Book Thief by Markus Zusak ~ March Book Club Online

[JoanP]

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

[Frybabe]

Well, I just got brave and sent an email to Random House requesting information about how they choose fonts for a book, most especially this one. Also asked if they could divulge the names of the fonts they chose for TBT.  And I asked if the author has any input in the process. Who knows, I might actually get an answer. Cross your fingers.

[straudetwo]

Babi,
It IS a fact that people disappeared and were never seen again.  The butcher and his bother at the end of our block was gone one day. We never knew when exactly it happened or how, but definitely in silence.  
Much later it was learned that the they were taken to railway stations and transported off in freight trains.
It is worth mentioning that the project was under the exclusive control of the SS. To have civilians witness a march in broad daylight would have given away th game - and that was to be avoided at all cost.

One of the top men was Reinhard Heydrich (q.v.).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhard_Heydrich

[JoanP]

Frybabe...how good of you to take the time to write to Random House about the page numbers in this book.  It would be wonderful if they responded.  Babi has suggested that the cheap paper might have caused the ink to run - but did they have ink?  Paint, maybe...
Why would the page numbers be written in this "grunge" font?  Thanks for writing RH!  I would be happy if this mystery is cleared up before we finish here.


Traudee, I can see where such a parade might be held in secret as people were taken to railway stations and transported off in freight trains.  But these people seem to be on the last stretch of their journey, taken off the trains - and now on trucks a few miles from Dachau.  
Zusah writes:
"Perhaps death camps were kept secret, but at times people were shown the glory of a labor camp like Dachau."
 Some of the soldiers given this assignment were only boys, we're told.  They had the Furhrer in their eyes.

Liesel would write in her book - "there were the poorest souls alive."  (Do you think she put page numbers in this book she is writing?)  
"Once in a while they would meet her eyes with their defeat.  She could only hope they could reach the depth of sorrow in her face to recognize it was true, not fleeting."

The next scene with Hans handing bread to the old man, with "eyes the color of agony" - is almost word for word what Zusak relates from the story his mother told him as he was growing up.  You can read it in this interview Frybabe brought to us -

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/

Do you suppose Liesel is Markus Zusak's mother?

Another thing that puzzled me - we're told that there were two more such parades of Jews through Molching to Dachau.  Rudy is acting quite wreckless, isn't he?  He passes out 6 pieces of bread, and then has to run like the wind to get away from the guards.  But why did he include Liesel in this?  Is he confident that she too can outrun the guards?  I really didn't understand what Rudy was trying to do.
Laura wrote yesterday that false-started because he didn’t want to stand out from the crowd  - but what about this incident?

[Laura]

Joan P asked:  Do you suppose Liesel is Markus Zusak's mother?

I assume that Leisel is the author’s mother.  I finished the book yesterday, so now I will see what he says in interviews.

Joan P asked:  Another thing that puzzled me - we're told that there were two more such parades of Jews through Molching to Dachau.  Rudy is acting quite wreckless, isn't he?  He passes out 6 pieces of bread, and then has to run like the wind to get away from the guards.  But why did he include Liesel in this?  Is he confident that she too can outrun the guards?  I really didn't understand what Rudy was trying to do.

I think Rudy wanted to include Leisel because he was trying to show her how he felt about the Jews, that he felt strongly about his convictions, and that he wasn’t afraid to let them be known.  Ultimately, Rudy was copying Hans, Leisel’s Papa, whom Leisel admired very much.  Rudy wanted Leisel to admire him (Rudy) too, see he was fit to be her boyfriend, and that he was someone that her Papa would approve of.

[ALF43]

Laura -I think that Rudy wanted Liesel to be complicit in this as he was in her stealing from the Mayor's library.
I loved this as Liesel compiled a list of who was most afraid.
 "Frau Holtzapfel's eyes were trapped open.
Rolf Schultz.. spoke silently at the air around him, castigating it.  His hands were cemented in his pockets."
"What was most prominent in the cellar was a kind of nonmovement.---stillness was shackled to their faces."Wow, that is one very profound page of imagry.  What a great chapter as the group melded together.  Death says he was the suggestion that night, "I was the advice, my imagined feet walking into the kitchen.."  There is not a page in this story that doesn't make you cringe at something or someone.  Many times it is just the fear that creeps out and the sadness that creeps in.  
Babi-

Do you suppose the 'grunge' numbering was supposed to reflect the
cheap paper available at the time?  Possibly good paper would be
in very short supply. Cheap paper would tend to smear the ink.

