Author Topic: Book Thief by Markus Zusak ~ March Book Club Online (Read 151102 times)

JoanP · « **Reply #360 on:** March 29, 2010, 12:03:50 PM »

The Book Club Online is the oldest book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone. We offer cordial discussions of one book a month, 24/7 and enjoy the company of readers from all over the world. everyone is welcome to join in.

The Book Thief - March Bookclub Online
Everyone is invited to join in!

"Fortunately, this book isn't about Death; it's about death, and so much else."
"Some will argue that a book so difficult and sad may not be appropriate for teenage readers. "The Book Thief" was published for adults in Zusak's native Australia, and I strongly suspect it was written for adults. Many teenagers will find the story too slow to get going, which is a fair criticism. But it's the kind of book that can be life-changing, because without ever denying the essential amorality and randomness of the natural order, "The Book Thief" offers us a believable, hard-won hope.
The Book Thief is a complicated story of survival that will encourage its readers to think." (Bookmarks Magazine)

"How can a tale told by Death be mistaken for young-adult storytelling? Easily: because this book's narrator is sorry for what he has to do. The youthful sensibility of "The Book Thief" also contributes to a wider innocence. While it is set in Germany during World War II and is not immune to bloodshed, most of this story is figurative: it unfolds as symbolic or metaphorical abstraction.
"The Book Thief" will be widely read and admired because it tells a story in which books become treasures. And because there's no arguing with a sentiment like that." (New York Times)

Discussion Schedule:

March 1-2 ~ Prologue
March 3-7 ~ Part I & II (the gravedigger's handbook; the shoulder shrug)
March 8-14 ~ Part III & IV (mein kampf; the standover man)
March 15-21 ~ Part V & VI (the whistler; the dream carrier)
March 22-28 ~ Part VII & VIII (complete duden dictionary; the word shaker)
March 29-April 4 ~ Part IX & X (the last human stranger; the book thief); Epilogue

Some Questions for Your Consideration

March 29-April 4 ~ Part IX & X (the last human stranger; the book thief); EPILOGUE

1. Do you think the story would have been different if Liesel didn't keep having nightmares about her brother? Did you understand why she stopped dreaming about him after she returned the cookie plate to Ilsa Hermann?

2. What brought Ilsa Hermann down to 33 Himmel St? Why did she give the lined notebook to Liesel? What was her warning to Liesel?

3. Liesel wrote a book that was divided into 10 parts, each telling of how books and stories affected her life. Liesel is the author of this book then?

4. How does Liesel answer Rudy when he asks her how it feels to steal a book? Is her answer the reason he left the teddy bear with the dying pilot? (Why had he packed that teddy bear in his toolbox?)

5. Did you notice Death's explanation why he has been offering us a glimpse of the end before it actually happens?

6. Was Liesel ready to die when she joined Max in the road? How did Rudy save her? After she told him about Max, was it significant that he didn't kiss her then?

7. Why did Death carry Rudy's soul "with a salty eye and a heavy heart"? Rudy got to him. Can these be Liesel's thoughts? Why did she later tell Rudy's father that she had kissed him?

8. Now how did Liesel get to Sydney? What happened to Max? Dare we imagine they went together? Can you find a reason to support this?

9.. Death meets Liesel on her last day and wants to tell her about the beauty and the brutality of war. Do you think she knows this already? Did you see beauty in this story?

10. Everything considered, how would you rate this book on a scale of 1 * - 5 ***** What will you remember about this book?. Would you recommend it to a friend? To a teenager?

Relevant Links:
Readers' Guide Questions: Prologue; Parts I - VIII ; A Brief History of German Rule; Dachau; Mein Kampf; The Book Thief Metaphors ~ Our Favorite Zusak expressions;

Discussion Leaders: JoanP & Andy

JoanP · « **Reply #361 on:** March 29, 2010, 12:25:15 PM »

Ella - I will agree, literature is messy. (So is history! And war!) Perhaps what makes this particular story hard to judge - it is a mix of literature (fiction) and events that really happened to the authors mother. I think that Markus Zusak has shown us that he has a gift, he CAN write. I'm not sure he will use his mother's stories in the future - perhaps his future novels will not strike such a chord as this one. I guess that remains to be seen.

