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AUSTRALIA

NOTES FOR READING GROUPS

Markus Zusak

THE BOOK THIEF

Notes by Robyn Sheahan-Bright

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CONTENTS:

X Thematic & Plot SummaryX Writing StyleX The AuthorX Questions for DiscussionTHEMATIC & PLOT SUMMARY

Trust me, t hough, t he words were on t hei r way, and when t hey arr i ved, L iesel would holdt hem in her hands l ike t he clouds, and she would wr ing them out , l i ke the r ain. ' (p 85)

This is a novel about t he power of words which act as a conduit f or t he wri t er 's imaginationand as a haven for t he reader in t he explorat ion of our deepest emot ions and fears. I t 's aburning testament t o how word s can overcome adversit y, but also t o how t hey have in

extr eme circumstances been used to creat e fanati c hatred. I t 's about t he tr agedy of whathappens t o the hum an soul when t he power t o express or wr it e words is t aken away fr omit . I t 's about t he redempt ive and the dest ruct i ve power of knowledge and of love. I t 's aboutt he themes of deat h, hope, guilt , survival and redempti on. I t 's about t he fact t hat each andevery one of us is haunted by our capacit y for evil and our desire t o do good. I t shows thatwhil st words are an inspir ing f orce in t ranslat ing feeli ngs, and in expressing t heinexpressible, t hey can also dest roy t he very t hings we hold m ost dear t hat t hey areult imat ely one of the m ost p owerf ul for ces by which humanit y tr anscends t he physical, andat t empts to descr ibe the spir i t ual power of t he imaginat ion and the force of em ot ionalconnect ion which w e have wit h each ot her. They help us to survive and to endure t he lossof t hose who don't .

In 1939 in Nazi Germany, Liesel Meminger and her younger brother Werner are being taken

by tr ain by their m other t o l ive wit h a fost er fami ly, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, who l ive at33 Himm el St reet , Molching, out side Munich, w hen Werner dies. Death', t he narrator oft his novel, not ices Liesel f or t he f ir st t ime, and wil l encounter her again some years lat erwhen she and her best fr i end Rudy discover t he grounded enemy aircraft (pp 520-1), andlat er st i l l when a bomb f al ls on Himmel St reet (p 563). Liesel 's love affair wit h books beginsw i t h The Gravedigger's Handbookwhich she f inds by her brot her 's grave, and cont inueswit h f ourteen books in tot al (pp 30-1). Liesel i s t aken in by t he irascible Rosa and by thekindl y Hans, w ho t hough he is never not iced b y anyone, becom es Liesel's beloved p apa,whose innocuousness she is instantly aware is not a true portrait of who he is. Thef rustr at ion of t hat appearance, as you can imagine, was i t s complet e misleadance, l et 'ssay. There was most cert ainly value in hi m, and i t did not go unnot iced by Liesel Meminger. ' (p 34) The gir l knew f rom t he outset t hat he'd alw ays appear mid-scream,and that he would not leave. ' (p 38) Their child ren Hans and Trudy are grown up and l ive

elsewhere, and it is their absence in this house which Liesel fil ls, as Hans and Rosa fill theabsence in her heart.

This novel is premised on the philosophy that words and books have power. Hansteaches Liesel to read, by sharing the book she had found, and it is this which opens doorsfor Liesel and helps her t o cope wit h the t err ibl e world i n which she f inds herself . Hansgives her t wo b ooks for Christm as, The Dog Named Faust and The Lighthouse. And aft er sherescues The Shoul der Shr ugfr om t he book-burning, an act which w as observed by theMayor 's wif e, I lsa, t he lat t er shows her int o her pr ivat e l i brary of books (p 146) whereLiesel i s almost rel igious in her worship of t heir di splay, and also comes to w orship t hewords within them during her subsequent visits. Liesel discovers how words had alsorescued Hans, but I would soon learn that wor ds and wri t ing act ual ly saved his l i f e once.Or at least , w ords and a man who t aught him t he accordi on'(p 67) Lat er st i l l she learns

t hat Er ik Vandenburg had t aught him t o play in t he WWI t renches which is ironically whatbri ngs him danger duri ng WWII. For Hans's prom ise to Mrs Vandenburg t o help t he fam il y ofhis dead comrade is f inally called up' when her son Max is sent t o hide w it h t hem. Liesel 'sfury when the Mayor's wife ends her employment of Rosa as ironing lady is wounding (p

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283) and ult imat ely self -dest ruct i ve, f or she depri ves herself of her beloved books. Shesteals The Whist ler from the Mayor 's house in ret al iat i on for t he sleight, and goes on t ost eal more, before I lsa begins to leave books for her t o t ake'. Amongst t hem is adict ionary, and in Part Seven the novel is punctuat ed wit h defini t i ons of w ords indicat ingt he t antaliz ing and sl ippery nat ure of m eaning. For words can inj ure as well as heal; canobfuscate as much as reveal t rut h.