I think that the reason the numbered pages are so hard to identify is because of the thousands of tears that have washed over them.

I hope that Frybaby gets an answer for us.

[ALF43]

So much sadness!  Hans was literally beaten by the Nazi for giving a piece of bread to one starving old man.  I'd be the first one to get the he** beaten out of me as well and I commend anyone for their acts of kindness.  I would not care what they called me or did to me.  How can people stand around and watch these atrocitites?  I know that they are afraid but .- where is their compassion, their sense of honor and self?  This part of the book really bothered me- Nazis calling people "Jew lovers" and filling them with fear and dread.

[Babi]

It must have been terrifying to have people you know, close neighbors,
suddenly disappear, and not dare say anything, TRAUDE. I find myself
grateful that you managed to survive, physically and emotionally.

 ALF, doesn't war always open doors of opportunity for the haters, the
sociopaths, all the people that society would have shunned or locked away
in times of peace?  They creep out of their shells to become the torturers
and murderers. 

[ALF43]

Can anyone explain to me what the importance of this "domino" theory is in this book?
 Rudy sets the game up in the kitchen for his siblings and "together they watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse, and they would all smile at the beauty of destruction."

They watched the dominoes fall until the tower in the middle was brought to its knees, resembling "dead bodies", a collection of bones strewn.
Are these horrors symbolic of the domino tiles, also known as bones?
The word "domino" appears to have derived from the traditional appearance of the tiles - black dots on a white background - which is reminiscent of a "domino" (a kind of hood) worn by Christian priests.  How about the hood of the narrator, the grim reaper?
The collective pieces making up the set is called a PACK and was originally made from ivory or animal bone.
If I look at it in that light, this "game" takes on a whole different meaning, doesn't it?
 

[ALF43]

AMEN Babi-
 

ALF, doesn't war always open doors of opportunity for the haters, the
sociopaths, all the people that society would have shunned or locked away
in times of peace?  They creep out of their shells to become the torturers
and murderers.

You are so right on- many of these deranged people come out of the woodwork during war.
I love the way that you put it- an opportunity for haters to sell themselves is presented and the lunatic thrives.
Thank God for the benevolence of others to weigh down balance out the other end of that teeter-totter.

[JoanP]

PBS will air a new version of Anne Frank's Diary.  Apparently the  recently released edition contains sections of the diary once withheld by her father to maintain her privacy.  And there are also other diary pages located in 1989 that are included in the new edition and will be included in the PBS presentation on April 11..  We'll be discussing this book/film in the PBS discussion led by Marcie -  http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?board=63.0

I think that those of us reading Book Thief will find much of interest in Anne Frank.  She's about the same age as Liesel Meminger - 13 in 1940.  She was born in Frankfort, then moved with her family to Holland in 1933.  Because she was Jewish - she and her family were victims of Hitler's anti-Jewish laws.

In 1942 the  SS sent for her 16 year old sister to put her in a special school.  To keep them from taking her, the family went into hiding in a warehouse apartment where they lived their lives for two years. Anne spent much of her time  writing down her feelings in her diary during this time.   Does any of this sound familiar?

[JoanP]

Back in Rudy's living room, the Steiner family resists the Gestapo who want to put Rudy in a special school.   Rudy and his siblings sit on the floor playing dominoes.  These German children go about playing as if they are... children.  They play soccer out in the street - and games inside.  Yet, they are learning that "freedom"  is not what it once was.  Was Barbara Steiner free to say "no" to the Gestapo?  

