The Book Thief Review

First of all what was everyone's overall impression of the book?

Claire says:

loved it

Natalie says:

I liked it. Although the ending SUCKED

Claire says:

saddest ending i have read

Andrea says:

I really liked it, sad though

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I am so sorry I never use this where do I add her, I don't see a tool bar at the top

Natalie says:

I like the WW2/Holocaust story told from the other side, usually it's from the Jewish population

Rani says:

on the main im thing

go to contacts

and add

Andrea says:

Good point, I liked that too

Rani says:

At first i wasn't sure about the perspective of the book, it weirded me out, but i ended up loving it

of course everyone dies eventually

Claire says:

i liked that death was the narrator

very unique

Rani says:

Yes it was

Andrea says:

For the first little while I kept forgetting who was talking

Natalie says:

I didn't love the perspective, but it was interesting

Claire says:

and I liked what the author said about not making him BAD

Andrea says:

Me too!!

Natalie says:

true

Rani says:

yup totally!

Claire says:

(Death bad... in the authors notes)

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

Me too

Natalie says:

so what was the thing he said to her at the end about humans? was that supposed to have some special meaning?

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

A few steps behind but I totally hated the ending

Claire says:

like that everyone died - or that there wasn't a lot of info about what she was doing in the present?

Rani says:

i read that somewhere it did, let me see if I can find....I know the ending was sad, but then again, it pulled it together having death be the narrator

Natalie says:

yeah, I wanted more info on her. For some reason I though she would end up with the Jewish guy in the basement

Andrea says:

I didn't really get the last message either.

I was sad Rudy died

Claire says:

yes - i wanted to know if she was with max too

Rani says:

ok i'm trying to find that part... i know i saw that somewhere and what he meant

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

True, I actually thought it was very cleaver how they pulled in dead

Natalie says:

ok good Rain, that was bugging me

I think she should have ended up with Max, there wasn't that much of an age difference

Andrea says:

I would have liked to have known more about how her life ended up

Natalie says:

and they had to kill off Rudy, i loved him

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

That would have been the obvious choice her together with Max

Rani says:

i know i know me too, and i died at the part she kissed him

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

At least he lived that made up a bit for Rudy dying

Natalie says:

ugghhh...so sad

Andrea says:

I would have liked the Max story line also

Claire says:

i loved that the mayors wife adopted her though

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

It was hardest for me to see him die

Natalie says:

yeah, glad that he didnt kill Max off

Claire says:

that was at least a lessening of the blow

Andrea says:

me too

Claire says:

did you guys cry out loud - or col



Andrea says:

I wish she would have kissed Rudy before he died!

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I feel like her connecting was greatest with Rudy

Rani says:

I know I wish she did too

Natalie says:

I kept thinking throughout the parts that they soldiers marched the Jews through the town..would I have done what Hans and Liesel/Rudy did? or would I have just stood by and watched

Claire says:

i didn't feel rudy as much as the author and you guys idk why.

Natalie says:

I shed a few tears Claire

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I cried as well.

Rani says:

i totally did

Andrea says:

I thought about that too Nat, I would have probably just stood there, wishing I was brave enough to do something

Claire says:

when HANS died.

that is who i loved

Rani says:

sorry if i'm distracted trying to find this part that nat was talking about

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

They were in life and death situations. I hate to say but I think I would have sat on the sidelines and I hate myself for feeling that way.

Natalie says:

it is just so hard to believe that the Holocaust happened. Seriously the most horrible atrocities committed and everyone just blindly followed Hitler

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I have been to that concentration camp. So I just had the wrost image in my mind

Andrea says:

Everytime I read anything about it, I try to wrap my mind around the hatred but I don't think I truly can grasp it

Rani says:

I know I know, I seriously can't even imagine...

