The Book Thief in Depth

So I know that our presentation on The Book Thief was really lacking in information on purpose because we really didn't want to give anything away. It would spoil a great book. Here, however, I'll provide a slightly more in depth summary of the plot for those of you who are interested but would like to learn more before reading the book.

The Book Thief, as we said, follows the life of a young girl, Liesel Meminger, who grows up in Nazi Germany. I believe the book takes place between ages 8 and 15 for Liesel. She is sent to a foster family to get a second chance because her mother was a Communist. Being a Communist was frowned upon almost as much as being a Jew in Nazi Germany. So Liesel is sent to the Hubermanns to be taken care of, Hans and Rosa. She quickly grows used to her new home and makes lots of friends, including her best friend, Rudy Steiner.

As the book progresses, we learn more about how Hans is not a member of the Nazi party and does not support their agenda. He does, however, apply for membership to help his business (he paints houses for a living, and most people will not let him paint their houses if he is not a member). Liesel soon discovers that while it's perfectly OK to act one way at home, that way of life must remain totally separate from the outside world.

Eventually, a new person enters into the life of the Hubermanns: Max Vandenburg. Max is a Jew and the son of a war companion of Hans. This war companion, Erik Vandenburg, saved Hans' life, and Hans offered to repay his friend's wife by offering to help her anytime she needed it. 20 years later, her son, Max, is sent to live with the Hubermanns to escape the terror of the Nazis. Liesel forms a close friendship with this man, and they spend long periods of time talking to each other, about their histories and the nightmares they both experience on a nightly basis.

In the meantime, Liesel also forms a friendship with the mayor's wife, Ilsa Hermann, who caught Liesel stealing a book from a book burning. Ilsa understands Liesel's love for reading, and invites her to read anytime she is in the neighborhood.

Later, Hans is caught giving bread to a Jew while a procession is going through Munich Street, the main street running through Molching, where the Hubermanns live. Hans realizes that he has committed a grave error in the eyes of the law, and he is forced to send Max away. But the Nazis never come to search the house for a Jew. Instead, they grant him membership into the Nazi party, whereupon they send him off to war. He is put into a special unit called the LSE, which is really a unit for cleaning up the towns after air raids, but has earned itself a nickname which is translated from German to mean "Dead Body Collectors." This is the experience that brings the war closer to the story than ever before.

And that's where I'll stop. It'll give a good point for a cliffhanger in case you ever decide to read the book.