Wait, do we all agree that Liesel is the author's mother, Lisa Zusak?

Marcie, the scene where Liesel emerges from the basement was so well drawn, wasn't it? No tears, it was just as if she was in shock. She wasn't even sure she was on Himmel St. She felt like a stranger. In the last book Ilsa Hermann had left out for her -THE LAST HUMAN STRANGER - Liesel had marked a quote from p.38:

Quote

"There were people everywhere on the city street, but the stranger could not have been more alone if it were empty."

Liesel is now the human stranger walking down what once was Himmel St. - alone.

Marcie, the example you give -" the act of humanity on Rudy's part to a stranger (who was, in fact an enemy), showed how humans (from the point of view of the narrator, Death) can cross over barriers of hate and war." Do you remember how WWII was said to be the war to end all wars? So terrible, such atrocities would never take place again. No more strangers, enemies, just one big happy human race!

JoanP · « **Reply #362 on:** March 29, 2010, 12:45:36 PM »

There's a powerful scene I can't get out of my mind...it occurred when Liesel spotted Max on the forced march through town to Dachau. She spots his swampy eyes and hair of twigs. She steps into the midst of the marchers, Max orders her away - flings her away. She makes her way back to him, using her words - his words. He stands still - "It's such a beautiful day, he says." He kisses the palm of her hand - He cries into her fingers. Those swampy eyes overflow into her fingers.

Marcie, I agree, Liesel wouldn't have forgotten Max as when Death comes for her. What other explanation can there be? He must have been her husband.
Let's see how many agree with this.
He'd have been the author's father, then. Can't explain where the name Zusak came from - but then, no explanation was given as to how Max escaped Dachau either. Was it the end of the war? Was he liberated? Don't know, but do know that Liesel would never have forgotten Max at the end when Death handed her her black book.

Laura · « **Reply #363 on:** March 29, 2010, 01:58:50 PM »

I think Liesel and Max do marry. Their reunion is the last scene in the book before her death, so I assume that Death, our narrator, had nothing he felt important to say in between those two episodes. Therefore, I assume that she and Max “lived happily ever after.”

However, I have no idea how or why they ended up in Sydney!

I got the impression that Max was liberated at the end of the war.

Building upon what Marcie said, I think Rudy was the last human stranger. He left the teddy bear for the pilot, an act of humanity, done by a stranger, at the last moments of the pilot’s life.

Joan, I think the scariest part of the book was when Liesel entered the parade of Jews to be near Max. I don’t think she realized just how dangerous it would be. She and Rudy had escaped unharmed when they gave bread to the prisoners, so I think Liesel thought she could get away with interacting with Max.

ALF43 · « **Reply #364 on:** March 30, 2010, 10:20:05 AM »

Well damn! I read this book three times and it never occurred to me that Max and Liesel married. Laura-Why not? Indeed- it would stand to reason that he had been liberated and in 1945 sought out this beautiful child that he loved. How old would she have been at that point -15 or 16? Of course her heart was much more mature and aged than a normal child of 15 or 16.

Quote

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

Then are we to assume they became man and wife? hmmmmm
I have never been a believer in "they lived happily ever after" stories.

The only weakness that I could find in this entire flawless writing was that I felt Zusak ended this beautiful tale with too many questions left unanswered. Whom did she marry? If it were Max it would have been worthy to mention. If not- than it is unimportant to name the husband.
Why did he have Liesel at the end living in Sydney as an old woman? Why not in Germany?
That opens up another scenerio doesn't it?

