Final Part of "The Book Thief"- Part 10

So I think I'm gunna do this blog post a little different. I want to leave you hanging... :)

"The End of the World (Part 1)"- They bombed Himmel Street...
"The 98th Day"- For the first 97 days Hans' return was fine..until the 98th day. Also on this day Micheal Holtzapfel committed suicide.
"The War Maker"- Hitler.
"Way of the Words"- Every time there was a Jewish parade coming through Molching Liesel would look for Max. This particular day she spotted him. She ran to him and asked him about "The Word Shaker"; that's when she realized it all...
"Confessions"- Liesel confessed everything to Rudy.
"Ilsa Hermann's Little Black Book"- The mayor's wife gave her a book to write a story in.
"The Rib-Cage Planes"- Liesel finished her book on that fateful night when that bomb was dropped from the rib cage of the plane.
"The End of the World (Part 2)"- This is when we find out, for sure, everyone except for Liesel died that day during the bombing.

Epilogue
"Death and Liesel": Liesel died many years later and was ready to go.
"Wood in the Afternoon": Liesel was taken in by the mayor and his wife. Liesel found out Rudy's father, Alex, survived the war and that afternoon there was wooden teardrops and an oaky smile.
"Max": They were re-united in October of 1945.
"The Handover Man": On the day death took Liesel Meminger he finally did something he had been waiting to do...he gave her, her book "The Book Thief" back.




This was a great book, don't get me wrong, but it made me mad. It was unfair but I guess life is unfair.

I thought about power the whole way through the book and couldn't understand who was most powerful...til the end. Death was the most powerful being in the book and is the most powerful being on earth. Death can, obviously, take your life. Death can scare you to do the right thing or wrong thing. Death has most power over you.

Part 9

"The Next Temptation"- This next temptation was cookies in the mayor's window in his library. Liesel was about to steal another book, this time it was a very different experience.
"The Cardplayer"- The men in Hans platoon would gamble with cards for cigarettes and Hans being the man he was would share when he won. This chapter is when we meet Reinhold Zucker. He's a youngen compared to everyone else. He's 24. When he won a round of cards he'd gloat. He also wouldn't take any of the cigarettes when Hans would share them.
"The Snows of Stalingrad"- Liesel is still going over to Frau Holtzapfel's house to read to her but on this particular day something was different. When Liesel went over there a man answered the door; we come to find out it's Frau's son who was injured in Stalingrad. Her other son had died while fighting the war.
"The Ageless Brother"- At this point of the book Liesel is a few weeks short of being 14. Liesel still has visions of her brother but she realized that he will always be 6.
"The Accident"- Hans sat in his appointed seat on the truck. Reinhold was standing above him. Reinhold told Hans to move because he wanted his seat. Hans wasn't gunna fight over it so he gave Reinhold that seat. Something happened and the driver lost control and the truck crashed. Everyone survived except for Reinhold. Who was in Hans seat, it could have been Hans that day.
"The Bitter Taste of Questions"- Hans broke his leg in the accident which was what sent him home to Rosa and Liesel. Everyone was so happy for Liesel. Rudy was happy but was angry because he thought why him and not his father.
"One Toolbox, One Bleeder, One Bear"- Since Rudy's father was sent to war he was very angry and it grew day by day. Something in him decided not to steal anything. He said he was better at leaving things then stealing them. A few weeks after the toolbox does come in handy. Rudy used it to store the Steiner's valuables for another air raid. This air raid was kind of a bad one. Frau wouldn't come out of her house for it because she was still grieving over her other son. Liesel tried to get her to come out but she wouldn't, she finally did.
"Homecoming"- This chapter Hans came home. Liesel was complete again.

The book is now starting to make so much more sense but I don't want it to end. The next part is the last one. The book also angers me. I was reading part 8 or 9, I'm not sure which one but I just wanted to throw the book down. Life is just not fair and this book is a great example of that. The power struggle is there. Liesel struggles with power all the time. The power to steal is what gets her most of the time though.

