{"id":304,"date":"2011-04-19T07:00:51","date_gmt":"2011-04-19T14:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=304"},"modified":"2011-04-17T18:01:29","modified_gmt":"2011-04-18T01:01:29","slug":"mark-reads-the-book-thief-chapters-49-52","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2011\/04\/mark-reads-the-book-thief-chapters-49-52\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Book Thief’: Chapters 49-52"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the forty-ninth through fifty-second chapters of The Book Thief<\/em>, Death continues to build the dread of the oncoming bombs certain to ruin what the Hubermanns have in 33 Himmel Street, but a new threat arrives much sooner than that, giving us one of the most tense and frightening scenes in the entire book. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Book Thief<\/em>.<\/p>\n

CH. 49: DEATH\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S DIARY: COLOGNE<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m already anxious just typing this, because I know I will have to talk about chapter fifty and it is making me so nervous<\/em>. But let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first start with another story from Death\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s perspective, this time focusing on the bombing of Cologne.<\/p>\n

Operation Millenium is represented here in the pages of The Book Thief<\/em> in a very brief form, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still contributes to the oncoming horror to this story. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of strange to me that no one aside from the Nazis are ever mentioned in this book; there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no reference to the Allies or the RAF, and it seems that the bombs are cast down from a faceless, nameless entity. I guess that in the context of this story and what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening for Death, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really all irrelevant. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re dead souls and he has to pick them up.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure Liesel Meminger was fast asleep when more than a thousand bomber planes flew toward a place known as K\u00c3\u00b6ln. For me, the result was five hundred people or thereabouts. Fifty thousand others ambled homelessly around the ghostly piles of rubble, trying to work out which way was which, and which slabs of broken home belonged to whom.<\/p>\n
Five hundred souls.<\/p>\n
I carried them in my fingers, like suitcases. Or I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d throw them over my shoulder. It was only the children I carried in my arms.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said it before, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so interesting that this is all through the perspective of Death, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even more unexpected that Death is so\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6caring? And depressed? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, I never thought about Death as an entity with thoughts and desires and feelings, man<\/em>, especially in terms of the fictional representation of him. I never personally considered Death to be a real<\/em> thing, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m fascinated by the concept. Zusak has made Death an ongoing character in this story and it sometimes feel like Death ages and grows like we do. Yes, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an absurd concept, but as we get a better picture of his experience, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m constantly impressed that Zusak was able to use Death as a narrator in this exact way. I mean, if any of you had told me that The Book Thief<\/em> was narrated by Death before I started it, I probably would have never started reading it. The concept sounds so silly!<\/p>\n
Yet this book is anything but that, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m really appreciating this experience. Plus, as I believe I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said before, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just so different<\/em> from what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve read in the past. THIS IS FUN, NOTHING HURTS.<\/p>\n
And since I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always take the chance to talk about the writing myself, chapter forty-nine has got a fine example of Zusak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talent in it:<\/p>\n
By the time I was finished, the sky was yellow, like burning newspaper. If I looked closely, I could see the words, reporting headlines, commentating on the progress of the war and so forth. How I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have loved to pull it all down, to screw up the newspaper sky and toss it away. My arms ached and I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford to burn my fingers. There was still so much work to be done.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Damning and beautiful.<\/p>\n
Death detours briefly from this sort of introspection on his part, choosing to relate the story to us of the things that begin to fall from the sky that aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/em> bombs. They fall lightly, black against the burning sky, and the local children are completely enraptured by them. Death allows himself to be momentarily distracted by this object falling in the sky:<\/p>\n
Like the girls, I remained focused on the sky. The last thing I wanted was to look down at the stranded face of my teenager. A pretty girl. Her whole death was now ahead of her.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
HOW DOES ZUSAK DO THIS. J.K. Rowling also had this talent, able to completely destroy in just a handful of words. Suzanne Collins did, to an extent, but I felt hers was more situational than her choice of diction. I kind of want to possess this talent, but then again, it can be so depressing<\/em>.<\/p>\n
The man took several small steps and soon figured out what it was. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the fuel,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What do you mean?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The fuel,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he repeated. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The tank.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He was a bald man in disrupted bedclothes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They used up all their fuel in that one and got rid of the empty container. Look, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another one over there.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The kids, not understanding the emotional and political weight these things might hold, actually ask the man if they can keep them, like stray pets wandering into a yard. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s any more significance to this story than just a chance for Zusak to give us these strange parallels (Death collecting souls, the kids collecting containers) and brutal contrasts (children joyously collecting parts of planes that tried to kill them). And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m perfectly ok with that.<\/p>\n
