Perspectives
‘The Book Thief’ opens with a shockingly mundane statement – ‘Here is a small fact: You are going to die.’ And the crux lies not so much in the statement but in who says it. Of all the aspects that make a book impactful, the perspective in which the book is presented to the readers is perhaps the most powerful. Here, The Book Thief stands apart and offers a unique perspective through its narration by Death. The simple, lucid and flowing language is given to the musings of Death.
Further, we are also all too familiar with the portrayal of WWII and the Holocaust through the Jew perspective. Dozens have written about first-hand or vicarious accounts of the Jew experience during the Nazi era, the ravaging whirlwind that tumbled their world upside down, and the hardships they faced. But have you ever imagined what an alternative German narrative looks like? One which does not believe in the loyalty of ‘Heil Hitler’? One which expresses solidarity with the Jews? One which faces the brunt of the war likewise?
The Book Thief tells the tale of one such household and neighbourhood – an island providing a haven to a Jew in a Nazi world. As the family hides this dangerous secret, it is the perspective of a nine-year-old girl, whose life and shenanigans the story follows, that keeps us glued to the book. We see life through a child’s lens, the war ageing with her. We feel the huge impact of the war on a child’s life, as she navigates through love, loss, and quite a lot of thievery. The intersectionality of divergent perspectives weaves a story befitting to enable one to mull over human life in its various forms.
What makes the book special is the language. Refreshing phrases of synaesthesia are splattered across every page. Beautiful allegories of the most mundane daily things give defamiliarization a new angle. Bunches of words are arranged in such a way that it compels you to immediately pick a pencil and mark them. Beautiful words. Ugly words that tear your soul apart. Words that make you grieve for people you never knew. Words that make you meet sorrow.
Characters
Set in the poorer Himmel (ironically, heaven) Street in the fictional town of Molching, Munich, Germany, during the era of WWII, the story is centred around a small girl, Liesel Meminger, and her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Grappling with the death of her younger brother, nine-year-old Liesel lands on the doorstep of the Hubermanns one frosty morning and slowly assimilates into their lives, becoming one of their own. Rosa’s love flows in the form of torrents of liberal German swearing and all too frequent beatings, but within the tough exterior lies a soft woman who loves both Liesel and Hans deeply.
It is Hans that Liesel develops a close bond with. Markus Zusak truly does justice to the most delicate and heartful aspects of the father-daughter relationship as it is through Hans that Liesel learns to look beyond religious barriers and embrace empathy and kindness, even if it comes at the cost of danger to life. Hans also opens up a new world for Liesel, away from the war-fraught realities, and shows her the magic and beauty of music and words. Life is relatively normal until a Jewish stranger comes into their lives and household. To keep a long-lost promise made to a friend in a world that was less polarised by hatred, Hans Hubermann does what the average German could never dream of – giving refuge to a Jew. And Max Vandenberg enters Liesel’s life. Thus begins a unique bond and unlikely friendship, transcending the disparities of age and religion. Liesel and Max both have a history of loss and tide slowly over their traumas by sharing their dreams, books, words and worlds.
Another character that also catches attention is Rudy Steiner, the boy next door, and Liesel’s best friend. A fiery boy, unfazed by bullying and always up for a fight, he is a faithful accomplice in Liesel’s thievery. It is with him that Liesel experiences unborn saplings of what love could have been, until disaster strikes and takes him away from her forever. Among the other characters that influence Liesel’s life, Frau Holtzapfel of the neighbourhood and the mayor’s wife forge an unusual relationship with her, bound by books in one way or the other.
Themes
War
The entire story is based on the context of WWII. The book provides us with a profound experience of how war can shape, mould and transform people to unimaginable degrees. The Book Thief gives us poignant reminders of the truncated lives of people in war-torn realities. It provides a window into the lives of people which crumble just like bomb-shelled buildings when the war claims civilian victims. While it lays bare in front of us the damage humans can unleash, it also assures us that hope can spring even amidst destruction. A pure friendship between a Jewish man and a German child stands witness to the fact that labels don’t define who we are, and kindness can imbue courage to counter an entire world that is against you.
Friendship
Three very unique friendships lighten up Liesel’s dreary life. One of the first friendships is with Rudy. It is the kind of childhood friendship that forms unconsciously, one in which both grow up together in mischief and penury. It is a friendship forged over muddy football, races, stolen food and books. It is a relationship where you never know when friendship transcends its boundaries and lightly steps into love. It is a friendship that Rudy carries to his grave.
Liesel’s other trusted friend is Max, who enters her life unannounced. Each one has their share of loss and trauma, and they connect over nightmares and words. Liesel gives Max an innocent, new lease on life whereas Max is a symbol for Liesel – of the thorny world outside, with its hatred, violence and hope. Max gives courage to Liesel, which urges her to look beyond the harboured notions of her times, and gives her the strength to act in solidarity with the Jews.
The friendship with the mayor’s wife is also very special to Liesel. Very little interaction takes place between them, yet it is an uncommon bond solely based on books. The vast library in the mayor’s house is where our book thief has the scope to exercise both her thievery and love for books. The mayor’s wife finds Liesel reminiscent of her little boy, who is presumably dead. Liesel is a respite for the grieving woman, who later deliberately helps Liesel to steal books from the library.
Death
The book’s narration by Death helps us gain insights through a third-person account of human life, death and all that comes in between. The observations by Death such as “I’ve seen many young men over the years who think they’re running at other men. They are not. They’re running at me.” and “It was a cool day in Molching when the war began and my workload increased.”, painfully remind us that death remains a constant companion of war. It stays with us long after the war ends, scarring us for life. The story begins with Liesel’s first encounter with death – the death of her younger brother from which she never recovers – and it ends with the last blow the war deals to her – death, again. When Max has to flee the Hubermann household, Liesel keeps searching for his face in the rows of harrowed Jews paraded through her town by the German soldiers. She wants to see his face amongst the tortured Jews, just to reassure herself that he isn’t dead. Throughout the book, Death gives the message of its inevitability, the futility of human efforts to escape it and the fragility of human life.
Special features
The emphasis on colours is a feature of the book that presents us with fresh takes on the tediousness surrounding us. The world around, the people, the places and the situations are described in terms of colours. The hues flow, adopt dynamicity and become verbs.
Symbolism, another important attribute of the book, is portrayed through mundane things like an accordion and books. Hans possesses an accordion in remembrance of an old promise and friendship; this enables Max to seek refuge from the Hubermanns. It is the accordion’s music that soothes Liesel during nightmares. When Hans is called away by the war, Rosa and Liesel cling to the accordion as a symbol of the times past, and an assurance of Hans’ safe return. At the end of the story, when the world as Liesel knows it completely crumbles, it is her papa’s broken accordion that becomes her symbol of strength, helping her rebuild her life from ashes and empty bomb shells.
Books are paramount for Liesel. She steals her first book from the graveyard where her brother lies, even though she doesn’t know to read or write. That book makes her feel closer to her brother. From then on, her journey of stealing books begins. To calm down after nightmares, Liesel and her Papa read together. When all the people from Himmel Street are hiding from bomb raids in a basement, it is Liesel’s reading that soothes anxieties. Books help Liesel bond with her dead brother, her Papa, Max, Frau Holtzapfel and the mayor’s wife. Books take her to utopias, away from the realities of poverty and war.
All in all, The Book Thief is a scintillating read, and leaves us with a chaotic goodbye, creating a lasting impact.
Edited by Amirtha Varshini V C & Garima Sane
Design by Rosello Biju K
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