Part 8

"Dominoes and Darkness"- Rudy's sisters were playing dominoes as the Gestapo were talking to Barbara and Alex Steiner, Rudy's parents.
"The Thought of Rudy Naked"- Rudy had to be examined thoroughly so they made him strip all his clothes. Rudy ended up telling Liesel even though we know he really didn't want to and Liesel couldn't stop picturing it.
"Punishment"- Hans didn't get punished like he thought he was going to but instead his punishment was him sent to war. Alex Steiner, Rudy's father, also got sent to war.
"The Promise Keeper's Wife"- This was a rather long chapter. Rudy and Liesel's fathers leaving left a big hole in the town of Molching. Rudy and Liesel were both upset and angry and frustrated that they had to leave. They didn't know what to do. It was just hard on everyone.
"The Collector"- This chapter was about the job Hans had to do while in Russia during the war. He was part of the LSE also known as Luftwaffe Sonderinheit- Air Raid Special Unit or just to keep it simple...Dead Body Collector.
"The Bread Eaters"- There was a parade of Jews coming through Molching again so Rudy took 6 pieces of bread and threw them on the street as the Jews were coming through.
"The Hidden Sketchbook"- Before Max Vandenburg left, he made Liesel a book. He told her he made it but she was to take it only if she was ready. Rosa felt she was ready so she gave her the book. The book made her realize where Max was and everything was going to be okay.
"The Anarchist's Suit Collection"- I didn't understand the connection with the title and the plot of this chapter. I did get out of it though, that Liesel gave Rudy a suit for Christmas but I'm not quite sure.

There was a lot of power in this part I would say because the power of war was very clear.

Part 7

"Champagne and Accordians"- Liesel went around town with Hans and helped him paint different things for the people in the community. Liesel and Hans really bonded in this time.
"The Trilogy"- They had their annual Hitler Youth track and field deal and Rudy won 3 medals. Liesel again stole another book from the mayor's house in this chapter. She stole a book called "A Song in the Dark". We come to find out in this chapter the mayor's wife knows she has been stealing her books and tells Liesel she should come to the door and ask like a normal person would.
"The Sound of Sirens"- Sirens would blare like tornado sirens here when there was going to be a bomb raid and this is what the chapter was about.
"The Sky Stealer"- This was also about a bomb raid. Liesel was sort of a hero in this chapter because she helped calm everyone down because this was a real bomb raid unlike the chapter before; that one was a close call.
"Frau Holtzapfel's Offer"- Frau offered Liesel and Rosa a deal: if Liesel would read the book "A Song in the Dark", she would give Rosa a ration of coffee. Liesel takes the deal and reads to Frau every Monday and Friday.
"The Long Walk to Dachau"- This is the first time in the book it really talks about Jews even though the Hubermanns do have Max hiding in their basement. A parade of Jews was about to walk through Molching on their way to a camp in Dachau. Everyone in Molching came to watch. Many of the Jews were in agony, malnourished, tired and other things. As you can guess Hans Hubermman is a very caring man... well as the Jews were marching on he saw one that was far worse then the others so he, out of pure spontaneity, pulled a piece of bread out of his paint cart and gave it to the Jew. That was about the worst thing he could have done because he and the jew was whipped.
"Peace"- Because of the stupidity of the action Hans had done Max had to leave. The plan was if "they" (meaning Nazis after Hans) didn't come and take Hans away, he was going to go get Max from where he told him to hide. When Hans decided to go get Max he was gone; he left a note for them saying they had done enough and Max disappeared. Since Max had left it was peaceful because they didn't have to worry that they were gunna get caught with a Jew in Nazi Germany.
"The Idiot and the Coat Men"- Hans felt like a complete idiot and guilty over giving that Jew a piece of bread. He was continually putting himself down for it. Liesel kept trying to tell him he wasn't but he couldn't get over it. The coat men... the coat men were what Hans was waiting for to come take him away but we find out they are not after Hans but after Rudy Steiner, Liesel's best friend.

There is alot of power in this chapter I believe. I think it's not power like you think, such as the power Hitler has at this time but willpower. Hans Hubermann has A LOT of willpower. It took a lot to give that Jew a piece of bread even if it was out of spontaneity. A human mind also has a lot of power especially in Hans situation. He got to the point of paranoia because he thought the Gestapo was after him.