Zusak thanks everyone in his acknowledgements and in his final sentence he thanks Lisa (Liesel) and Helmut Zusak (Max?).

If I could find another book worthy of this one, I'd go one for all of us to discuss.

ALF43 · « **Reply #365 on:** March 30, 2010, 10:26:26 AM »

In answer to Joan's last question I rate this book a 5+++++++. It is seldom that I find a book that I love as much as I did this one. I bought it for my 14 yr. old granddaughter and my daughter. I fear lending mine out. What if someone likes it as well as I did?
Well- I will have to go buy another one won't I? What's next for Zusak? How in the world could he top this story?
Did Frybaby hear anything about the type font as of yet?

Laura · « **Reply #366 on:** March 30, 2010, 01:01:52 PM »

ALF said: Well damn! I read this book three times and it never occurred to me that Max and Liesel married. Laura-Why not?
I have never been a believer in "they lived happily ever after" stories.

LOL! I can’t imagine NOT thinking Max and Liesel married! Maybe it is because you have never been a believer in “happily ever after” stories that you couldn’t see one when it was presented to you?

The unanswered questions at the end of the book don’t other me. In fact, I’m not one to finish books hoping for a sequel. The story the author intended to tell, the story of the period of time when Liesel lived with Hans and Rosa and wrote her book, is complete. To add more would be tacking on more where it is not needed.

Here is my reading journal entry on The Book Thief:
A very original story about Germany during World War II. I didn’t learn anything new about the Holocaust from the book, but the writing style and the choice of Death as the narrator made the book for me.
I give it five stars!

Frybabe · « **Reply #367 on:** March 30, 2010, 01:28:21 PM »

Quote

Did Frybaby hear anything about the type font as of yet?

Not a peep, Andy.

bookad · « **Reply #368 on:** March 30, 2010, 02:11:06 PM »

"This book felt like poetry. Words flew by, took side steps, presented colourful descriptions and strange references that painted a foreign landscape.
And the narrator is Death.
Death is following circumstances in a German town during the second world war. He/she/it has it's hands full, escorting people thru their turmoils, while it ponders these humans & their fates. Some of these people manage to evade death a number of times. And one of these people is Liesel; a youngster who is travelling with her mother, and brother. But before they reach the safety of the children's new accomodation, one of them is visited by death.
A very touching read. Haunting. "
Above is my entry for 'readersopinions.com'---what a book

Sorry for my 'verbal diarrhea thruout the reading of this book. I so thoroughly enjoyed reading your imput, and was captivated by the ideas & chatter, I always felt 'one behind the eight-ball' so to speak. The book stayed with me; that I couldn't pick up another book for a couple of days, or it would interfer with my mindset from this book. I really felt for 'death' character, I sense it was swayed by the extra turmoil in it's worklife during the war!
I applaude whoever picked this book to read. And thank-you.
Deb

bookad · « **Reply #369 on:** March 30, 2010, 02:14:30 PM »

---having trouble with accessing the 'spell check', so excuse my spelling, perhaps its the pop-ups on my computer, will try to recitify this problem'
Deb

ALF43 · « **Reply #370 on:** March 30, 2010, 02:32:00 PM »

Deb- I'm sorry about your spell check being on the blink. Are you speaking of the one we have built into our website, here?
I love the thought that it felt like poetry to you as well as it did to me. Each page held its own song, didn't it?
I apologize to you for feeling this way:

Quote

Sorry for my 'verbal diarrhea thruout the reading of this book. I so thoroughly enjoyed reading your imput, and was captivated by the ideas & chatter, I always felt 'one behind the eight-ball' so to speak.

Joan and I must have been remiss if you felt like that. We encourage verbal diarrhea here. ( I am the star pupil when it comes to that.)
We encourage you to be captivated and moved, as well, but never do we want anyone to feel like they are behind the eight ball. We love it when you pop up on site and have soemthing to say. Who cares whether anyone agrees with you or not. That is what this is all about and we were happy to have you with us.