The Book Thi ef t races the gradual encroachment of Nazism on the everyday lif e of t he

Hubermanns and other ordinary families like them. It shows the in sidi ous nat ure of suchcontrol over personal freedom . I t reveals how hat red of ot hers including the Jews and t hecommunists (Komm unist en) imbued t he rhetor ic of Hit ler 's speeches in order t o incit eviolence, dest ruct ion and cruelt y. Hans's disl ike f or t he movement is cloaked in t henecessary public subservience to i ts dictat es. On t he Fhrer 's bir t hday, t hey, l i ke al l t heirneighbours, hang a f l ag in t heir wi ndow. Liesel is required t o j oin the Hit ler Youthmovement which becomes fami l iar t o her as she is expected t o don the brow n uniform andpractice her He i l H i t l e r ' (p 41). But when Hans Jnr arri ves for Chri st mas we observe howextr eme f anat ic ism can subsume a personalit y, w it h his fur i ous denouncement of his fat herfor not being a comm it t ed Nazi. He sees Hans Snr as par t of an old, decrepi t Germany one that a l l owed everyone else to t ake i t for t he proverbial r ide whi le i t s own peoplesuf fered' (p 112) and accuses him of b eing a byst ander w ho does not hing as a whole nat ioncleans out t he garbage and makes i t sel f great. ' (pp 113-4) The chill ing wor ds used here

reduce t he Holocaust t o a c l inical, domest ic solut ion f or problem s such as unemploymentand poverty. Liesel is not concerned unti l she hears the wor d Kommunist en spoken wit hsuch bile on t he Fhrer 's bir t hday (p 120) and realises t hat t he manif esto is directed at herown f amily. She begins to f ear that her let t ers t o her mot her may never be answered sinceshe is in obvious danger. When Hans confi rm s her f ear, she expresses her hat red f or t heFhrer but is admonished by Hans. (pp 124-5) His fear f or t heir safet y has led him t o t aket he safest path; t o pr ivately hat e and public ly adhere to Nazism's t enets, and later in t henovel the Hubermanns' predicament is spelled out (p 215). Later still Max fantasises aboutboxing wit h the Fhrer only t o have his v ictor y dest royed by Hit ler 's ment al manipulat ion oft he crowd w ho are spectat ors t o t he imaginary confl ic t . (p 275) This scene is a met aphorfor how Hit ler convinced an ent i re nat ion to wi l l ingly a l low or t urn a b l ind eye to humansuff ering on such a vast scale. It al so describes how t hose who t ried t o resist , l ike Hans,and Rudy's father, Alex Steiner, were recruited and made to serve as soldiers for a cause

t hey didn't bel ieve in. When they come and ask you f or one of your chi ldr en, you'resupp osed t o say yes.'(p 446)

Anti -Semit ism and Jewish resistence to persecut ion is one of t he st rands in t his story. There was, of course, t he mat t er of f or t y mi l l ion people I p icked up by the t ime t hewhole t h ing was f i n ished, but t hat 's get t ing al l metaphor ic . ' (p 121) Liesel li ves nearSchill er St reet t he road of yell ow stars and observes t he destruct ion of Jewi sh homesand their disappearance from t he neighborhood. The irony of t he sit uat ion is pointed outforcibl y: Rudy's f at her 's business wasn't doing so wel l of l at e ( t he t hreat of Jewi shcompeti t ion was t aken away, but so were t he Jewish cust omers.) ' (p 161) The essence ofJewish humour is t o laugh at adversit y in a black form of hi l ar it y. A far greater irony ispresent when Max Vandenburg is given a false identity and a copy of Mein Kampf in whicht o hide his papers and to hide b ehind when t raveling by rai l t o his new hideout . O f a l l t he