Part 6

"Death's Diary: 1942"- The narrator, death, was summarizing some of the year 1942 and telling about himself.
"The Snowman"- Max had asked Liesel to tell him about the weather. At this particular time there was snow on the ground, so Liesel brought Max some snow. She decided to bring buckets of snow downstairs for her and Max to enjoy on account he couldn't come outside. Max, Liesel and Hans had a snowball fight and made a little snowman. Now as you know Max lives in their basement because its too risky to bring him upstairs well since it was rather cold downstairs and his health was the greatest he got really sick and the snow didn't help either.
"Thirteen Presents"- Since Max was sick and pretty much in a coma and also missing out on everything Liesel experienced she decided to bring him something she found while out and about that day. Liesel found 13 things all together.
"Fresh Air, an Old Nightmare, and What to do With a Jewish Corpse"- In the beginning of this book Liesel and Rudy decided to steal from the mayor's house again but this time it came naturally to Liesel and stole another book with complete ease. The "Old Nightmare" part of this was the recurring nightmare Liesel had of her late brother who had died on the train on the way to the Hubermann's home in the beginning of the book. This time she dreamt that it wasn't her brother she saw but Max. And the final part "What to do with a Jewish Corpse" was Rosa and Hans figuring out what to do with Max's body if he died, since he was a Jew.
"Death's Diary: Cologne"- This chapter was Death reliving what happened in this part of Germany at the time.
"The Visitor"- Because of the war the NSDAP goes through towns and looks for bomb shelters. Liesel knows they are going to come to her house so she injures herself so she can warn her father that they are coming. They have to hide Max and everything turns out okay.
"The Schmunzeler"- Rudy comes to check on Liesel after she gets injured and gets Liesel all worked up about stealing because he tells her she reeks and she's all jittery and paranoid.
"Death's Diary: The Parisians"- Death was narrating what it was like to pick all the jews up when they die and how he wants to forget it.

The big and main conflict in this part of the book is the Hubermanns against all of Hitler Germany because they are hiding a Jew in their basement. The Hubermanns are also really powerful because they are hiding Max.

Part 5 re-cap

It seemed like this part went by fast. "The Floating Book (Part 1)"- Was the beginning of a very interesting thought process by yours truly. I knew this chapter was the beginning of another. "The Gamblers (A Seven-Sided Die)"- This chapter was rather long compared to others. The first few pages of the chapter was telling about Liesel giving Max a haircut. It went on to talk about Liesel finding empty cross words on newspapers and giving them to Max to read and to do the crosswords. It goes on... Max has a new dream and in this he's dreaming of beating Hitler at boxing even though is Max against everyone else cause as you may know he is a jew. Towards the ending of this chapter the mayor and his wife fire Rosa because times are getting rough. "Rudy's Youth"- Because Rudy and Liesel live on Himmel Street, they have it pretty bad. That street is considered the "ghetto", if you wanna call it that, of Molching. Rudy is also known for his stupidity and lack of common sense which gets him in trouble an awful lot. "The Losers"- Liesel and Rudy go back to stealing whatever food they can get. Their "gang" of thieves gets a new leader who is what you call, maybe, a Hitler wanna-be. Again because of Rudy's stupidness he gets beat up and Liesel and Rudy are "the losers" compared to everyone else. "Sketches"- Max paints his "Mein Kemph" book and decides to write a story; that's what the chapter title is about. "The Whistler and the Shoes"- So as you know Liesel loves reading books and does whatever to get them. When the mayor and his wife had to fire Rosa from doing their washing, Rosa gave Liesel the book "The Whistler" as a pity present. Liesel wouldn't take it so she decided she was gunna steal it. She stole it successfully but Rudy left her shoes at the mayor's house so they had to go back and get them. "3 Acts of Stupidity by Rudy Steiner"- Here they are: 1. Stole the biggest potato from Mamer's, the local grocer. 2. Taking on Franz Deutscher on Munich Street. Skipping the Hitler Youth meetings altogether. It is 9:34 PM and time for me to put my computer to rest for the night so I am going to leave that chapter hanging so I leave this blog suspenseful...DUN DUN DUN! lol :) The final chapter to part 5 is "The Floating Book (Part 2)"- "The Floating Book is about Rudy rescuing Liesel's book "The Whistler" from the river because Franz Deutscher threw it in there. This chapter ended really weird to me and I'm slightly confused but I can't really finish reading on account I need to go to bed but I can't wait to find out and will be posting soon.