ALF43 · « **Reply #371 on:** March 30, 2010, 02:36:21 PM »

Well thank you anyway for trying to find an answer for us, Frybaby. I still like my idea. It is a book full of tears and the font is faintly smudged with the tears of the characters and the reader.

laura-

You are 100% correct. I don't do Cinderella stories well so it never once crossed my mind. Although I love the Count of Monte Cristoe and its ending. Happiness is in the eye of the beholder.

joangrimes · « **Reply #372 on:** March 30, 2010, 02:43:29 PM »

Well I certainly give book a 5+. However I do not think that liesel married Max. I think she always loved him but I do not think that this is a story with a happy romantic ending.I guess I am the only one who feels this way... I think her telling the stories to her son was just away of living over the feelings that she still feels..Joan Grimes

Frybabe · « **Reply #373 on:** March 30, 2010, 04:24:51 PM »

Joan, you are not alone. I didn't get the impression that she married Max either. However, anyone who goes through such a terrible experience together has a special bond with each other that time rarely erases.

joangrimes · « **Reply #374 on:** March 30, 2010, 04:42:49 PM »

That is true Frybabe.

I am glad that you agree with me about their not marrying..

Frybabe · « **Reply #375 on:** March 30, 2010, 05:12:47 PM »

In this link, Mr. Zusak discusses two of his books, The Book Thief and Fighting Ruben Wolfe. I noticed at the beginning of the second interview Zusak states that his book, Underdog, is the closest to his real life while Fighting Ruben Wolfe has a more auto-biographical FEEL to it. http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-zusak-markus.asp

I'll be darned if I can find it now, but I read something where he discussed how long it took to write The Book Thief and the changes he made in the process. Apparently, Death was not originally the narrator, death as sinister character didn't work, etc. It took him over three years to write it. He didn't give up, he just kept trying out different ways of presenting it until he hit upon what felt right. In the article, he said he went to Germany to do research and while there carved Leisel's and Max's names into a tree by a river.

salan · « **Reply #376 on:** March 30, 2010, 06:14:27 PM »

Ummm--it never occured to me that Liesel and Max married (and I am an eternal optimist/happily ever after person). I guess because I always pictured Max as much older. Yet, if what Frybabe says is correct about Zusak carving their names in a heart maybe it was the author's intention to give us the impression that they married. I have really enjoyed this discussion and the many varied opinions/thoughts. It's made me rethink some of my first reading of the book. This was the best book that I have read in years!
Sally

P.S. Frybabe, is that what you want us to call you?

countrymm · « **Reply #377 on:** March 30, 2010, 06:28:09 PM »

I'm back now that everyone has finished the book. Two thoughts: Maybe Liesel married Max but I thought it was too simplistic if it turned out that way. I kind of think the author just wanted us to speculate about what happened.

Perhaps Lisa (for whom our character was named) and Zusak's father had met each other in Germany during this distressing war period and left for a new start in Australia. Sounds like a good idea to me.

I really like the "Death" character. In the prologue he says:

"The question is, what color will everything be at that moment when I come for you? What will the sky be saying?"

Fascinating thought if we think about Death coming to carry US away. He also says that his one saving grace is distraction. It keeps him sane. It helps him cope. He makes distraction his vacation. He deliberately seeks out COLORS to keep his mind off the "leftover humans", the survivors. They are the ones he grieves for and he says they are "crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair , and surprise. They have punctured heart. They have beaten lungs."

The softness of Zusak comes through in his creation of the character Death, and yet Death says in the prologue, "Just don't ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me."

