The Book Thief is a novel by Australian author Markus Zusak. Narrated by Death, the book is set in Nazi Germany, a place and time when the narrator notes he was extremely busy. Wikipedia
Published: March 14, 2006
Author: Markus Zusak
Adaptations: The Book Thief (2013)
Characters: Liesel Meminger, Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg, Rudy Steiner, Rosa Hubermann
Genres: Fiction, Young adult literature, Novel, Historical fiction
Original languages: German, English
Rudy and Liesel
Rudy, “the boy who refuses to fear the opposite sex” (8.23), loves Liesel from the moment he meets her. His love grows and grows to the bitter end. We’re talking both friendly love and romantic love, in Rudy’s case. This is a boy who’s not afraid to ask for a kiss. Until, that is, the day he rescues The Whistler from the Amper River. On that day Liesel’s refusals hurts too much to bear, and he stops asking.
We know Liesel loves Rudy as a best friend. We know that after she’s whipped on the street along with Max, she wants Rudy to kiss her. But this desire might have been born of all sorts of conflicting emotions. Romantic interest was surely one of them, but not necessarily as romantic as his love for her. Her feelings for him are never precisely revealed. Why? Because Rudy dies before she can find out. Liesel is just fourteen when Rudy dies. Rudy is fourteen, too, but seems much more sure of his feelings in that area. We have a hard time imagining him falling out of love with Liesel at any point, but that might just be because he’ll be forever fourteen in our eyes.
We are also told that after Rudy’s death, Liesel enters the Amper River with all her clothes on. She’s heard talking about a kiss and saying the word “Saumensch” (86.34). “How about a kiss, Saumensch,” (45.41) are the words Rudy said to her that day he rescued her book from the Amper River. The day he stopped asking. Liesel’s moment in the river and her kissing Rudy’s lips when he’s dead definitely suggest that she regrets not kissing him.
Before his death at fourteen, Rudy has met his goal. Not only has he become a really smart kid, but he’s also great athlete. He grown as a result of his efforts to balance staying alive and resisting the injustices he sees around him. A horrible lesson is learned when this resistance wavers, and ego takes over. To show off to his new Hitler Youth leaders and to show everybody that he’s becoming a success, he wins too many races at the Hitler Youth carnival.
Fun facts about Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak has trouble writing an autobiography because he doesnt find himself inspiring
He is a dog person, but owns two cats
When he was younger he liked to be called Frank, his middle name, because he didn’t like his first name
In 2005, he wanted to read 52 books but called it 53 killers
His favorite movies are Amelie, Run Lola Run, and The Big Lebowski
If he could meet anyone who ever lived it would be Michelangelo
His favorite number is 13
At age 16, The Old Man and the Sea and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape influenced him to be an author
He enjoys surfing and playing soccer on his free time
He is married and has a daughter
It took 7 years to get his first book published
He rewrote the first 90 pages of The Book Thief 150-200 times
His advice to future writers: let failure be your friend!
The collection of Liesel’s soul- Death said that when he collected her, she was sitting up, just like Hans did when he died. This shows that even though about sixty years had passed since she’d lived on Himmel street, the people she encountered stayed with her for the rest of her life and every soul she encountered had an affect on hers.
The book floating in the Amper River- Rudy retrieves the book for Liesel, and for the last time, asks her for a kiss. Her constant rejection hurt him so much that he simply couldn’t ask anymore. When Rudy died, this was one of the moments Liesel remembered clearest and caused her the most anguish, as she wished she could have kissed him then.
Nazis recruiting Rudy- The Nazis notice Rudy’s mental and physical capacities and consequently call on the Steiner household to recruit him to go away to school to become the perfect German. His parents refuse, and Alex Steiner is sent to war, allowing him to survive when Himmel Street is bombed.
The collection of Liesel’s soul- Death said that when he collected her, she was sitting up, just like Hans did when he died. This shows that even though about sixty years had passed since she’d lived on Himmel street, the people she encountered stayed with her for the rest of her life and every soul she encountered had an affect on hers.
The death of Liesel’s brother- This starts the story, sparking Liesel’s nightmares, which ultimately bring Liesel and Hans closer together. It also starts her love of book thievery when she picks up The Grave Digger’s Handbook when he was buried.
Liesel’s arrival on Himmel Street- Obviously, this sets the stage for the rest of the book, and we meet some of the most important characters, Hans and Rosa Hubermann.
Liesel’s early failure in school- This is what truly makes her determined to learn to read
Camronn 