I believe at this point Liesel is feeling a little powerful because she does have a VERY powerful secret because she has a jew hidden in her basement. I also believe Liesel doesn't realize the power she really has. She continues to steal books which makes her feel powerful as well.

Part 4 re-cap of "The Book Thief"

The first chapter "The Accordionist" (The Secret Life of Hans Hubermann): This chapter was mostly about some of Hans life in war. It talked about his best friend, Erik Vandenburg, who ended up saving Hans' life without even knowing he did. "A Good Girl": This chapter goes on about the guy, Max, who showed up on the Hubermann's door. The chapter title is when Hans tells the stranger that Liesel is a "good girl". "A Short Story of the Jewish Fist Fighter": This chapter was about Max's childhood of street fighting. It also talked a little about his process of getting to the Hubermann's house. "The Wrath of Rosa": Rosa Hubermann found Max and Hans at the table. Liesel overheard them all talking and walked out to find Mama and Papa with very worried looks on their faces. Liesel didn't understand what was going on. "Liesel's Lecture": Hans told Liesel about Max and Erik and told her if she told ANYONE about Max they would ALL be in BIG trouble. "The Sleeper": Max ended up sleeping for 3 days straight. When he slept he had nightmares like Liesel does. "The Swapping of Nightmares": This chapter started out a little weird to me. Liesel and Max both had a tough time getting to the Hubermanns. At this point Liesel and Max doesn't realize they have so much in common. Max has dreams like Liesel does and they tell each other about them; that's what the title is about. The last chapter of Part 4 "Pages from the Basement": Max wrote and made a book for Liesel for her birthday because he didn't have something for her for her actual birthday. I believe this chapter is the beginning of a good friendship between Liesel and Max.

In this part of the book it seems like Liesel is very confused. She's confused because, first of all she is only 12 so she doesn't know and understand the whole Hitler thing.

Part 3 re-cap of "The Book Thief"

In the first chapter of part three Hans found Liesel's third book she had stolen, "The Shoulder Shrug" and bought himself "Mein Kampf" the book written by Hitler himself. The second chapter, "The Mayor's Library", was about Liesel finding out that the mayor's house had a room just full of books. In the third chapter, "Enter the Struggler", you meet Max who is a Jew that is hiding and continues on his journey to find safety. In the fourth chapter, "The Attributes of Summer", in the beginning of the chapter it showed the attributes of the summer of 1940 which were: 1) advancing farther into "The Shoulder Shrug" 2) reading books at the mayor's house 3) playing soccer on Himmel Street and finally 4) the seizure of a different stealing opportunity. Later on into the chapter Liesel finds out that the mayor and his wife had a son that died, who was the owner of all the books. The final attribute of the summer was yet another stealing opportunity but this time it was for food. Liesel and Rudy met Authur Berg who helped them steal apples. The next chapter, "The Aryan Shopkeeper" is about Liesel and Rudy finding a pfenning on the ground which is money like a coin. They used the coin to buy a piece of candy. The next chapter, "The Struggler, Continued", is continuing on Max Vandenburg's Journey to safe keeping. "Tricksters" is about more of Liesel and Rudy's thievery and trickery. They steal some more food and end up selling it for more candy. The final chapter of part three is "The Struggler, Concluded" is where Max ends up which is at the Hubbermans.

This book is getting really good. I'm starting to understand it a little more. I think Liesel is feeling pretty powerful at this point because she's stealing more and more. I believe Liesel feels most powerful when she gets away with stealing.