I will reread the beautiful parts of this book. They are really luscious. I have a feeling that the author's previous books are not at all like this one. I've read some of the book jackets at the library and I didn't see anything poignant like TBT. I doubt he will write a sequel. Anyone planning to see the movie, The Book Thief, when it comes out?

countrymm · « **Reply #378 on:** March 30, 2010, 06:54:40 PM »

Here is a link I just found. It's a discussion of young adult fiction from readers in England. They are discussing how they would feel about TBT being made into a movie. Also, which cover do you like best?

http://www.wondrousreads.com/2009/02/book-thief-cover-gallery-and-movie.html

ALF43 · « **Reply #379 on:** March 30, 2010, 07:42:52 PM »

countrymm- I don't know how in the world the beauty of Zusek's language could be transferred into cinema production. However, IF it is made into a movie I could not hold myself back from viewing it.

Thanks for the link.
My cover is the domino cover, Joan's was the Grim Reaper and the yellow cover with the young lass sitting and reading while the grim reaper is silhouetted behind her is wonderful. I like that one.

Ella Gibbons · « **Reply #380 on:** March 30, 2010, 07:45:36 PM »

Well, there has to be one, doesn't there? Me? I am not a fiction reader usually and I have no idea why I read this one. Consequently, I feel I am definitely not a judge of characters, story, narration, etc. As most of you said, the book was full of lyrical writing, a bit much at times, I felt. Too much? I'm used to real people in books and DEATH was too much for me to contemplate.

I wish the author well, I enjoyed reading all the posts! I see from the clickable that Countrymm just posted, a movie is contemplated. Heavens! Stop that idea! The book stands alone, although the author would benefit wouldn't he? Movies pay well! HOw would DEATH be portrayed? I cannot imagine!

Thanks to JOANP and ALF, you are both great at discussing at what lies beneath the surface!

Frybabe · « **Reply #381 on:** March 30, 2010, 08:24:26 PM »

Salan, Frybabe is a moniker I picked up one day from a client. The Babe part was purely in the client's minds eye since we had never met in person. I work for Fry Communications, hence the Fry part. Or you can call me Margie.

Laura · « **Reply #382 on:** March 30, 2010, 08:29:48 PM »

Frybabe/Margie, I think you read that interview in the back of the paperbook edition of The Book Thief. That's where I recall those facts from.

Frybabe · « **Reply #383 on:** March 30, 2010, 08:32:28 PM »

Oh, almost forgot. The only information I have seen about Zusak's parents is that is father was Austrian and a house painter and his mother is from Germany. There isn't much about Markus either. He is in his 30s now and, I think, very handsome. Did you know that I Am The Messenger actually got more awards than The Book Thief?

Laura, I saw it online somewhere. I forgot about the interview in the back

JoanP · « **Reply #384 on:** March 30, 2010, 08:51:35 PM »

Laura, you are so organized. I've envied your reading journal.. Wish I had kept one years ago. I think it's too late now - or maybe not. We're getting ready behind the scenes for our May discussion of Anne Tyler's latest novel, Noah's Compass - which deals with memory loss. I guess it's time to start writing things down. (Deb, posters here "picked" The Book Thief in a vote just like the one we just had that came up with Noah's Compass and Possession for May and June. So you have them to thank for this choice.)

I'll agree with your journal entry -

Quote

"I didn’t learn anything new about the Holocaust from the book, but the writing style and the choice of Death as the narrator made the book for me."

I feel I did gain insight into the lives of the ordinary German people during the war, though. Something I've always been curious about. (Traude's posts helped too - merci, Traude - beaucoup!)

We seem divided as to whether Max and Liesel got together at the end. Remember the scene when Liesel found Hans' body? Remember Death telling us that Hans rose up and played the accordion to her one last time? You don't suppose that the author was doing the same thing with Max walking into Mr. Steiner's shop after the war, do you? No! I don't want to believe that! But it has passed through my mind. I want to believe that he came back to her and that they stayed together - or else why wouldn't she have mentioned Max at the end?

