The Book Thief is a story narrated by a compassionate Death who tells us about Liesel, a girl growing up in Germany during World War II. She steals books, learns to read, and finds comfort in words. She and Max, the Jew her family protects, are the only main characters that survive the war.
Subsequently, one may also ask, is Book Thief a true story?
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a historical fiction novel, which means that it is a fictional story that is set and told through historically accurate time period and events.
Also, what happened in the beginning of the book thief? The first time he saw the book thief, he says, was on a train. Liesel, her mother, and her brother Werner are traveling on a train to Munich when Werner suddenly dies. Liesel and her mother get off the train to bury the body, and Liesel steals a book from one of the gravediggers.
Also, why is the book thief important?
This is why The Book Thief, based on the popular 2005 novel by Markus Zusak, is an important new contribution to the Holocaust film genre. The film’s protagonist, an illiterate girl named Liesel Meminger, is orphaned in Nazi Germany after her mother is imprisoned for her Communist beliefs.
What made the book thief interesting?
It is the story of a girl growing up in Nazi Germany. In the world she lives in, Hitler has destroyed people with words. That is how he was able to make people behave and do the things that they did. The story starts with Liesel stealing a book and really she’s stealing the words back and writing her own story.
17 Related Question Answers Found
What happened to Liesel’s mother?
In The Book Thief it is said that her mother is a communist, which was taboo during that time, and may have been taken to a concentration camp because of it. Liesel asks, We don’t know what happened to Liesel’s father, though it is implied that he too was a communist.
Who does Liesel marry?
Answer and Explanation: Liesel does not marry Max in The Book Thief. Although they remain close and have a deep connection, they do not marry and Max has to flee Liesel’s foster family’s protection eventually to escape the Nazis.
How old is Max Vandenburg?
Max is only twenty-two years old when he enters the story as “the struggler” (Chapters 23, 26, 28). At first his age is a bit surprising, because he almost seems like an old man. Later we learn that when he was Liesel and Rudy’s age, he was “the Jewish fist fighter” (Chapter 31).
Is Liesel Meminger German?
That’s not something you’d find in Harry Potter. Zusak’s heroine is Liesel Meminger. She is not Jewish, but her parents were communists, and the time is Germany, 1939. Liesel survives Nazi Germany by stealing books, even though she can’t read when she filches her first one, a Gravedigger’s Guide.
How old was Liesel when she died?
Liesel is nine years old, almost ten, at the start of the novel. She is about fifteen toward the end of the novel when the bombs destroy her home and kill her loved ones. The novel ends when she is an old woman and Death comes to collect her soul. Liesel is the book thief.
What was Liesel’s brother’s name?
The book thief is nine-year-old Liesel Meminger. She and her younger brother, Werner, are traveling by train with their mother towards Munich, where they will live with a foster family. As the book thief dreams of Adolph Hitler, Werner dies suddenly.
What did Liesel’s brother die of?
pneumonia
Why did Hans Hubermann return home?
Why was Hans Hubermann allowed to return home? He was allowed to go home for a few weeks for his leg (that was injured in the military vehicle accident) to heal. Afterwards he would return to an army desk job.
Why was the book thief banned?
The reason that “The Book Thief” was challenged was because the book portrays many details about the life of Nazis and the life of the German people. It also focuses in the subjects like the Holocaust. Second reason the book was challenged was because it contained contents of cruel fate, sacrifice, and heroism.
What is the problem in the book thief?
The major conflict in Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief that should stand out to readers is character versus society. Nearly all of the major characters have a conflict with the Nazi beliefs, and each rebels in his or her own way.
What is the main idea of the book thief?
Major themes of The Book Thief include: literacy and power, as Liesel learns to read, explores words with Max, and even paints over sections of Mein Kampf; love and hate in human nature, as we see acts of genuine kindness toward the Jews, particularly in hiding Max, and also acts of horror and torment from the Nazis;
What Liesel means?
Liesel’s life represents beauty in the wake of brutality in multiple ways. All of these ways are beautiful because they describe kindness and hope in a time of despair, not because of any outward appearance. One way Liesel’s life is beautiful is that she survives to be an old woman.
Is The Book Thief appropriate for 10 year old?
After reading it this month, I must say that I was absolutely blown away. Set during World War II, The Book Thief follows two protagonists – Leisel, a nine year old girl who comes to live with foster parents in Germany, and Death. It is a book that I would sincerely recommend to any and every reader, aged 10 or 110.
Why is the book thief narrated by death?
The Book Thief is narrated by an extremely overworked being who identifies himself as Death. Some readers love Death as a narrator; others not so much. We tend to think it’s an interesting choice. He needed a narrator who could provide snapshots of the World War II outside of Himmel Street.
What did Max’s book reveal about the power of words?
What does Max’s book say about the power of words? Words are the most powerful thing, and can be used in good ways or bad ways. They have the ability to bring people together, and are used by Hitler for that reason instead of guns or money.
Why is it called The Book Thief?
Liesel Meminger Liesel is the “book thief” referred to in the title because Liesel is fascinated by the power of words. Liesel stole books from a grave digger, a bonfire and the mayor’s wife, Ilsa Herman.
What book did Liesel read in the bomb shelter?
At the beginning of the novel, Frau Holtzapfel is Rosa Hubermann’s enemy. She spits on the Hubermanns’ door every time she goes past it. The relationship is soothed when Frau Holtzapfel hears Liesel read from The Whistler while in the bomb shelter.