Part 2 re-cap of "The Book Thief"

The first chapter of Part 2 of "The Book Thief" kind of summarizes what the next few chapters are about and tells readers that Liesel Meminger has become a girl of darkness and asks the questions why, what was there to be angry about, and what happened in the past four or five months to culminate such a feeling? The second chapter is called "The Joy of Cigarettes". The joy of cigarettes is about her father, Hans, selling some of his cigarettes to buy her a couple books for Christmas. The second chapter, "The Town Walker", talked a little about Liesel and her mother, Rosa, having to get laundry from people around their town because they do people's laundry for money. The third chapter, "Dead Letters", is all about Liesel sending letters to her biological mother and getting no response or anything. "Hitlers Birthday, 1940", the fourth chapter, talks a little about the struggle Hans has with his biological son Hans Jr. Hans Jr ends up leaving in anger from his parents house because of a conflict with his father. "100 Percent Pure German Sweat", doesn't really have a real purpose to me; I didn't understand it. The next chapter, "The Gates of Thievery", tells about how Liesel says she hates Hitler and even though her foster father, Hans, isn't part of the Hitler party he slaps her because if you are part of the Hitler Youth you are not supposed to say anything like that. She then realizes what it takes to steal more productively which opens the gates for more thievery. The last chapter of Part 2 is called "Book of Fire". "Book of Fire" is about her stealing her fourth book "The Shoulder Struggle".

I believe this book is all about the power struggle because everyone so far is struggling to make everything work. Most of the people in the book so far do not have much money. Liesel's foster mother, Rosa, is definitely the head of the household. I believe, Hans, Liesel's father, has a very hard time trying to assert his authority when Rosa is around. To have any power or authority in the town they live in they really should be part of the Hitler party and Hans is not so I believe he has a hard time being powerful because of that.

A small conflict that I am seeing right now is the conflict Hans Hubermann is having in becoming part of the Nazi Party. I'm not quite sure what he has done to not be a part of it but he is having a very difficult time joining the party.

So far I am enjoying this book. It keeps me interested. I'm not quite sure how the book relates to the class. I do realize there is some power struggle but I haven't quite figured it out. Liesel is struggling to figure out who she is and seems to be having not the best of time. I guess I'll keep reading and figure it all out.

Part 1 re-cap of "The Book Thief"

So far "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak is about this girl Liesel Meminger who just lost her brother. Her mother sent her to a foster home where her "new" mother cusses all the time and her father doesn't seem to care about much. They send her to school where she is not up to par with the rest of the children. She meets Rudy Steiner and so far they have become good friends. Towards the end of what I've read so far her foster dad has somewhat taught her to read.

The genre of "The Book Thief" is historical fiction. It fits this genre because one of the book's settings is during the Holocaust. It's fiction because this never really happened.

The main point of view in this book is death's point of view. Death narrates this whole book. Having death as the narrator causes it to have a very interesting point of view. It kinda gives death life. It shows death as being intelligent and thoughtful. Some facts are revealed immediately while others are given throughout the story. The author chose to tell the story this way because the Holocaust was pretty much all death.

Rising Action: Liesel's brother died and after his funeral she found a book that one of the grave digger's had dropped called "The Grave Digger's Handbook".
Climax: Once she was in school while living with her foster parents she realized she couldn't read or do anything like the other kids could.
Falling Actions: She asked her foster dad to teach her how to read "The Grave Digger's Handbook".
Resolution: Every possible night her foster dad teaches her how to read as best as he can.

The conflict in this book right now is Liesel vs. herself. She constantly reads books or tries to because she is trying to find out who she is. She's trying to deal with the issues she has with the death of her brother and her runaway mother.
Liesel Meminger is the protagonist of the story. She is a young, tomboy-ish girl about to reach her adolescent years.
Hans Hubermann is Liesel's foster father. He doesn't believe in the Nazi way and wants nothing to do with them. He has silver eyes and is a very tall man. He also plays the accordion.
Rosa Hubermann is Liesel's foster mother. She is a very foul-mouthed woman.
Rudy Steiner is Liesel's best friend and neighbor. Rudy doesn't hide the fact that he loves Liesel.
Liesel's mother sent her to a foster home and runs away from her problems.
Liesel's brother died on the way to be taken to the foster home.

Markus Zusak's style is very unique in this book. The way he puts things is almost child-like; the way he puts little intermissions in, in various, random places. He uses words that really creates images in the reader's head. He also uses personification in a way because he gives death life. At first the book is kind of confusing but as it goes on I'm understanding it a little more.