I can understand why some of you are of the opinion that it would be too "simplistic" if true, but even if you don't think the two did marry and move on to Australia - consider what it would mean. Liesel and Max would then be Markus Zusack's mama and papa. Impossible to separate fact from fiction - but if in fact "Max" was his father, then the author would have heard first hand what it was like to be a Jew in Germany at this time - and could write with such sensitivity that we see in this book.

Frybabe/Margie found that MZ took three years to write the book - as part of his research he went to Munich - and carved Max and Liesel's name on a tree. - not Liesel and Rudy, but Liesel and Max. This, following his mother's death. How did that strike you?

I'm missing Gum, these days - who would probably tell us that it wasn't that unusual considering that many many Germans came to Australia following the war -

Look at the number of ships that sailed to Australia to be properly impressed with the numbers, to see that it would not have been unusual for MZ's parents to come to Sydney -
Imigration Ships into Australia

JoanP · « **Reply #385 on:** March 30, 2010, 09:22:35 PM »

Ella, a while back we read and discussed Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD - and we learned that it was to be made into a film. We couldnt' see it, but the film came out - and sure enough, it was a bust. Like Andy, I won't be able to stay away from a film of the Book Thief, but know in advance, Countrymm, that I will be disappointed - for the same reasons you mentioned. Here's a trailer for the film - wait till you hear the narrator - Let's see if this works -

The Book Thief - film

JoanP · « **Reply #386 on:** March 30, 2010, 09:49:54 PM »

AS some of you have brought up - the book is really about the writing, isn't it? Do you think the writing comes first - and then the story? Or the story more important than the writing?

In the interview in the link you brought us today, Frybabe, I was interested to read what was more important to the author - can you guess?

Quote

TRC: THE BOOK THIEF is, among other things, a love letter to books, writing, and the power of words. What excites you when you write?

MZ: I love the idea that there can be one gem on every page of a book. It can be an image, an idea or a piece of dialogue --- anything. If there's one gem on every page of a hundred-page book, that's a hundred good reasons to read it.

TRC: What three elements does a book need in order to grab your attention as a reader? What are you reading these days that's making you take notice?

MZ: The first thing is the gems I just mentioned, the second would be story. While it's nice to have the gems, if the story doesn't captivate me, it makes finding the great images that little bit harder. Lastly, I think voice. Someone once told me that voice is everything, and they were probably right. If you can hear the characters or the narrator talking, they can almost tell you anything and you will go with them. I am currently reading the Australian classic, CLOUDSTREET, by Tim Winton. It is all of the things I've just mentioned.

What do you think, did Zusak succeed in putting a gem on every page? (and then some?) I didn't know that was what he was trying to do- thought the gems were just flowing from his pen as he concentrated on the story... Ella, I'd like to hear a little more about what you meant by "too much"

countrymm · « **Reply #387 on:** March 30, 2010, 11:31:03 PM »

I found this interesting. It was posted by JoanP.

Frybabe/Margie found that MZ took three years to write the book - as part of his research he went to Munich - and carved Max and Liesel's name on a tree. - not Liesel and Rudy, but Liesel and Max. This, following his mother's death. How did that strike you?

Good point. Maybe the author really did see them as a couple for the long term. Of course, Rudy is out of the picture now, so Max is the only possibility, isn't he? I can't help thinking how different the lives of Liesel and Max had been. What would their marriage have been like? Kind of joking here, but maybe they would have named their children Hans and Rosa as a tribute to the couple who protected both of them?

Did Leisel ever see Rudy as a possible partner for the future?

Isn't it interesting that Liesel's own attempt to write a book saved her life? Wasn't she in the basement working on the book when her house was bombed?

Max gave Liesel his story "The Standover Man" for her birthday. What do you see as the significance of the story? Is he saying that Liesel was his protector, that she "had his back"?Do you think that Liesel's survival and very long life represent beauty in the wake of brutality?

countrymm · « **Reply #388 on:** March 30, 2010, 11:47:14 PM »

Maybe I'll have to give Tim Winton's book "Cloudstreet" another try. I found it too stark and the reality was pretty brutal. However, Zusak says he loves it. Time for me to revisit the book? I gave it away.