The dominoes Andy talks about - were important enough for the publishers to put them on the cover of the paperback.  Have you played dominoes?  I notice in the Library here that some are talking about a game called "Mexican Train."  I'm curious to learn...though they are saying it is addictive.
I found it interesting to know that the central pile of dominoes is referred to as "the graveyard" - and as Andy says, the dominoes are referred to as "bones."   I wish the dominoes on the cover were white ivory  like this - they look more like bones.  

The dominoes, falling like dead bodies in the living room, as the Steiners refuse in low voices in the kitchen.  Is this a way of telling us that the Steiner's refusal to heed the Gestapo's request - will land someone in the "graveyard"?

Hans' daring gesture was defiance to the German soldiers'  command too.  I expected he'd hear from them, but not in the way that he did.  Nor was I expecting Hans to send Max away.  Do you think Max can possibly survive?  Do you think that Hans, or anyone will survive Stalingrad?  Does anyone who goes away ever come back/  He promises Liesel he'll return to play the accordion again.  He IS known as a promise keeper.  I think I'll put my money on Hans' return.

 Another question, will  stoic Rosa survive this?  ("Rosa had a small rip beneath her right eye, and within the minute, her cardboard face was broken.")

The dominoes are falling now - the question is, will they ALL fall down?

[JoanP]

Laura, I'm still not sure why Rudy invited Liesel to hand out bread.  To show her how brave he was?  That he was just as brave as her papa? But why include her?  What would happen if they were caught?

Did he want her to watch him - or did he want them to do this together?  To take a stand. Together.

[Laura]

Joan P said:  I'm still not sure why Rudy invited Liesel to hand out bread.  To show her how brave he was?  That he was just as brave as her papa? But why include her?  What would happen if they were caught?

Did he want her to watch him - or did he want them to do this together?  To take a stand. Together.

ALF said:  I think that Rudy wanted Liesel to be complicit in this as he was in her stealing from the Mayor's library.

I think if you couple my thoughts with ALF’s thoughts, it makes sense.  Rudy not only wanted to prove himself, but wanted Liesel (just realized I have been spelling her name wrong!) to take part also.  In a way, giving bread to the prisoners was the opposite of stealing.  They had given up stealing, except for the books, which almost wasn’t stealing anymore since the mayor’s wife aided the process, so maybe this provided the same thrill, but in a positive way.

As for the dominoes, the scene has so many meanings, all of which I think you both have touched on, and which are valid. 

“Together, they would watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse, and they would all smile at the beauty of destruction.”

“…they’d watch the dominoes fall in the candlelight.  It somehow made the event grander, a greater spectacle.”

These passages made me think of the night bombings that lit up the sky and destroyed the towns --- both buildings and people.

The dominoes scene took place at the same time as the officials were talking with Rudy’s parents about having him join the special group of students, which may have some significance, but I haven’t determined what that is.

[countrymm]

Joan P asked if Anne Frank's writing down her thoughts sounded familiar.

Yes, so similar to what both Max and Liesel did to process their thoughts while waiting, waiting for the outcome of this terrorizing time. 

Really, what else would someone in Anne's position be able to do to pass the time of day?  She had to keep deadly silent. How could she make sense of her thoughts and feelings unless she wrote them down and kept them close to her? 

[countrymm]

Just a quick thought regarding the dominoes falling.  Don't you remember as a kid remembering how exciting it was if you built something grand and then it completely undid itself?  I remember being in a group of children and everyone would cry out when it all fell down. A similar experience was playing pick up sticks and hoping to lift off one more stick, but suddenly a slight movement made everything collapse and everyone would respond with laughter.

Could Rudy have risked giving bread  to prisoners so that the German soldiers would see him as "too risky" to choose for their special program? 

[joangrimes]

Hate to digress from your talk about the book but feel that I must say something about the Mexican Train Dominoes...It is a very addictive game.  It is probably the most popular game with Senior Citizens today.   I try to play it once a week with friends at our Senior center because it helps with my concentration and particularly helps me to  match colors which has become so important to me with my eye problem.

Here is a link to where you can play Mexican Train online
http://www.ussgames.com/playgame-406-Mexican-Train-Dominoes.html
Joan Grimes

[Ella Gibbons]

Was it BABI who said Such Sadness!  I agree, the whole book was one of sadness to me. 

