellar to find all she had loved gone. I knew it was coming but it was just a little too much for me – there was no-one left – well one person... that was the essential redemption I suppose.
Without Max and the reunion I would have been so angry, even though I know truth is no respecter of feelings, authors perhaps have to be.

They say true Tragedy should be uplifting and I have to admit that come the end of the book I did not feel uplifted, just rather wrung out and wondering if the real Liesels in life could manage to carry on and live happily, or if they would be just too broken.

Very difficult, this sad turn of events. The end of the book was a lot to shoulder, loving these children and adults alike. It also made me hone in on the fact there are individuals who endured and survived similar and worse circumstances - actually, humans at this very moment walking these types of paths.

I did enjoy the book, mostly for its rich characterisation and poetic images. It was good to read a war story from the viewpoint of a German family, albeit from one that was not really sympathetic to the Nazi cause.
It did make me think that the real challenge would be to evoke as much sympathy whilst showing how a normal family supported the status quo.
Zusak certainly has some admirable skills as a writer and some of Death’s comments are still buzzing around in my head because somewhere they hit a half formed thought or realisation.

“Like most misery, it started out with apparent happiness."

“The question is, what colour will everything be at that moment when I come for you? What will the sky be saying?” ― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

Again, these quotes also swirled around my head and (hidden) heart.
Very thought-provoking and laced with hard and beautiful truths.

Thanks so much for your insights and review, MC! Such a pleasure!

[Dee]

Yay, Dee!! This is an experience that one almost needs to digest before continuing, am I right ladies? Looking forward to teal font!

Yes, I agree. I need to let it settle a little. I have read through your reflections though this morning, which was a wonderful gift in itself. It makes me feel so happy that we have shared this experience. Very inconveniently I gotta work this afternoon. Look forward to coming back here afterwards to immerse in the world of The Book Thief with you girls.

[Dee]

I've read through your posts a couple of times, Pics, enjoying an insight into your thought processes and gut reactions immensely.

I will try not to repeat things. I have agreed with most things you've brought up between you, and loved much of the same parts as you two have.

It was such a gripping story, with some unforgettable characters and a thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining angle with Death as a narrator. I too loved the gentle poetry of the narration, and particularly enjoyed the little bold inserts that served many different functions, and often provided some welcome humour or at least a step back from the high drama by offering some 'factoids'. I think, besides the rich characters and Max's stories and illustrations, these inserts were my favourite thing in the book.

Was Death portrayed as a man? I didn't think it was entirely so. But if I had to use a pronoun, I'd use 'He' as well, without any hesitation. It really is interesting, isn't it? Perhaps we have been indoctrinated with all the visual representations of the Great Ripper, definitely in a male shape. But as the character was described in this book, 'He' had some predominantly female attributes as well. I like how Death was mostly detached from the drama of human life, carrying out his duty, delivering souls to some place they find peace. I liked that this place was not defined as heaven, purgatory or hell. That was not so much the concern of Death, as much as the act of freeing the souls from their bodies that could no longer host them. Getting a feel for a person from the state of their soul, sensing their colour, their aura, and their readiness, at the moment of their death.
And I particularly liked that occasionally someone stood out for him, of all the other humans, and he allowed himself to take a bit more of an interest in their lives. Our Liesel and her companions certainly deserved his interest.

The bombing at the end... I have to agree with you, Moonchime. It was just too much. Far too much. What devastation. And yes, real life can indeed produce such harsh tragedies, but in a story, after 500 pages of making us fall in love with these characters, this was just an onslaught. Even if we had plenty of hints of what was to come. It was still too much. Especially as the main aim of the story was not to enrage us against Hitler and the Holocaust. Yes, that's a given. No one can read a story set in WWII without crying and screaming internally at the senseless loss of human life and the depravity of humanity.

This story however, was more like what Lori says, a celebration of the rainbow colours of humans, focusing on their capacity to love, whilst observing the 'haunting' extremes humans can be: the ugly and the beautiful all laid out next to one another. So, in this context, to have such a devastating end to so many characters, that was just too much.