t hings t o save him.' (p 173) Later Max syst emat icall y rem oves each page and paint s over itin order t o wri t e his own st ory on the pages beginning wit h t he t ale he gives Liesel f or herbirthday. As they and their neighbours watch successive groups of Jews being herdedt hrough t he st reet s on their way to Dachau, we observe the penalt y paid by those who, l ikeHans, at t empt t o off er t o them t he smallest act of k indness. (pp 418- 423) Their fear f ort he repercussions which m ight be br ought t o bear on their own f amil i es provides a chil l ingimpetus to remain s i lent in the face of the inhumanity of anti-semit ism. The real meaningof hat red is brought home t o Liesel and Ludwig Schmeikl at t he ral ly w hen they realise thatt heir pet t y disput es in t he schoolyard were a pall id ref lect ion of t he hatred evinced by t heburning, and t heir shock amid t he chaos forces bot h t o apologise for t heir f ight. (p 122)Lat er on, however, t he human pendulum swi ngs back. How quick ly the pi t y would leaveher , and how quickly i t would spi l l over int o something else complet ely . ' (p 160)

Guilt is the terri ble burden felt by survivors who not only lament t he loss of t heir lovedones, but also the danger they inflict on others. To l ive. Liv ing was l iv i ng. The price wasgui l t , and shame.' (p 227) When Max is taken by Walter Kugler into hiding he has to

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abandon his fami ly, and t he rel ief st ruggled inside him l ike an obscenit y. I t w as somet hinghe didn't want t o feel but , none t he less, he f e l t i t wi t h such gust o i t m ade him want t ot h row up. ' (p 208) When he makes his way out of hiding to seek refuge in the Hubermanns'home, He reminded himself t hat t his was no t i me f or hope How could be show up andask people to risk their l ives for him? How could he be so selfish?'(p 183) These li nesdescr ibe t he t err ibl e di lem ma of t he persecuted, whose only hope generally l ies in r iskingt he l ives of others, and whose pain l i es in t heir m emory of t hose t hey've loved who've notsurvived. Michael Holtzapfel is one of t he many t ragic exponent s of such survival guilt ' and

his actions are evidence of the enormous pressure such people place on themselvesemot ional ly . They're t he ones I can't st and t o look at , al t hough on many occasions, I st i l l f a i l . I del iberately seek out t he colours t o keep my mind of f t hem, but now and t hen, I wi t ness t he ones who are lef t behind, crumb l ing amongst t he j i gsaw puzzle of real izat ion,despair and surpr ise. They have punctur ed heart s. They have beat en lungs. ' (p 5)

This is also a beautifully crafted tale about the growth of love in a family. Hans and Rosafi nd a second f amil y in Liesel, as she does in t hem. Despit e Rosa 's rough ext eri or she is inher heart a k ind and decent person who f eels the need t o prot ect Liesel and t hen Max. Sheis deeply aware of how hard it is for a child t o endure the secrets and the f ears of t heirexistence. Everything was good. But i t was awful t oo. ' (p 221) And she has no hesit ati on int aking in Max who is in a simi lar s ituat i on to Liesel (p 223) and becomes part of t heir fami ly ' too. This microcosm of a larger group or communit y perhaps explains how some of

t he vict i ms of t he Holocaust managed t o resist death. Liesel 's small gif t s t o Max not onlycheer his waking hours but symbolize the fact t hat f amil i al love and hope can imbue t hesimpl est of obj ects wit h the desire to l ove and survive.

Such gift giving is another theme symbolic of the gift of love. Liesel hor des t reasures' forMax wh en he i s asleep for days; h e makes books for her; Liesel r eads st ories to MrsHoltzapfel; and she gives Rudy a gift ' of a suit on Christmas 1942; Liesel continues to readt o Mrs Holt zapfel aft er t he death of her son, Robert, and also comfort s her surviv ing sonMichael: I t f eels good t o be good for something in t he af t ermath of t he snows of Stal ingrad.' (p 501) The Mayoress gives gifts of books to her which finally culminate inLiesel's act of reparation (p 503-4), and Liesel's nightmares about her brother's death leaveher f inall y after she has reconciled herself w it h her benefactor. The gif t of l i fe is t o betr easured and even more than that , the t win g i f t s of hope and of love. For t hey of fer

solace to t hose who survive suff er ing and loss and oft en appear in t heir m ost powerf ul f ormas words.

