The Book Thief

There's nothing more I can say about The Book Thief other than it was phenomenal. Sure, it's 550 pages and it took me longer to read than a "normal" 550 page book, but holy cats did I like it.

The main character is Liesel. She is nine in the beginning of the story when she is on a train with her younger brother and her mother. They are on their way to the children's new foster home. The mother is not allowed to keep them anymore. On the train, the brother coughs continually and ends up dying before they reach their destination. The train conductor throws the mother, daughter, and dead boy from the train, and they are left to fend for themselves in the middle of nowhere.

At the boy's funeral, Liesel discovers a book in the snow called The Grave Digger's Handbook. She takes it.

When she reaches the foster parents' house and her mother leaves, Liesel is thrust into the life of the Hubermann family--Rosa and Hans who have two grown children. Their son, we find out later, is an avid Hitler supporter. Hans, a silver-eyed smoker who makes his living as a painter, is young Liesel's new confidant. Though she says very little to him, "Papa" becomes the most important person to her. Using The Grave Digger's Handbook, he teaches her to read each night after Liesel's chronic nightmare of her brother's death. With the absence of paper and pencil, they use the basement walls and dark paint from Hans' supply to form letters and eventually words for Liesel to learn.

The book evolves into the tale of the people of Himmel Street in Molching, Germany, during WWII. The Hubermann family, aside from the son, are not Hitler fans. They go so far as to hide a twenty-five year old Jew in their basement in return for a favor the man's father did for Hans in the past. Liesel and Max become fast friends, both relaying their chronic nightmare to the other. Liesel also befriends the mayor's wife, whose clothing includes a bathrobe and slippers with swastikas on each. Ilsa Hermann is crucial in increasing Liesel's book supply.

My favorite relationship in the book, other than the Liesel/Max and Liesel/Hans relationships, has to be Liesel's interactions with Rudy. He is her next door neighbor and from the beginning he is always after earning a kiss from her, which she only gives on his last day. They are the perfect picture of childhood friends.

It's through her relationships with the people around her that Liesel is able to stand the fact that she is orphaned and has watched her brother die and is in the midst of the worst war Germany was ever involved in. The love she gets from her foster father, the companionship she has with Max, and the innocent intimacy she has with Rudy are all priceless in this story.