Death is one thing, Heaven (and representation of it) and the Devil (scythe, horns) another, don't you think? 

I cannot think there is anything "gentle" about death.  It is absence.

[JoanP]

You are not kidding, JoanG!  Mexican Train is really addictive!  I'm having a tough time with it, but the last time, I didn't do as badly as the first time.  Where do you play?  
One thin I noticed - the pool of unused tiles is referred to as the "boneyard."  Countrymm, it was exciting waiting to see a carefully constructed world to come down...and completely absorbing - which is was probably the attraction of the dominoes game.

Laura - I think you've touched on the significance of the dominoes falling like bodies in the living room.  Rudy played while fate was being decided in the kitchen.
He was absorbed in the game.  Later, when he was told what was being said in the kitchen, he said he would have told them he'd go.  If he had intervened:

***Three Possibilities***
1. Alex Steiner wouldn't have suffered the same punishment as Hans Hubermann
2. Rudy would have gone away to school
3. And just maybe, he would have lived.

So many ifs onlys and maybes.  Isn't that what history is all about, Ella?  I know what you are saying about sadness.  War is sadness - there are no victors.  Zusak needed to tell this story, but he felt he was softening it by portraying Death as a gentle caring being, cradling and comforting, sometimes kissing the souls as he carried them away.  Do you think he succeded in this?

[trlee]

I think that Rudy included Liesel in giving out the bread because he wanted them both to be "in it together" the way they had been throughout the story.  I really don't think he thought out how dangerous it would be for both of them.  I agree with the person who said he was modeling what Hans had done.  He probably would not have given out the bread if he had not seen it done before.

I thought that the accordion was symbolic of the spirit of Hans and his relationship with his family.  When he is away, Rosa cannot bear to make even a small sound with the instrument.  Throughout all of the destruction of the bombing, and the deaths, the accordion survives and is handed on to Liesel who keeps it safe.  I believe this is the way that the author tells the reader that the spirit of Hans will survive through his adopted daughter.

[JoanP]

I've been reading Anne Frank's diary for the last two days. She was known as a "chatterbox" -  was in trouble in school for talking so much.  As Countrymm says,  she now must keep perfectly still while in hiding.  "How could she make sense of her thoughts and feelings."  Her diary became her best friend.  The same with Liesel...the same with Max.  The power of words! 

I just have to ask this - What do you think the author means by referring to Liesel as a Word Shaker?  I can't come up with a satisfactory explanation. Max used it for the title of his "diary" - his sketchbook, his collection of thoughts and drawings he had worked on while he hid in the Hubermann's basement.
What did you think of the illustrated fable he wrote about?  Did you understand why Liesel feels she now knows where Max has gone - after she read it? Do you think we have to wait for the next chapter, or are I missing clues here in the fable?

[JoanP]

TRLEE - I  missed your post but see it now - you make a good point, Rudy wanted them to be in it together.  Hans has been punished for doing this - so Rudy would want to include Liesel  - to honor Hans' gesture.

One more thought - I've been thinking of what you said yesterday, Laura -  that  "giving bread to the prisoners was the opposite of stealing." I agree that it is - but it is just as thrilling, isn't it?  Did you notice that "there was a trace of a grin on her face as she and Rudy Steinr handed out the pieces of bread on the road." Liesel had been stealing from the rich Nazi household with Rudy at her side  - and now she is helping Rudy defy the Nazis by handing bread to the Jews.  

Wasn't that the saddest image, seeing Rosa sleeping hunched over the accordion?  Do you believe Hans will make it back?  He is a promise keeper, after all.  He told Liesel he'd come back to play it once more.  I wonder how many German soldiers made it home during the war.  Especially towrds the end.  Weren't you surprised to learn they were allowed to write letters home?  I don't know why I was so surprised about this.