How does a writer describe the unthinkable? How does he deal wi t h loss, bet rayal,unconscionable cr uelt y, unb earable sadness and incred ibl e resilience? Zusak does it byusing the cool, worl d-weary voice of Death, t he one who can look down on all t his anddescr ibe it , alt hough even he cannot see it im part ial ly , and it 's l i t t le wonder t hat Deat h issomewhat faceti ous about a God' who can countenance all t his dest ruct i on.

For me, t he sky was t he colour of Jews. When t heir b odies had f inished scouri ng for gapsin t he door, t heir souls rose up. Their f ingernai ls had scratched at t he wood and in somecases were nai l ed int o i t by t he sheer f orce of desperat ion, and t heir spir i t s came t owardsme, int o my arms. We c l imbed out of t hose shower f aci l i t ies, ont o t he roof and up, int o

eterni t y 's cer t ain breadt h. They just kept f eeding me. Minute af t er minut e. Shower af t er shower. ' (p 372)

The power of t his descr ipt ion of such atrocit y is grounded in a poet ic expression of humansuff er ing. I t 's a prayer for t he dead; a dirge for t he l iv ing who allow ed it ; a lament f or t heircommon humanit y. Later Death descr ibes the t err ibl e events in t he snows of St alingradwhen Robert Holtzapfel died (pp 499-501) and the novel concludes with Death's resonantobservations on humanit y. I f humans have been responsible for t he most brut al of events,t hey have also survived t hem and t his dual capacit y provides a source of wonder t o everywri t er, everywhere. The movement of hi st ory is l ike a t ide which scoops up people, someearly and some lat er in l i f e, and w ashes t hem away leaving the survivors t o tel l t heirst or ies, and t o regret t heir loss. We are al l survivors in one way or another. But we w il l al ldie, of course, as well .

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WRITING STYLE

1. The genius of t his book is t o use t he Omniscient narration of t he voice of Deat h whichallows him' t o descr ibe any event or person he chooses t o, even af t er t hey've ceased t oplay a role in the narrat ive of Liesel 's love affair w it h books. Wit hin t his metafictional styleof narrat ion ( A st ory . St ory af t er st ory . St ory wi th in story.'(p 74)) , he uses particulartechniques:

1. a) The narrator em ploys a combination of t hird and second person to m ake hisconnect ion wi th t he reader even more int im ate. eg I could int roduce mysel f proper ly , but i t 's not real l y necessary. You wi l l know m e wel l enough'(p 4)

1. b) This novel is interspersed w it h v ignett es or stor ies told by Death descr ibing t he f atesof var ious people aft er t hey walk out of Liesel 's l i f e. eg Arthur Berg (p 180). Death's role asdirect or of each indiv idual 's fat e is c lear eg Soon I wi l l c lap t hem t oget her. Just give me af ew pages.' (p 182)

1. c) The narrator has t he abil i t y t o tease, or i n some cases prepare t he reader wit h advance noti ce' of events which haven't yet happened in t he narrat ive (eg Rudy's death

predict ed p 262), and is t hus ables to subvert and play wit h t he tr adit i onal sequentialnarrat ive:

Five hundred souls.I carr i ed t hem in my f ingers, l ike sui t cases. Or I 'd t hrow t hem over my shoulder. I t w asonly t he chi l dren I carr i ed in my arms.' (p 359)

This t echnique allow s a ref lect ive engagement wi t h the reader:

Of course, I 'm being rude. I 'm spoi l ing the ending, not only of t he ent i r e book, but of t h is part icular pi ece of i t . I have given you tw o events in advance, because I don't have muchint erest in bui l ding myst ery. Myst ery bores me. It chores me.' (p 263)

Discuss narrat ion i n t his work.