Yes, I believe that Liesel had seen both beauty and brutality in her life. Death did not need to show her any more of it. I'm happy that she somehow got beyong the sadness she had witnessed in the loss of her brother, her mother, and later Hans, Rosa and even Rudy. If she did marry Max, he would have understood her losses and would have helped her move on. Hmm. That kind of consoles me. Should I email Zusak and ask him if they got married? I'll bet he would say that he left it vague for each reader to make his or her own decision about the ending.

I recommended this book to a good friend but once I finished it, I told her she might not want to read it. She is Jewish and might have had real difficulty getting through the last few chapters. I think she appreciated being warned about that. Would you recommend the book to Jewish friends?

joangrimes · « **Reply #389 on:** March 31, 2010, 01:19:49 AM »

I still do not think that Liesel and Max Had that kind of relationship. I just do not believe that they married..That was strange period. They were very close friends. It would spoil the book for me if I believed they married. I am not expressing myself very well tonight. It is late an probably should wait until tomorrow to write anymore.

Frybabe · « **Reply #390 on:** March 31, 2010, 09:19:15 AM »

Major apologies to the group: I reread the interview and MZ says he carved Liesel and Rudy on the tree, not Max as I erroneously reported.

Babi · « **Reply #391 on:** March 31, 2010, 09:37:43 AM »

COUNTRY, that link really made me sit up. I definitely cannot see
Liesel and Death skpping merrily down the road! And the line-up of
dominoes about to be knocked over doesn't fit, either. I much prefer
the cover of the girl lying on her back reading the large book.
I have to agree with whoever it was that said the idea of a Hollywood
treatment of TBT was horrifying. It would take an exceptional director
to do that successfully.

Oh, dear, JOANP. That trailer for the film seemed excessively gruesome
for an opening. For me, it sets the wrong theme for the book. It colors
one's expectations and I fear that the beauty of Zusak's language would
be lost.

JoanP · « **Reply #392 on:** March 31, 2010, 09:38:34 AM »

hahahahaaha, that is very funny, Margie! Mercy! You had me going! Good of you to let us know!

I agree about the film, Babi. But tell me, when the movie comes out, do you think you will see it? It was interesting to see how the narrator has been cast, no?

JoanG, I know what you are saying...how the story would change for you IF the two married. That's not the story that Markus Zusak wrote, is it? Max is about ten years older than Liesel. They are thrown together in very close proximity during an impossibly difficult times. Of course they developed a close relationship - how close, we don't know, won't know. If we do the math, the author, who is 35 years old now, was born in 1975 or thereabouts. If Liesel was 15 at the end of the war, that would make her how old when Markus was born? This is a math test.

If there ever was an intimate relationship between the two, it would have happened many years after the war ended. And that story is not one that the author is telling in The Book Thief. A beautiful story that stands alone without a happily ever after ending. Maybe we should concentrate on the book we have in front of us today.

I was stunned to realize the Book Thief is the title of the book Liesel wrote in the lined notebook.. Liesel's book. I had assumed all along that it was Death's - the story he was telling us. Now I'm not so sure that Death is a "he" - the story is Liesel's, divided into TEN parts, each chapter based on a story that she has read or been told. I'm very eager to hear how you reacted to this revelation - or were you aware that it was Liesel's, all the way through the book?