[ALF43]

I thought that the saddest thing in the world was Liesel believing that her heart was so tired.  "A 13 year old girl shouldn't feel like this" she thought.
I remember working a pediatric ICU  with AIDS patients and going home feeling just that way- old and tired in my heart.
Liesels heart was broken and pain like that is difficult to explain.  Rudy's heart wanted revenge.  He wished to kill the fuhrer.
Yes, how sad it was as Liesel tried to hear the music of the accordion as Rosa hugged it to being but the bellows didn't breathe.  That is such a profound image to me- the bellows didn't breathe.  Was Hans alive at this time?  Was he breathing, she must have thought.

[ALF43]

Han's job in the Air Raid Special Unit was much like our narrotor's job, wasn't it?  In fact we're told that the grim reaper visited the small city street with the man still in Han's arms.
He was a dead body collector after the raids, forced to witness the roll call of names that limped through the ruptured streets, sometimes ending with an ash-filled embrace of a knelt-down howl of grief.   Wow!  This guy can write!!!!!!!!!!

[Babi]

  I definitely felt it helped to personify Death as a compassionate and
caring being. Even though we know death is not a being at all, it is a
way to express our hope/feeling that there is something more, and better,
awaiting our loved ones who have died.
  I have often reminded myself that God does not see death as we do. To
us it is a loss, and one that may inspire anger against God for allowing
it to happen. But God is on 'the other side'; what is 'death' to us is
homecoming to Him.  I'm into personal beliefs now, of course, but I
think it is implicit in Zusak's character Death that he is taking souls
somewhere else. It is not an end.

[JoanP]

Hans' job in the Air Raid Special Unit was much like our narrator's job, wasn't it? (Andy)

Andy, that was a great observation. Hans' job of collecting bodies is as exhausting as Death's, collecting souls.  Especially when it comes to the dead children. The adolescent boy - (Rudolf, his mother calls for him) - of course reminds Hans of Rudy, Liesel, Rosa.  Are they safe at home, he worries.

And they are worried about him - not knowing whether the accordion will breathe again.  BUT we are given some reason to hope.  Hans isn't in Stalingrad after all.  He's in Stuttgart.  Still dangerous, but then there's another possible reason to hope that Hans might come home again - "Reinhold Zucker would be dead.  He would be killed by Hans Hubermann's seat."

Babi makes an important point - Hans is collecting dead bodies, Death is collecting souls. I agree with you, Babi.  Death is taking souls somewhere else...while the bodies live only in the memories of the mourners.  Do you think Death seems more concerned with the survivors' grief?

What impresses me reading these pages is  how comforting it is to leave behind letters, a written diary, or  even a book.  How comforting it is for Liesel to have Max's sketchbook.  What if he had never kept it?

Liesel is particularly drawn to the illustrated fairytale, "The Word Shaker".  After reading it, she wonders where Max is, in all the forest out there.  Then she falls asleep and when she wakes up, the answer to her question came.  "Of course, I know where he is."  And she went back to sleep.

Do you know where she knows he is?
What does the title of the story mean? - "THe Word Shaker"

Oh, and what do you see when you think of Max's "swampy eyes?"

[ALF43]

Where is everyone?  We only have one week left in our discussion.
Did I chase eveyone away Joan?

[countrymm]

I'm still here in the discussion.  My guess is that most of our readers have finished the book and don't want to divulge anything.  Face it, they are on to other books!

JoanP, I too wondered about Max's "swampy eyes".  Maybe because he spent so much time in the dark basement, his eyes looked wet, limpid rather than bright and sparkly?  Or maybe Liesel saw them as soulful?

I am pleased to see how much Rosa loves and misses Hans.  Who knew?  I still don't know what hardened her into the cardboard woman other people saw. Might it have something to do with her son having left and her daughter not being interested in a relationship with her parents?  Maybe the loss of her own children is what made her be distant at first with poor little Liesel?  Rosa is coming around!

I believe Liesel and Rudy just loved RISK.  They loved to take a chance at being caught but then get away with it. I'm sure that the food they procured by thievery was much tastier than if it had just been handed to them.  They also liked the concept of equality.  Why should rich Germans have all the fine food, luxury items, and books?  Let's even out the playing field a bit, they thought.