2. All wr it ers are book thieves' for they discover secreti ve tactics for undermining thereader's capacit y to interpret a narrat ive, and steal int o their heart s wit h theirexpression and style. Zusak's way with words is singularly inventive, since he usesfigures of speech in a totally original, cryptic and poetic manner . eg When the t r a inpulled int o t he Bahnhof in Munich , t he passengers sl id out as if fr om a t orn package. ' (p25) Rosa looked l ike a smal l w ardrobe wi t h a coat t hrown over i t . ' (p 28) Burning wordswere t orn f r om t hei r sentences. ' (p 121) Bir ds above did l aps. ' (p 121) Rudybarel y able t ocontain a grin. It ran across his face l ike a skid.' (p 175) The town hal l s tood l ike a giant ,ham-f ist ed yout h, t oo big for h i s age. ' (p 183) There wer e no people on t he st reet anymore. They were r umours carr ying bags. ' (p 410) They were going t o Dachau , t oconcentrate. ' (p 415) Faces l ike ghost towns.'(p 443) Did you noti ce a part icular l y

evocat ive piece of w rit ing l ike these?

3. Setting is part icular ly resonantl y evoked by oft en ascr ibing emot ions' to a place. eg The house was pale, alm ost sickly- looking, wi t h an i ron gate and a brow n spi t -st aineddoor . ' (p 184) What impr ession does this give t he reader of t he atm osphere on Himm elStreet? Read the description of Molching and Liesel's arrival on Himmel Street (pp 26-27).What t echniques does t he writ er use t o create a picture of t his place?

4. Th e humour in t his novel has an edge of darkness (underst andably since it is narrat edby Death! ) , and despit e t he fact t hat i t is largely seen thr ough German eyes, i t is alsocoloured by the dist inct i ve tone of Jewish humour . How do you t el l i f somet hing's al ive?You check for breathi ng. ' (p 39) When Rosa is at her bleakest c lut ching the accordion aft erHans has lef t , Liesel hears her snorin g: Who needs bel low s, she t hought, when you've got a

pair of lungs l ike t hat ?' (p 458) I t k i l l s me somet imes, how people die. ' (p 494) Did you findt his novel amusing? Discuss sequences where you appre ciat ed t he black hum our at wor k.

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5. Several graphic and suggest ive pieces are included (pp 244 -256, pp 301-2, and pp 474-480) which are st or ies' wr i t t en and i l lustrat ed by Max. What di d you make of t hese pieces?Compare t hem t o t he st y le of w ork found in Antoine de Saint Exupry 's The Li t t le Pri nce.

6. This tex t is redolent wi t h symbolism and metaphor. For example, the books Lieselsteals have tit les which relate to the themes. Several passages suggest that words are amet aphor for act ion, f or histor y, and for human endeavour. e.g. Those who r emainedwer e f i r i ng into t he blank pages in f ront of t hem. Thr ee languages int erw ove. The Russian,

t he bul lets , the German. ' (p 499) Discuss predom inant symbol s and m et aphors.

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THE AUTHOR

Markus Zusak was born in 1975. His wor k is publi shed in t he USA, UK and thr oughoutEurope. He lives in Sydney. His children's books include the award-winning trilogy Th eUnderdog, Fight ing Ruben Wolf eand When Dogs Cry, and hi s book The Messenger at t rac teda cr ossover audience.

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. The impoverished always t ry t o keep moving, as i f relocat ing might hel p. They ignoret he real i t y that a new version of t he same problem wi l l be wai t ing at t he end of t he t r ip t he relat ive you cr inge to kiss. ' (p 25) Discuss.

2. Rosa Hubermann seems unlovabl e (p 35) and yet she has a lot of l ove t o give, and was agood wom an for a cr isis. ' (p 230) Are seemingly angry people s imply pr otect ing t hemselvesfrom the hurt which inevitably lies in human relationships? Discuss.

3. Is t here cowardice in t he acknowledgement of f ear? Is t here cowardice in being gladt hat you l ived?' (p 115) Death wri t es: I 've seen so many young men over t he years whot hink t hey're runni ng at ot her young men. They are not . They're runni ng at me.' (p 189)Those who survive war may be t hose who, l ike Hans, do not invit e Death's att enti on. Thedescrip t ion of his service i n WWI (p 188) suggest s t hat Hans had a gift for rem ainingincognit o, but ideas of cowardi ce and bravery are very ambiguous. Is i t a gif t ' to escapet he att enti on of death? Are young men who r isk their l ives in bat t l e, or i n boxing r ings, orat t he w heels of cars, br ave or f oolish? Zusak's child ren's books have also mast erf ull yexplored noti ons of m asculinit y and courage in obliquely poet ic and sparely wri t t en

narrat ives. Is being a m an' a met aphor f or courage, or of fool hardin ess? Discuss.