Natalie says:

I know, it is uncomprehendible really

Rani says:

ok i'm going to paste first question from blog:

Discuss the symbolism of Death as the omniscient narrator of the novel. What are Death’s feelings for each victim? Describe Death’s attempt to resist Liesel. Death states, “I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both.” (p. 491) What is ugly and beautiful about Liesel, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, Max Vandenburg, Rudy

Natalie says:

I hope I would have at least hid Jews in my basement or helped in some way

Rani says:

we kind have already done the first part

Natalie says:

Rain, did you find anything about what he said at the end?

hmm..what is ugly about them? I really can't think of much

Claire says:

o off topic - but i called my husband samauch and sakraul a couple times while reading.

i loved the mom

Andrea says:

Maybe just Hitler and his followers were the ugly ones

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I think just in generanl terms

Natalie says:

haha..I hated how much they used those terms! Got annoying

I liked Rosa too though

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I had to come around to Rosa.

Rani says:

gads i'm so annoyed i can't find it now Nat, i'll keep looking.

I had to too about Rosa, but I ended up loving her

Natalie says:

ok

Rani says:

once you realized she really cared

Andrea says:

I didn't really start to love her until she was hugging the accordion

Rani says:

and i think that was what was ugly and beautiful about her

Claire says:

there really weren't any charaters i didn't end up liking - other than the nazi's

Rani says:

i think she just didn't know how to show love

right

me too

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I thought he did an amzing job on character development.

I felt attached to all of the characters.

Natalie says:

I thought the mayor's wife was interesting..wish we could have known more about her

Claire says:

i loved her too in the end

especially the image of her standing there for leisle

Rani says:

I totally agree Les... you totally fall in love with them all

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I think it was characteristic of her personality. Closed, the mayors wife

Andrea says:

I would have liked to know more about her at the end and how her relationship with Liesel grew

Natalie says:

and what the Mayor was like, if he believed in the whole Nazi thing

Andrea says:

But I agree she was a sad, closed person

Claire says:

but leisel brough out something good in her

Rani says:

Yup definitely

Claire says:

i guess leisel did that to the whole town kindof

(another thing the author says in the end if i remember right)

Andrea says:

I think he did seeing that she was wearing a bathrobe and slippers with Swastikas on them

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I got the feeling that the mayors wife was conflicted

Natalie says:

yep

Claire says:

i think she was just sad

Rani says:

ok on to question 2: What is ironic about Liesel’s obsession with stealing books?



Natalie says:

that a book ended up saving her life?

Andrea says:

I think that it was because it ended up saving her life

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

agree

Rani says:

yup i think so too

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I think I almost wished I would have died with everyone else

Natalie says:

totally

Rani says:

I know I can't imagine watching everyone you love die

Natalie says:

once again, hated the ending!!! I would have loved a happy ending Holocaust story

Andrea says:

I would have, when you walk onto the street and find everyone you loved dead, I would have wished that

Claire says:

what a HORRIBLE time and place to live

but in a way the holocaust didn't have "happy endings"

Natalie says:

I know, I just can;t even imagine

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

Not to be off topic but a REALLY good Holocaust book I read last week was Sarah's Key. You guys should read it.

Natalie says:

I know, but maybe everyone lived and she could have married Max and lived happily ever after

Claire says:

i am actually reading a book about the phycology of the victims inspired by this - and even the survivors who had the happy ending didn't you know

Rani says:

OH i heard that was good

Natalie says:

Les, I was going to tell you to read it!

Set in Paris and all..

but SOOO sad

Rani says:

WHat book is that Claire?

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

SO SAD!

But really well done

Claire says:

Man's Search for Meaning

Natalie says:

interesting

I might need a happy book next though

Claire says:

not really a fun read

more educational i guess...

Andrea says:

I have been wanting to read that one. The Hiding Place is also a good one, with a better ending. I was going to suggest it for next month but thought we could use a Holocaust break

Rani says:

This period is so interesting but so utterly depressing

ME too especially after that conference talk

Natalie says:

I agree, fascinating

Rani says:

ok next question:

How does Rudy and Liesel's friendship change and grow throughout the novel? Death says that Rudy doesn’t offer his friendship “for free.” (p. 51) What does Rudy want from Liesel? Discuss Death’s statement, “The only thing worse than a boy who hates you [is] a boy who loves you.” (p. 52) Why is it difficult for Liesel to love Rudy?