So at this point Rose is desolate, Liesel is really missing Max, and we're wondering if Hans will every come home.  His job was the worst possible, wasn't it?  Dealing with the results of what the Nazis did.

I admire Markus Zusak for being such a feeling, sensitive male.  War really bothers him as does the breaking apart of families, the loss of friendships, the sadness of waiting endlessly for someone to return.  To me HE is the Death character and wants to convey a feeling of protectiveness and care to all of us.  Yes, I found that comforting.  I rarely read such sensitive writing by other male authors.  There is a really sweetness there and he knows how to build a closeness with his readers.

[marcie]

Joan, I too was a little confused about the symbolism of the "word shaker."

At the end of "The Sky Stealer" section in Part Seven (p. 383 in my book), after Liesel reads to the people in the air raid basement for the first time, when Rosa tells Max about it, the narrator says "Personally, I think that was the moment he [Max] conceived the next body of work for his sketchbook. The Word Shaker. He imagined the girl reading in the shelter. He must have watched her literally handing out the words. However, as always, he must also have seen the shadow of Hitler."

Max's story says that after Hitler "hypnotized" the people with his words, the "lovely ugly words and symbols increased to such a point that as the forests grew, many people were needed to maintain them. Some were employed to climb the trees and throw the words down to those below... The people who climbed the trees were called word shakers."

Max's story goes on to say that, from Liesel's tear that fell on Max's face while he was sick, a tree began to grow and became the tallest tree in the forest. This seems to me to say that this tree was different from the rest. It was created from the bond between Liesel and Max, their own words about how they saw life; not from Hitler's propaganda. That tree couldn't be cut down as long as Liesel remained in it. After Max climbed up and joined her, and showed her the power of her words, they both climbed down and the tree fell from the previous axe cuts, but as it fell, it took down many of the other trees and created new paths that influenced some of the other people.

I think that after reading Max's story and waking from her dream of the tree, Liesel believes that Max is figuratively up in the tree, standing against Hitler's words.

[marcie]

countrymm, I agree about the author's sensitivity. I thought the last few sentences of Part Nine display it very well. They definitely put a lump in my throat.

Rudy just tripped over the mannequin in his father's tailor shop.
"Then he closed his eyes, clenching them hard.

Liesel rushed over.
She crouched above him
Kiss him, Liesel, kiss him.
'Are you all right, Rudy? Rudy?'

'I miss him,' said the boy, sideways, across the floor.
"Frohe Weihnachten,' Liesel replied. She helped him up, straightening the suit. 'Merry Christmas.'"

[Babi]

Thank you, MARCIE. That was a lovely explanation for the "Word Shaker"
and one that makes sense.  Maybe the other trees that fell
were some of Hitler's words. In a way, we might say that Zusak's book is 
making new paths that influence people. He is influencing us, isn't he?

[Frybabe]

I think The Word Shaker is eloquent. The author's ability to express the power of words really shines in this chapter. He touches not only on ideas (words), but how they spread and are maintained.

[JoanP]

Oh my. Oh my.  Oh my.  I've just finished the book - and can see where some of you were stunned into silence.  Let's hold off talking about it for one more day just in case everyone is not finished -  - and then hear from everyone.  Be  thinkking about how you would rate the book, too, okay?  
Frybabe, I agree, the Word Shaker is eloquent.  Marcie's post was eloquent too!
Thank you for comments on the meaning of  "Word Shaker". Marcie, when I read your post - that some were employed to climb the trees and throw words down to those below, I thought of apple picking.  My boys used to send the lightest one up and he'd shake the branches so the apples would fall to those below.  And I thought of my squirrel-proof bird feeder.  Those smart squirrels figured out that though they were unable to get to the seed, they could send one up to swing and "shake"  the feeder, so seeds would fall to the ground to the others.    Now I think of  Liesel in this way.  Now that's NOT eloquent, I admit.  She shook down the words into the minds of the trembling neighbors as the sirens screamed - distracting them with her voice.  

And of course, Hitler was a word shaker.  His words were "hypnotic."  I had missed that reference in Max's fable. Babi, your suggestion that maybe the other trees that fell were Hitler's words - works for me.

