The Book Thief Sparknotes

“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is narrated by death and begins when Liesel’s brother dies on a train with her and her mother. At her brother’s burial, she steals her first book, “The Grave Digger’s Handbook” and soon after is separated from her mother and sent to live with foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, in Molching, where the majority of the book takes place. At school, Liesel is teased because she can’t read so Hans teaches her to read when she wakes up from her frequent nightmares about her brother’s death. Hans is a painter and an accordion player and also plays the accordion for her after her nightmares. Liesel grows very close with Hans and also becomes close friends with her neighbor Rudy Steiner who constantly asks her to

kiss him which she always refuses. Liesel is required to join the Band of German Girls while Rudy must join the Hitler Youth. On the Führer’s birthday, there is a bonfire where books and enemy propaganda is burned. This is when Liesel steals her second book but she didn’t realize that the mayor’s wife, one of her mother’s clients, caught her. However, the mayor’s wife doesn’t tell and instead allows Liesel to see her own library. At this point in the book, Liesel begins to see that Hitler is responsible for her mother’s absence and her brother’s death.
The book then shifts to the life of Max Vandenburg who is a Jew that is in hiding.

Max uses Mein Kampf as a kind of cover so people wouldn’t suspect that he was a Jew and he escapes to the Hubermann’s house as Hans promised to help the Vandenburg’s if they ever needed it as he was friends with Max’s father in the war and Max’s father saved Hans’ life. Liesel is curious but also scared of Max at first but they bond over the fact that they both have nightmares, have lost their families and are both “fist-fighters” Since Max is always hiding in the basement, Liesel begins to describe the weather to him and brought him snow where they had a snowball fight and built a snowman with Hans and Rosa. Soon after, Max falls ill and she brings him 13 presents, hoping that he will wake up and reads to him every morning and night. Max also begins to share stories with Liesel and for her birthday makes her a book called “The Standover Man” which is about his life and journey. Max also begins to have daydreams where he fights Hitler and Hitler always uses his words to excite the crowd and uses them as a weapon. Liesel and Rudy also begin to steal food with a group of

boys.
Rosa Hubermann loses her washing job as many people are struggling for money to pay her with. Liesel is angry at Ilsa Hermann, the mayor’s wife, and goes to her house to steal another book, “The Whistler” from Ilsa’s library. People begin to prepare for air raids and Liesel tags along with Hans while he paints windows for homes and shops in preparation of the air raids and they even share champagne together at a client’s house. Meanwhile, Rudy is training for the HItler Youth carnival and hopes to win four gold medals like the Olympic Runner Jesse Owens. He wins 3 and gets disqualified from the fourth which he said he did on purpose. On another book stealing expedition Ilsa leaves Liesel a note saying that she can come through the door. Soon the air raids begin and Liesel reads in the basement during these raids. Parades of Jews come through town and Hans tries to help one and then realizes his mistake and sends Max off so if the Gestapo comes, they won’t find anything, however they never come and now Max is gone. Soon Hans and Alex, Rudy’s father, are sent off to war because of what Hans did and because Alex refused so send Rudy to a special school. Rosa gives Liesel a book called “The Word Shaker” which Max made for her of his stories and thoughts. Hans is soon sent home when he breaks his leg in a bus accident.
While he’s home another group of Jews march through Molching and she sees Max and runs to him but a Nazi soldier pushes her away and soon she is whipped for it and Rudy has to hold her down so she doesn’t go back.

She finally tells Rudy about Max after the incident. Liesel returns to Ilsa Hermann’s library and destroys a book because she becomes angry with how words can bring so much hate and then she writes and apology to Mrs. Hermann. Mrs. Hermann comes to Liesel’s house a few days later and gives her a journal so she can write her own story. One day while she was writing in her journal in the basement, an air raid happens and Liesel is the only survivor because she was safe in the basement. She is saved by the LSE and kisses Rudy’s dead lips and says goodbye to her Mama and Papa. She is taken by the mayor and his wife and when Alex Steiner comes back from the war, him and Liesel spend a lot of time together. Eventually, Max shows up and they have a bittersweet

reunion.
Death ends the story by explaining Liesel’s death and how she lived a long life and had grandchildren. Death shows her “The Book Thief”, which is what she called her journal and he wants to ask her questions about humans but he doesn’t and ends the book with him telling Liesel that humans haunt him.

This book was one of the best historical fiction books I’ve read, especially for this era. The narration by death made the book so much more intriguing and allowed for a wider scope of perspective even as it mostly focused on Liesel and her neighborhood. I definitely cried a lot at the end after basically her entire neighborhood died and when she got reunited with Max. This book really helped me gain perspective on Germans in World War II. Most books or movies I have seen focus on the persecution of Jews and their life in concentration camps or their struggle to survive while on the run and other related stories. Although The Book Thief definitely touched on the subject with the character Max and his hiding and running away, it also focused a lot on the Nazi Regime and the struggles going on at home for many families. It discussed the Hitler Youth and the Band of German Girls while also showing how they celebrated Hitler’s birthday with book burnings. The book’s focus on one setting narrowed down what happened to “normal” people during this time and the struggle for many to accept the Nazi Regime. Death describing the colors of the sky and Liesel describing the weather and skies to Max was really interesting to me as many of the colors he referenced like black and red represent death today and when he mentioned yellow skies, especially during the air raids, we see that as a warning. There was a lot of other symbolism and awesome imagery which really made me enjoy the book more. The character work was also incredible because going from a sort of 3rd person point of view you can see the person as they were seen, not as they see themselves which is important in a book for me. I also loved the relationship that was made between the accordion and Hans and how his breathing was represented by the “breathing” of the accordion. Something that I also loved about the book was how the chapters were organized and death’s sometimes intervening ideas which I thought were insightful and also interesting. I liked how the chapters were named after the books she stole and how each book she stole represented a different part of her life. Finally, I loved the excerpts from Max’s books to Liesel and how the book included the sketches from “The Standover Man.” Overall, the narration from death, the organization, and the vivid imagery and just the plot in general made me love this book and cry over it a lot.