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I think he wants loyalty and his trust in her grows with time

Natalie says:

I think she cant love because the only things she has loved have been taken away..mom and brother

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I think Liesel has had few people that have truly loved her in her life and she dosen't know who to express it

Claire says:

what was wrong with the mom btw - that was my questions

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

true nat

Natalie says:

not to mention she was like 12 yrs old

Andrea says:

I think she had to learn how to love and trust, the only people she ever loved before Himmel street were no longer part of her life

Natalie says:

Mom had to give her up because her husband was a communist and the Nazis were after their family or something

Claire says:

and the mom was sick too?

Rani says:

I think she was sick

it mentioned something like that I thought

Natalie says:

I don't remember her being sick?

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I must admit the begining was a bit confussing for me.

Andrea says:

She seemed more grown up to me than 12

Claire says:

it must have been a common thing to do back then...

Natalie says:

me too, took a little while to get into the book

the death perspective was confusing and buggy for a whil

while

Rani says:

I agree, but I totally appreciate the perspective once you figured it out

so unique

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

Yes totally, I didn't figure it out till toward the end. It had to be spelled out for me.

Claire says:

i wish we knew where death took them - but I guess part of the intrigue was that we didn't know.

ugh - when he described taking hans... i just couldn't stop cryiing

Natalie says:

I know!!

Rani says:

Right, I know... I think Hans was one of my favorite characters too!

ANd I was so sad for Liesel when he died

Natalie says:

me too

Andrea says:

He made Liesel into the person she ended up being

Rani says:

totally

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

YEs

He was the family she never hed

had

Rani says:

I was so grateful for him through the whole book, she needed him

Natalie says:

was any of this based on true events Rain? Was there really a Himmel Street or a bomb?

Andrea says:

He loved her from the very beginning

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

Rosa totally stepped it up when he went to war. I was proud of her.

Claire says:

i loved rosa sitting with his accordian.

Natalie says:

and what a horrible job he had to do!

Claire says:

like it has been said - the author was SO good at making them lovable characters

Rani says:

It didn't sound like it, i mean the author grew up in Nazi germany. But I think all the characters are fictional

Andrea says:

Me too, and I thought she would totally would freak out about the Max thing but she stepped up there too

Rani says:

Although, I could see them being based on people he knew

He said that he knew there were rebels that didn't follow the jews

Claire says:

the author grew up in n. germany - i thought he was a young guy

Natalie says:

I just wonder if there were whole streets totally wiped out like that. I'm sure there were

Andrea says:

I think his parents or grandparents did

Claire says:

o

Rani says:

sorry i didn't mean that, his mother grew up in nazi germany

and she told him the stories

Natalie says:

did any of you have grandpas that fought in WW2?

Rani says:



Claire says:

2

and one reminds me of hans

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

yea, he was shot in the leg

Natalie says:

cute. Were they in Germany?

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

He was actually in Austria

Andrea says:

I did but he was in the South Pacific

Claire says:

i guess i don't know - but ross (who walked me down the isle) was SOOO the quiet love for you type

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

He was on the ski patrol

Natalie says:

I've never actually talked to someone that was over there or a survivor of the Holocaust

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

Skiing with guns

Rani says:

I haven't either, that would be so interesting

Claire says:

we should go to the holocaust museum

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

Have you guys been to the museum in DC?

Natalie says:

skiing where? Crazy

Claire says:

that the auther mentions

Rani says:

yes

Natalie says:

YES so sad

something you can really only do once

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

Somewhere in Austria

Rani says:

and to auswhitz I know i spelled that wrong

ashwitz?

Natalie says:

that is awesome Les. You should have him write his memoirs

auschwitz

Rani says:

Thanks!