I agree with you, MC, it didn't feel like anyone, not even our wonderful Liesel, could have picked herself up from such tragic loss. Married with three children and grandchildren in Australia? How? How did she overcome what has happened to her? It's not enough to be told that she just did, after such a graphic description of her life falling apart. Even her reunion with Max was rushed. Seriously? A single sentence?

"They hugged and cried and fell to the floor."

A beautiful sentence, but still, I felt let down that this is all we got in the end.

I was thinking, that the only way I could have seen a potentially and relatively happy future for either Max or Liesel, if they had stayed together after Max found her. Perhaps, eventually their love for each other turn into love-love and marry, maybe not, but stay together, or at least stay close. I honestly don't think that after such trauma these two people have been through together, anyone else could have understood them better or even adequately. Liesel was rather fortunate, to have found three men in her life she could love and trust with all her heart. A wonderful father figure, and then Rudy, her soul mate, but I felt Max was Liesel's soul mate too. They had an extraordinary connection.

So yes, my only problem with the book was the end of the story. We were never even told what happened to Max, other than he survived the Holocaust and saw Liesel again. And then, what happened to him?

And then the final chapter with its poignant final sentence...but, but!! What did just happen here? How was this even possible? Death becomes "Handover Man" as the chapter is titled. ("Man". So there goes the gendering of the nonhuman.)
Death gives dying (or the already dead?) Liesel her book. Not to mention the nagging question, how could a non-human entity that can carry thousands of souls to their resting place simultaneously, can also physically carry a book around all these years? But most importantly, how could they have a conversation? I didn't like this twist in the end, felt a bit forced. We also never got to know whether Liesel wrote another book. Whether Max did. When we have been introduced to two people to whom words meant so much, practically provided their life line, it was again a let down not to hear about that.

Yes, I'm clearly unhappy about the ending, aren't I? The more I think about it... Much as I truly loved the rest of the book. But for me, not even that brilliant final line can make up for all the burning questions left unanswered.

Much more to discuss, but I think this will do for starters. I'd like to hear a bit more on your opinion on the ending. I find the question of guilt particularly fascinating in the story, so I'd certainly like to delve into that a bit more.

[Moonchime]

As usual Dee I can feel your energy burning through your post!!
Really pleased we are all moved by the book in so many ways; the poetry of some of the language being one of them.

As for the ending I feel like I really have to look back at it again as it is rather a long time ago that I read it, but having said that my immediate impression was that it was going to be very difficult to lift the mood from some of those final events.

Thinking about what you have said about the brevity of how Liesel could have moved on, I have thought(only briefly) about how I would liked it to have ended and if I'm honest I find it difficult to think of a very satisfactory way. I will re-visit those final pages and come back when I have reflected further as I think the ending of a powerful book is probably the hardest part to get right.
As I have family descending, and will then be away, it could be a little while though. All the same I will be pondering in my absence.

[Dee]

Thanks, Moonchime. I look forward to it. The least I can do is patiently wait for your answer, after taking forever to read the book!

[Lori]

I've read through your posts a couple of times, Pics, enjoying an insight into your thought processes and gut reactions immensely.

I will try not to repeat things. I have agreed with most things you've brought up between you, and loved much of the same parts as you two have.

It was such a gripping story, with some unforgettable characters and a thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining angle with Death as a narrator. I too loved the gentle poetry of the narration, and particularly enjoyed the little bold inserts that served many different functions, and often provided some welcome humour or at least a step back from the high drama by offering some 'factoids'. I think, besides the rich characters and Max's stories and illustrations, these inserts were my favourite thing in the book.