Liesel takes heart from the fable - Marcie writes "Liesel believes that Max is figuratively up in the tree, standing against Hitler's words."  Can we take it further?  Does Liesel now believe that Max will stand tall, stand firm?

 Max's "swampy eyes" - Countrymm - I still can't picture them.  "Wet and limpid. "  Maybe they were no particular color?  A murky mix of brown and green or blue...and soulful as you say?  Whatever they were, they were unlike most others - his swampy eyes, his feathered locks.  She continues to look for him.

I agree, those were the most touching images of Rosa with the accordion.  She can't make it sing, breathe, but she holds it close so that when it does breathe, she'll be the first to feel it.
 
I wonder if Markus Zusak writes with such sensitivity because this is how his mother related her memories to him.  .  
 

 
 
 

[straudetwo]

JoanP,  is it possible to see "swamoy eyes" as eyes filled with unshed tears?

[countrymm]

straudetwo, I like your idea of "swampy eyes" being filled with unshed tears.  Maybe his eyes appeared to be brimming with such tears.

I'm happy to see several of you back in the discussion.  I too have finished the book.  I'll watch for more postings tomorrow.

[JoanP]

"swampy eyes"  - eyes brimming with unshed tears.  I like that, Traudee, I really do.  Now I understand what you were saying, Countrymm...expecially when considering what happens in the last chapters...but I'll wait until tomorrow morning!

[JoanP]

So much went on in these last chapters - I don't know where to start this morning!  I'm going to let you start.  I'll leave you with a question though -
What is the meaning of "The Last Human Stranger," the  title of the last book Liesel took from Ilsa Hermann's library, and the title of one of Liesel's last stories?  A human stranger?

Maybe this question belongs in the heading above if you think it's important...

[Ella Gibbons]

I do wish I still had the book but I loaned it to a neighbor and I haven't seen her since.  On rainy days I don't walk around the "pond" and don't see neighbors. 

We all have had different reactions to the book.  I thought it very, very sad but at the same time I couldn't put it down; there were beautiful parts to it, of course.  The writing was superb and I wonder if the author, without his mother's memories,  will be able to write another.

A quote from a book review in our local paper:  "Literature is messy.   There's not a black-and-white answer."

[marcie]

We all have had different reactions to the book.  I thought it very, very sad but at the same time I couldn't put it down; there were beautiful parts to it, of course.  The writing was superb and I wonder if the author, without his mother's memories,  will be able to write another.

A quote from a book review in our local paper:  "Literature is messy.   There's not a black-and-white answer."

Ella, I like that quote. I think it's very apt for this book. The book is sad and ugly and joyful and beautiful at the same time.  Boy, was I crying when Liesel emerges from the basement after the bombing to find that everyone she loves is dead. The scene over Rudy's body is excrutiating. The mayor's wife comes for Liesel. When Mr. Steiner returns from his war service, Liesel is able to provide comfort. And after the war, Liesel is reunited with Max. We know that Liesel is able to love another, after Rudy's death. She eventually marries and has children and grand children. The first time I read the book, I thought that Liesel married someone we don't know...someone she met later in life. I didn't think that she and Max would have gotten together. I just didn't think that they would have had that kind of relationship. Now, upon reading it again, I'm not so sure about whether or not they would have married. As JoanP said earlier, Max is not mentioned as one of the people on her mind when Death comes for her. Her "husband" is mentioned. And Max does come back from Dachau and finds Liesel. I am now open to the possibility that Max and Liesel may have married.

[marcie]

JoanP, the meaning of "The last human stranger" isn't clear to me. It's the title of the part of the book where Rudy and Liesel find the downed plane with the American pilot. Rudy gives him the bear to ease his death. I am wondering if this 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. The teddy bear was originally going to be part of an attack by Rudy on his perceived enemy, the Fuhrer and wealthy Germans. Now, it was being used to give comfort to an actual enemy, who maybe was in some sense the "last human stranger." That caring act symbolizes that there aren't any more strangers.