Claire says:

could you imagine even living in a time where there is a leader with that much hate... i guess it does still happen like in rawanda and iraq.

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I interviewed him once but he has only talked about it a few times. It is realy painful for him.

Rani says:

I can not fathom how he came into power

Natalie says:

I know. Crazy to think that similar things go on today, especially in Africa and there's not much that we do about it

Claire says:

i read some of his biography they reference in the book - and he didn't even seem like a charismatic or smart guy... weird

Natalie says:

Hitler?

Claire says:

ya

Andrea says:

I can't imagine just believing and doing the things that he said. But so many people did

Natalie says:

I know, how did he talk everyone into believing what he did?

Rani says:

Did you guys watch Inglorious Bastards?



Natalie says:

Like that story Max wrote for Liesel...seeds of hate get planted and keep growing

YES

Rani says:

sorry that is off the book, but I was so upset

Natalie says:

loved that movie

Rani says:

me too

Natalie says:

upset?

Rani says:

so makes you hate the nazis

yes

that movie

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

I thought it was so cleaver how the author talked about the power of words and Hitler.

Rani says:

i was dying

Natalie says:

I really wish Inglorious Bastards was true and that was how it all ended

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

Should I see the movie or read the book?

Rani says:

i loved loved how the author used metaphorical language

Natalie says:

if you like Quentin Tarantino..fake over the top violence, like skinning Nazis

Rani says:

fyi the movie is super glory, but ingeniously filmed

Natalie says:

but awesome

Andrea says:

So true Les, that is how he got everyone on board. Telling them how great Germany could be

Claire says:

his short stories and his pictures that max wrote were excellent

Natalie says:

everyone should be blonde and blue eyed

Rani says:

Omg totally love those

Natalie says:

he would have loved Lola

Andrea says:

Max saw right though him

Natalie says:

what a weird reality he created in his head

Andrea says:

through

Claire says:

he wasn't even blonde and blue eyed that was what i don't get

Rani says:

I know?!!!

Natalie says:

Have you guys read The Hiding Place?

Another Holocaust story I LOVE

Rani says:

No but i want to





ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

no, should I

Andrea says:

Yes love that book!!!

Natalie says:

YES

Andrea says:

YES!!

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

Will do

Andrea says:

One of my very favorites, ends a little better

Rani says:

OK last question I have, what was the most unforgettable part of The Book Theif?

Claire says:

the end

never read a story with everyone dying i don't think

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

agree

Natalie says:

I kind of think the book Max did for Liesel. Or when she saw him in the crowd and walked with him, even after they whipped her

Claire says:

I kindof got tearyed just reviewing that natalie .... im a tender heart

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

Not including the end the image of Max walking witht the other Nazi's was hard to get out of my mind

Natalie says:

me too, got goose bumps

Rani says:

I love the irony...joy/pain admist pain and suffering and how love and hate can exist mutually...I mean I just thought the whole thing was so beautifully written

Andrea says:

I think just grasping the hatred and horrible things that so many people had to experience

Natalie says:

I agree

Rani says:

Loved the quote: I have hated the words and I have loved the words."

Natalie says:

good pick Rani!

Andrea says:

I liked that too!

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

You wonder how many conflicted people there were but just feared for their life

Claire says:

ya

i thought about that too

Rani says:

THere can be darkness, despair and hope all at the same time. I'm glad you guys liked!

Natalie says:

I just want to know what Death meant at the end!!

Andrea says:

I would like to think quite a few

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

good pick

Rani says:

I wish i could find, i don't have my book, my nephew borrowed and i had found online earlier

Andrea says:

I enjoyed!

Natalie says:

ok, post it on the blog when you find it

Rani says:

k

Claire says:

steve borrowed my copy nat

should he join the book club?

Natalie says:

Oh good!

hahaha..and Liz too

ljensen22@hotmail.com says:

This is totally fun glad I woke up for it.