Let Death guide you through The Book Thief

On September 24th we gathered at Shannon Simpkins’ home to discuss “The Book Thief”, by Markus Zusak. We started with a traditional German dinner out on Shannon’s patio. Shannon served a delicious main dish of ribs and sauerkraut…comfort food at its best. She also served a green salad mixed with goat cheese, baked potatoes, rolls and red grapes. For dessert we had a variety to choose from: orange cake, lemon bars, and several kinds of cookies. We ate well. On the table was a huge beautiful centerpiece that highlighted a large bowl of green apples. It will be noted that throughout the evening several people stole an apple to eat later, in memory of Liesel and Rudy’s apple-stealing-days. Thank you Shannon for the delicious meal!

From the beginning of the discussion, it was clear that “The Book Thief” had risen to the top of many people’s list of favorite books. Zusak skillfully uses his words and form of presentation to take you into the action of the story. Using Death as the narrator of this story in WWII was entirely appropriate. We especially liked how Death was exhausted and even compassionate towards humans as he watches their evil and their goodness. In the end he is “haunted by humans”. Death’s outside perspective and running commentary throughout the book allows the reader to see and learn more. Death is often profound.

We also discussed the power of words. Words are used for evil (Hitler) and for good (Leisel). Leisel is saved by words on a number of levels. First, her emotional stability is saved in the theft of her first book (connecting her to her brother), and then by Hans reading this book to her nightly when she has terrible dreams. Then she learns to read by painting the letters on the walls and reading the books she has stolen. Later, her reading is used to calm others in the bomb shelter. She discovers that she could write her own story from Max, which literally saves her own life in the end as she is writing in the basement when her street is bombed. She is physically saved.

We discussed each of the characters and agreed with the idea that there are no cowards in the Hubermann household. It was good to read a story from the perspective of Germans who did NOT agree with Hitler and his “mob Psychology”. Zusak’s characters became real people to us, and their story is one of tragedy and triumph.