4. How ordi nary people t olerated t he excesses of Nazism i s i l l ust rated by t he point s madeby Alex St einer (pp 61-2). Such movement s prey on insecurit ies, on fear of unemploymentand loss of l ivel ihood, of poverty, and of not being able to support one's fami ly. There wasan i tch in his hear t , but he made i t a point not t o scrat ch i t . He was afraid of w hat mi ght come leaking out . ' (p 62) Later t he narrator explains that i t would al l have come tonot hing had t he Germans not l oved one part icular activ i t y t o burn. ' (p 90) Compare t hist o global and Aust ral ian tol erat i on of atrocit ies t oday.

5. I guess humans l ike t o wat ch a l i t t le dest ruct ion. Sandcast les, h ouses of cards, t hat 'swhere they begin. Their great ski l l is their capaci ty to escalate. ' (p 118) The noveldescribes Rudy Steiner: In years t o come he would be a giver of br ead, not a st ealer

proof again of t he cont radict ory human being. So much good, so much evi l . Just addwa te r . ' (p 178) Is t he capacit y for v iolence a nast y st reak in al l of us?

6. Music, in the form of Liesel's papa's accordion, is like words, symbolic here of spiritualst rength. Reading this book might r emind you of how ot her popular cult ural f orms such asf i lm are oft en resonant w it h simi lar ideas. eg. The movie The Sound of Music ' is nowalmost a c l ich but wat ching it invar iably remi nds you of t he power of m usic t o tr anscendundercurrents of fear and to symbolise hope and unity. Discuss.

7. Surviv ing l i f e is a mixtur e of t he prosaic and t he sublim e. The spir i t sust ains us, b ut t hebody must be given due credit as well . For example, even when discussing the unt hinkable t he deat h of Max whom t he y'v e each come t o lov e the Huber manns m ust al so wor ryabout t he realit y of that death t he smell of a corpse and the dif f icult y of hiding it , and

when t hey eat, t hey realize guilt i ly t hat hi s i l lness has given them more sust enance. (p 352)Zusak's pict ure of survival is visceral and real, rather t han being romantic ized, as it oft en isin Hollywood ' int erpret at ions. Discuss t he manner in which t he realit y of war and it s mundanit y ' is presented i n The Book Thief.

8. I 'm sorry ' are words which punct uate some of t he key events in t his novel, such as t herally (p 122), or when Ilsa tells Liesel about her son Johann being killed in WWI (pp 158-9).These words have particular resonance in Australian society for the government's refusal toshare t he mut ual guilt of the past . Discuss.

9. The Jewi sh Holocaust is an event which has been the subj ect of count less f i ct i onal andnon-f ict ional works. You may wi sh t o read other s and discuss and compare t hem t o t hisnovel. eg. D.M. Thom as's The White Hotel is another m onument al work, as is Thomas

Keneally's Schin dl er 's List or Wil l iam St yron's Sophie's Choice. The Diar y of Anne Frank i s anon-f ict ion w ork whi ch has also achieved widespread recognit ion.

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10. This novel is obviously based (in part ) on t he exper iences of Markus Zusak's own f amil yand on his research, since h e l ists some of his sources in Acknowledgmentsat the beginningof the book. One of them is the Sydney Jewish Museum available atht t p: / / www .sydney jewi shmuseum.com.au/ [Accessed 2 Oct ober 2005]/ Informat ionincluded on it s website includes the fact t hat 70 of t heir 90 volunteer guides are Holocaustsurvivor s whose st ories are t old in t he Museum. Do some r esearch of your ow n and di scussi t in re lat ion t o the contents of t h is novel .

11. One of t he unsett l ing aspects of t he post -Holocaust era has been t he est ablishment notonly of museums and memori als but of a tour ist industry whi ch invites what somet imesbecomes an alm ost voyeurist ic observation. Even when visit ing t he w ebsit e f or t he SydneyJewish Museum, f or example, one is st art l ed by the t one of t he entry:

Buy your Rosh Hashanah Gif t s & Cards at t he Sydney Jewi sh Museum Gif t ShopFor al l your special gi f t s f or barm it zvah, bat mit zvah, w eddings, engagements, bir t hdays ort he welcome the arr ival of a baby to t he fami ly .Kosher Caf serving l i ght lu nches, snacks, cof f ee and dri nks.