Was Death portrayed as a man? I didn't think it was entirely so. But if I had to use a pronoun, I'd use 'He' as well, without any hesitation. It really is interesting, isn't it? Perhaps we have been indoctrinated with all the visual representations of the Great Ripper, definitely in a male shape. But as the character was described in this book, 'He' had some predominantly female attributes as well. I like how Death was mostly detached from the drama of human life, carrying out his duty, delivering souls to some place they find peace. I liked that this place was not defined as heaven, purgatory or hell. That was not so much the concern of Death, as much as the act of freeing the souls from their bodies that could no longer host them. Getting a feel for a person from the state of their soul, sensing their colour, their aura, and their readiness, at the moment of their death.
And I particularly liked that occasionally someone stood out for him, of all the other humans, and he allowed himself to take a bit more of an interest in their lives. Our Liesel and her companions certainly deserved his interest.

There are so many facets to this choice for portraying Death. I too found it fascinating that in this quite large book life and death were dealt with basically without clear conceptualization or even hinting as to where this conduit for souls led. That would be difficult to maintain in any story with this theme. Interesting that Death was more concerned with the intricacies of living than dying in the end.

The bombing at the end... I have to agree with you, Moonchime. It was just too much. Far too much. What devastation. And yes, real life can indeed produce such harsh tragedies, but in a story, after 500 pages of making us fall in love with these characters, this was just an onslaught. Even if we had plenty of hints of what was to come. It was still too much. Especially as the main aim of the story was not to enrage us against Hitler and the Holocaust. Yes, that's a given. No one can read a story set in WWII without crying and screaming internally at the senseless loss of human life and the depravity of humanity.

Since I saw this first as a movie and remembered it quite well, I didn't experience as completely the shock with the ending. Of course, I had a permanent lump in my throat and found it tragic, but I will never know what my response would have been had I been a TBT virgin after reading these 500 pages with hope in my heart for the outcome.

This story however, was more like what Lori says, a celebration of the rainbow colours of humans, focusing on their capacity to love, whilst observing the 'haunting' extremes humans can be: the ugly and the beautiful all laid out next to one another. So, in this context, to have such a devastating end to so many characters, that was just too much.

I agree with you, MC, it didn't feel like anyone, not even our wonderful Liesel, could have picked herself up from such tragic loss. Married with three children and grandchildren in Australia? How? How did she overcome what has happened to her? It's not enough to be told that she just did, after such a graphic description of her life falling apart. Even her reunion with Max was rushed. Seriously? A single sentence?

One way to look at this book is from the very beginning Death gives us bold hints of the fate each character suffers. Death was constantly getting ahead of 'himself' talking about his own emotions at their endings and backtracking. Perhaps the author felt he'd revealed slowly the ending. That doesn't help the reader much emotionally though, does it? It did feel like insult to injury to be served this abrupt and rushed ending. How do we believe these two surviving characters lives were tied up in a bow? Instead, they felt lost to us...lost to history. It was not a smooth transition to suddenly view Liesel as an old woman surrounded by her loving family or reunited with Max for what felt like an afterthought nanosecond. Now, I do not find Liesel obtaining happiness and a full life farfetched as I've heard so many accounts of the human spirit rising above the Holocaust and life bursting forward beyond that unthinkable experience. Are we not awesomely made?

"They hugged and cried and fell to the floor."

A beautiful sentence, but still, I felt let down that this is all we got in the end.

I was thinking, that the only way I could have seen a potentially and relatively happy future for either Max or Liesel, if they had stayed together after Max found her. Perhaps, eventually their love for each other turn into love-love and marry, maybe not, but stay together, or at least stay close. I honestly don't think that after such trauma these two people have been through together, anyone else could have understood them better or even adequately. Liesel was rather fortunate, to have found three men in her life she could love and trust with all her heart. A wonderful father figure, and then Rudy, her soul mate, but I felt Max was Liesel's soul mate too. They had an extraordinary connection.

I loved this aspect of the book. So beautiful to witness these men relate to this girl and care for her with their hearts.

So yes, my only problem with the book was the end of the story. We were never even told what happened to Max, other than he survived the Holocaust and saw Liesel again. And then, what happened to him?

