The Book Theif

Liesel and Rudy sneaks into the Mayors house to discover a plate of stale cookies in the window of the mayor's library. Liesel takes the plate of cookies from the window and grabs The Last Human Stranger when she hears the sound of a door opening. Ilsa Hermann walks in and joins Liesel. Liesel ask the mayor’s wife if the library is hers and apologizes for thinking the mayor owned it when Ilsa confesses that the books belong to her and her deceased son. Liesel returns to Rudy and together they eat half of the plate of cookies and share the rest with Tommy Müller.

At this time, near Essen, Hans and the men of LSE play cards for cigarettes. Reinhold Zucker, one of the troops, gloats when he won and accuses Hans of cheating when he obtains cigarettes because of his victories. Hans is thought-well-of because when he wins, he shares some of the cigarettes to his colleges and offer to light it for them.

In January 1943, Liesel reads at Frau Holtzapfel's home to an old man who is severely injured. The wounded man tells Liesel to come back later; hours later, the old man visits Liesel at her house. The injured man is Michael, one of the Holtzapfel's sons and has recently been involved in battle. When Michael has a lit cigarette he informs Rosa of his brothers passing and that Hans Junior is alive. Death explains that Robert, Michael’s brother, died because his legs were blown off on a cold day during January in Russia. . He died in the hospital days later with his brother at his side. Liesel reads to his grieving Mother at Frau Holtzapfel's house.

Liesel imagines her deceased brother while returning the plate that held that held the stale cookies to the Mayors house. Rosa is grieving over absent of her husband, Hans, while...

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...ing.

• “Rosa with sitting with the accordion, praying. ‘Make them come back alive’ she repeated.” (p.474)

Frau Holtzapfel

• Frau is grief-stricken when she hears the news that her son, Robert, died in Russia. Due to her grief, Frau refuses to leave her home and is during an air raid.

• “The women looked up and made her decision. She didn’t move. Liesel left. She withdrew herself from the able and rushed from the house.” (p.486)

Michael Holtzapfel

• Michael comes back from war without his brother or three of his fingers. Michael tries to comfort his mother, Frau, by getting Liesel to read as asked by her.

• “Can I take the girl to read? I doubt my mother will hear it, but she said for her to come.”

Death

• He/She feels remorse for how people die. In this case Death feels sorrow for how Hans will die.

• “It kills me sometimes how people die.” (p.464)