How can we hope t o appreciate such human suff er ing from t he posit ion of a relat ivelyaff luent and consumerist societ y?

12. The cover is a signif icant part of any publi shed work, since it has t o provide amet aphorical and art ist ic v isual summary of t he work 's t hemes, and t o market t he book byappealing to a w ide range of readers. Examine t he art work i ncluding image, design,t ypography, and blurb, and discuss t heir relat ionship t o the t hemes of t he work, and t heirappeal. Tit les of books are signif icant t oo, f or t hey also have t o poeticall y evoke t he work 'sideas. What other t i t les might t his have had? Most of t he t i t les of t he books which Lieselreads could also have been t he t i t le of t his work. eg The Gravedigger's Handbook . Putt oget her t hey might provide a word game in them selves. eg The Word Shaker, TheShoulder Shrug. Are t hey possibl y plays on words' wi t h ot her associat ions? What p ossibl emeanings might you make of t he words The Book Thief?Discuss.

13. Guilt is one of the key themes in t his novel; t he terr ible burden t hat people whosurvive feel w hen they know ot hers have not been so fort unate. The children of survivors

also fe el t his pain. E.g. Lily Bret t 's novels such as You Gott a Have Ball sare al l imbued wit ht he neurot ic shadow cast by parent s on t heir chil dren, for t hey t oo are survivors. Discuss.

14. Punishment for a moral transgression must always be made personal for people toreally f ear i t . Hans warns Liesel not t o reveal t hat t hey are harboring a Jew, by threat eningt o t ake those t hings which are m ost precious t o her. (pp 219-221) This is a met aphor fort he need t o always f eel ' the consequences of a cr imet o feel ' ot her people's pain. Is ouraff luent society insensit ive to ot her cult ures and their pain?

15. What great mal ice there could be in al lowing something t o l i ve. ' (p 270) Is t he fe ar ofdeath t he worst t hing we can endure?

16. I t w as a nati on of f armed t houghts our Fhrer also plant ed seeds t o createsymbols.' (p 475) Max's st ory suggest s t hat Hi t ler 's power lay in t he wor ds he plant ed.Compare t his t o the r hetor i c used by government s t oday. Are we equally manipulat ed by t he pow ers that be'? Discuss.

17. Chance' in life is an aspect of this work which was also reflected in Zusak's Th eMessenger. The human heart is a l ine, w hereas my own is a cir c le, and I have t he endlessabi l i t y to be in the r i gh t p lace at t he r i gh t t ime. ' (p 522) When Death writes: One wi ldcardwas yet t o be played' (p 201) he is suggesting that life is made up of random and yetsignif icant connect ions which of t en ret urn t o haunt us and alt er t he course of a seeminglypre-determined destiny. The chapter headed The Gamblers (A Seven-sided Dice)' (p 263 -287) describes how a series of seven random events create both pressure and vitality inLiesel's lif e. When Hans gives up his seat t o Reinhol d Zucker i t saves his lif e and lead s t o hisdischarge t o home dut ies (pp 506-7). When Alex St einer goes t o war in ref using to al low his

son Rudy to at t end a special school for el i t e st udents, he unwit t ingly contr ibut es t oanother cat ast rophic loss. Is chance more t o be f eared t han the cert aint ies in our l ives?

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18. The central question asked here (which has been asked in countless other great worksof l i t erature) i s how hum an beings have been capable of such brutal i t y and also havet ranscended suff er ing wit h acts of ext raordinary love and courage. Some w ould credit God(or other r el igious f i gures) wit h t his dual power, but t his novel places responsibi l i t y f irm lywit h men and women, and marvels at t heir goodness, t heir f ra i l t y , and their pot ent ia l f orevil . Death writes that I am haunted by humans' . (p 584) We are al l haunted by thi sdualit y, and our imaginations and emoti onal connecti ons wit h each other are our onlysaviour. Discuss.

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THE BOOK THIEF

Markus ZusakPicador Australia

Trade paperback - ISBN: 033036426X

These Notes may be printed or viewed for your own private, non-commercial use.This material is copyright and may not be repackaged, resold or posted electronically on

networks wit hout pr ior wri tt en permission fr om Pan Macmillan Austr alia

Pan Macmil lan Austral i aLevel 18, St Mart in s Tower31 Market Street,Sydney NSW 2000

www.panmacmi l lan .com.au

2005 Pan Macmillan Australia