The Book Thief

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Zusak, Markus. 2006. The book thief. Ill. by Trudy White. New York: Knopf. ISBN 9780375842207

PLOT SUMMARY

Australian author, Markus Zusak brilliantly writes of an adolescent girl in her new foster family during Hitler’s reign in Nazi Germany. This book about words shows the power of words to tear apart a nation, to give a hidden Jew victory over the Fuhrer, and Liesel Meminger the ability to record all the happenings of her life on Himmel Street in Molching, a suburb of Munich, Germany.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Zusak cites tales told by his grandparents for the motivation and original research for The Book Thief. While not German himself, Zusak clearly researched the setting and common events in order to make it consistent with the time period. Everything from Alex Steiner’s suit shop to the Nazi flag hanging in most windows to Frau Diller’s general store watched over by Adolf Hitler’s framed portrait maintain that this is Hitler Germany.

In a Q&A at the end of this edition of The Book Thief, Zusak describes how he did research in phases. His research was not complete before the manuscript was written. He continued research to verify everything was accurate. After the book was written, Zusak ventured to Munich to do his own sort of fact checking. There he discovered he needed to be better informed of the apple tree’s growing season in order to make a relatively small portion of the book accurate, a habit Zusak makes no apology for.

Zusak marvelously illustrates each character—giving them their own unique personality. He avoids stereotypes by creating a wide range of characters: Minor character Frau Diller’s devotion to the Fuhrer, Ilsa Hermman’s attempt to end the grieving of her lost son, the vilgar whistling man, Pfiffikus, the towhead Rudy Steiner’s desire for cautious adventure and recognition as the German Jesse Owens, Hans Hubermann’s passive unsupportiveness of the nation’s political stance, and Leisel Meminger’s strong will for justice, enlightenment, and book thieving.

The vast range of characters shows readers the many perspectives and opinions held by citizens of that time. Many outsiders may have the idea that the people of Nazi Germany lived on one side of a clearly drawn line. You were either a Jew or a Jew hater. 

Zusak offers an alternative view of the Holocaust. He clearly describes the gray areas in which about 10% of these people lived. Hans Hubermann, who willingly hid Max, the Jew, applied for a position in the Nazi party out of duty and obligation—not patriotism. Liesel and Rudy hated attending Hitler Youth meetings—what was supposed to be a privilege for the children of the time—to serve their Fuhrer and become great leaders of the master race. While the majority of the nation showed unwavering patriotism, a small faction did not. That small group is represented in this story.

While very few of the folks on Himmel Street have an advanced education, Zusak credits them with intelligence only experience can provide. Hans, a painter and accordionist, earned a respectable living. Rosa Hubermann washed and ironed laundry for those more economically advanced. Alex Steiner was a successful tailor in their neighborhood. While these were not families of great means, they are portrayed as well-informed, diligent workers.

Other than the setting and storyline, Zusak includes German cultural markers. He embeds common German phrases as well as insults along with their translations in order to remind the reader that where the story is happening. The menu of those days is frequently mentioned—along with the limitation of certain treats by rations. 

The routines, habits, and activities performed by the children are typical of the time period: riding bikes, attending Hitler Youth meetings, playing soccer, and for the more adventurous, stealing books and food. After reading The Book Thief, the reader will feel as if he has lived on Himmel Street while it existed in Nazi Germany.

As a historical fiction piece, Zusak masters the art of storytelling with Death as the narrator with somewhat of a limited perspective. Death combines his own experiences of collecting souls with Liesel’s account as written in her own book.  This appealing format allows Death to interject with his own thoughts, background information, and events in the future.

Zusak’s use of Death as narrator pairs well with his use of foreshadowing. In some parts, Death transparently lays out the future events, such as how Himmel Street and Liesel’s world is destroyed. While this may seem to ruin the shock value, it makes the events leading up to it all the more important and interesting.

Each page of this novel includes some element of figurative language, which adds to the richness of the story. Simple events are eloquently described. For example, after an air raid, Himmel Street residents return to the surface as “rumors carrying bags” (p. 383). Throughout the text, events are described in colors. Death describes early in the book that he sees things in colors. Some examples include Rudy’s hair, which is compared to a lemon or a candle; the air often described as gray. This ounce of imagery gives the readers a clearer picture of the setting. These elements make for an even more fantastic piece of literature.

Because this novel offers an atypical view of the Holocaust, the reader will reflect upon the situations described and hopefully continue to wonder about, research, and analyze this period in our world’s history.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year, 2006

ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2007

Michael L. Printz Honor Book, 2007

“This fabulous novel is rich, complicated and wise enough to satisfy a reader of any age.” –The Atlanta Journal Constitution

"Zusak doesn’t sugarcoat anything, but he makes his ostensibly gloomy subject bearable…” –Time Magazine

"Elegant, philosophical and moving...Beautiful and important." –Kirkus Reviews, Starred

CONNECTIONS

Related Book

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. 2005. Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s shadow. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction. ISBN 97804399353793

Symbols

Discuss why Death was an accurate symbol and narrator for this book. Decide on another symbol that could have narrated this story, and rewrite a chapter from that symbol’s perspective.

Max vs. Liesel

Create a Venn diagram or similar tool comparing the lives of Max Vandeburg and Liesel Meminger. Act our an interaction that is NOT in the text that might have occurred between Max and Liesel.

Book Theiving

In the beginning, Liesel stole whatever book she could get. Later on, she became more choosey. Illustrate the cover of a book that you would steal, and on the back of the illustration, write a short story of how you thieved that book and why it was so important.