And then the final chapter with its poignant final sentence...but, but!! What did just happen here? How was this even possible? Death becomes "Handover Man" as the chapter is titled. ("Man". So there goes the gendering of the nonhuman.)
Death gives dying (or the already dead?) Liesel her book. Not to mention the nagging question, how could a non-human entity that can carry thousands of souls to their resting place simultaneously, can also physically carry a book around all these years? But most importantly, how could they have a conversation? I didn't like this twist in the end, felt a bit forced. We also never got to know whether Liesel wrote another book. Whether Max did. When we have been introduced to two people to whom words meant so much, practically provided their life line, it was again a let down not to hear about that.

Yes, I'm clearly unhappy about the ending, aren't I? The more I think about it... Much as I truly loved the rest of the book. But for me, not even that brilliant final line can make up for all the burning questions left unanswered.

It did leave the reader with so many questions. I wondered for a moment if Zusak was leaving the door open to write a companion book about Max and about Liesel going forward. That final line for me was not enough. I felt it actually quite poorly written as compared to the care and flavor given so many other minor events. I think my Ken & Barbie hugged and cried and fell to the floor a number of times. Am I being too critical?

Much more to discuss, but I think this will do for starters. I'd like to hear a bit more on your opinion on the ending. I find the question of guilt particularly fascinating in the story, so I'd certainly like to delve into that a bit more.

[Dee]

I too found it fascinating that in this quite large book life and death were dealt with basically without clear conceptualization or even hinting as to where this conduit for souls led. That would be difficult to maintain in any story with this theme. Interesting that Death was more concerned with the intricacies of living than dying in the end.

Yes. Very concisely put, Lori. I found this one of the strengths of the book, even if it had come (at least partially) from a "shying away" to tackling the issue. Like the author must have realised, he's already potentially bitten off more than he could chew with Death becoming a narrator (there are certainly some inconsistencies in that character and then there is the ending with handing books over and conversing with a dead soul ) but his fascination with humans was the focus. He was pretty close to being nonjudgmental of individuals, even Hitler, (except for his general statement about the dichotomy of humans: potential for great beauty as much as ugliness).
By Death's preoccupation with the "intricacies of living" as you called it, Lori, he shifts our focus too what we shouldn't be concerned with. Death will happen no matter what, it can happen any time, it's the living we shouldn't be focused on. He gives us no hope of heaven and reuniting with loved ones there. Or even the ability to follow proceedings of the living from the beyond. Yet he presents the promise of a gentle handling of our souls and the feeling of peace after they are freed from our bodies. So with that, he's firmly stating, without actually saying it directly, that this one life is all we've got, we should make it count. Even if it's a short lived one, like Rudy's. I liked how Death has summed this up in poetic question: what colour will the sky be when Death comes for us?

This is all very well, but the story has still left me with a feeling of tragic loss with the deaths of Hans and Rudy in particular. I wanted the writer to show us somehow that they have "lived on" in Liesel. That their lives mattered beyond their actual deaths. That's one of the important things I was missing from the ending of the story.

[Dee]

Now, I do not find Liesel obtaining happiness and a full life farfetched as I've heard so many accounts of the human spirit rising above the Holocaust and life bursting forward beyond that unthinkable experience. Are we not awesomely made?

You're right of course. We are awesomely made, and it is possible for humans to find happiness even after unspeakable horrors. But for me, what has happened to Liesel was a literal overkill:

Lost her birth father, her brother, her mother. We know she's incredibly sensitive. She's susceptible to nigmares. It took her years to recover from her brother's death. Then at the age of 14 she loses in one night her foster parents and her best friend, her whole life changes again. Along with the people, she loses all the precious books that have represented who she was as well. Books she stole. Max's books. And her own. All lost. In one fatal night.

So how do you recover from that? Can you? Can you really? A resourceful young woman like Liesel, carrying the gifts of all who have loved her in her beautiful heart, perhaps she could. But how she did it, it would have deserved a brief chapter at least. A paragraph. A little bold poetic insert.