Laura · « **Reply #393 on:** March 31, 2010, 01:43:22 PM »

I reread the Prologue section titled “The Flag.” Having finished the book, I could deduce that what we were about to read, The Book Thief, was Liesel’s story. However, when first beginning the book, I did not pick that up. I think I knew that Death was telling us the story in the book he picked up called The Book Thief. Finding out in the end that The Book Thief was Liesel’s story didn’t affect how I felt about the overall story --- it was like the maraschino cherry on a sundae, not essential to the dessert, but a nice finishing touch.

elizabeth84 · « **Reply #394 on:** March 31, 2010, 07:59:40 PM »

I really loved this book, and I enjoyed reading it with you all. I have no doubt that Liesel and Max married and immigrated to Austrailia--that's where I would start my movie. A true similar story is about an American soldier who was one of first to enter a concentration camp, and he carried a young woman to the hospital that had been set up. They married, live in America and have a large family. She took my son's passport photo and told him the whole story

ALF43 · « **Reply #395 on:** March 31, 2010, 09:39:17 PM »

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Did Leisel ever see Rudy as a possible partner for the future?

countrymm-I don't think Liesel ever considered Rudy would NOT be a part of her future. He was her best friend, her partner in crime, in war, in stealth and in love.

JoanP · « **Reply #396 on:** March 31, 2010, 10:05:51 PM »

Elizabeth, that is a fascinating story! I have the feeling that the stories from this period are way beyond our ability to comprehend. Bigger than life, too big to be true. Imagine a young soldier liberating a camp and marrying the girl he carries out of the camp! Isn't that a beautiful story that actually happened in a dreadful setting. We saw examples of this in The Book Thief, didn't we? Without Zusak's "gems" I don't think we could have come through at the end with such warm glowing memories of this horrendous period in history.

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The Book Thief, Liesel's story - "like the maraschino cherry on a sundae, not essential to the dessert, but a nice finishing touch"

Good simile, Laura - Why not write that in your journal - (and I'll put it on our list of metaphors.)

Is there anything that you want to talk about in the remaining time we have together? One of the characters I found fascinating was Ilsa Hermann...with those swastikas on her bedroom slippers, no less. What did you make of her? What was her story? Did Liesel's words really change her?

countrymm · « **Reply #397 on:** April 01, 2010, 12:09:25 AM »

I had the impression that Ilsa Hermann was a fragile, weak and malleable woman, unhappily married to a dominant man. Her husband was a strong Nazi and I'm sure he controlled most everything that went on in their house, perhaps even insisting she wear the robe and slippers with swastika symbols on them.

I believe Ilsa felt so much guilt over the way her soldier son died in the freezing cold weather, that the only way she could cope was to leave the window open to make herself suffer the same cold he experienced. She was still grieving when she met Liesel and I think she liked having a child back in the library again, the way her son had spent time with her there. That was why she purposely left the library window open, hoping Liesel would come back and that they could get to know each other. Ilsa was isolated, very unhappy, and lonely.

After a while, she began to feel sorry for Liesel who loved books so much but didn't have the means to buy any. She must have seen something very special in Liesel. Otherwise, she would never have walked all the way to Himmel St. to talk to Liesel and to give her the lined book, which later turns out to be the book Liesel wrote over the years, telling 10 stories that happened during her life. Maybe each story was about a separate person: Hans, Rosa, Rudy, Max, Mr. Steiner, Ilsa Hermann, her birth mother, her brother, etc.

How much longer do we have for discussing the book? How many of you are going over to the April book discussion of Troublesome Young Men? I have the book but haven't started it yet.

Frybabe · « **Reply #398 on:** April 01, 2010, 12:41:12 AM »

I thought it very interesting that Ilsa and the Mayor took Liesel in after she lost Hans and Rosa. What kind of life do you think Liesel had with them? Appreciation or resentment? Maybe a little of both?

okietxjenjen · « **Reply #399 on:** April 01, 2010, 12:49:10 AM »

Re-reading the last two chapters again made me cry. I rate the book 5++++++ I would be hesitant in having a 14 year old read the book. I guess it would depend on their maturity.

This quote from the book actually reflects my view on the book. Could be so ugly, so glorious and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.

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Author Topic: Book Thief by Markus Zusak ~ March Book Club Online (Read 151102 times)