CH. 50: THE VISITOR<\/strong><\/p>\n
I knew it was inevitable that Max\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s existence in the Hubermann basement would have to come into a glaring conflict, but this seems so much sooner than what I expected, and I think Zusak uses that to surprise and shock us with the events of this chapter.<\/p>\n
A new ball had been found for Himmel Street soccer. That was the good news. The somewhat unsettling news was that a division of the NSDAP was heading toward them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I almost feel like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153unsettling\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is an understatement. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a stronger word than that? If the NSDAP is heading toward Himmel Street, that spells certain disaster. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already been hard enough to hide Max in the basement. Keeping up this charade with the Nazis on the same street as you? Christ.<\/p>\n
There was already a smattering of air-raid shelters in Molching, but it was decided soon after the bombing of Cologne that a few more certainly wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hurt. The NSDAP was inspecting each and every house in order to see if its basement was a good enough candidate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on the very first page of this chapter. In an instant, I could feel my pulse quicken and that nervous terror creep into my chest. HOW ARE THEY GOING TO DEAL WITH THIS??? I thought. How do you hide Max in a house that small?<\/p>\n
Liesel, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s playing soccer, finds out from Rudy that the party on the street is inspecting houses, and she freezes up in fright.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They need more air-raid shelters.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbasements?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No, attics. Of course basements. Jesus, Liesel, you really are thick, aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The ball was back.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Liesel knows that playing soccer is the least of her concerns now. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got to get home, and quick, in order to warn her family about the coming inspection. She has to do so without arousing suspicion from her friends and with a genuine distraction. Liesel takes the opportunity with the passing Nazis to run full-speed right into one of the bigger kids in the game, named Klaus Behrig, spilling forth on to the ground, skinning her knee. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s believable. Bleeding and clearly in real pain, Liesel attracts the attention of one of the NSDAP members.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in any state to keep playing, my girl,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Where do you live?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m fine,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she answered, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153really. I can make it myself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Just get off me, get off me!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s found her way out! Take it, Liesel, take it!<\/p>\n
That was when Rudy stepped in, the eternal stepper-inner. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll help you home,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. Why couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he just mind his own business for a change?<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Really,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Liesel said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just keep playing, Rudy. I can make it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No, no.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be shifted. The stubbornness of him! \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll only take a minute or two.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t had a moment of keysmashing horror in this book. Allow me to entertain the notion:<\/p>\n
;AKLDFJS \/ZJXD ;UR A;DFKLSJ Z.,X\/JDF ;SADFU A;LKDFJS ASOEIRU A;LSDKFJAF<\/strong><\/p>\n
RUDY STEINER. OH MY GOD. PLEASE LET HER GO HOME. PLEASE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Liesel, in all her brilliant improvisation, comes up with a second<\/em> plan to get home alone. Collapsing on the ground out of apparent pain, she asks Rudy to run home and get her papa. He buys it, hook, line, and sinker, running off to get Liesel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father. Tommy steps in and agrees to watch Liesel and I imagine it must have been hard for her not to break out into a grin at how this was working out directly into her favor. Oh, right, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a Jew in her basement. SHE PROBABLY HAD NO REASON TO SMILE RIGHT THEN.<\/p>\n
A minute later, Hans Hubermann was standing calmly above her.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hey, Papa.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
A disappointed smile mingled with his lips. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was wondering when this would happen.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
HE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S BOUGHT IT, TOO, COULD THIS BE A FLAWLESS VICTORY?<\/p>\n
Once inside, Liesel gave him the information. She attempted to find the middle ground between silence and despair. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Papa.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talk.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The party,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she whispered. Papa stopped. He fought the urge to open the door and look up the street. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re checking basements to make shelters.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
He set her down. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Smart girl,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, then called for Rosa.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What happens next doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need a second set of narration on my part, but I need to impart just how terrifying it all is. I read from here until the end of the chapter so quickly that I immediately went back and read it a second time, now knowing the outcome, because I was sure that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d missed something. Was this the moment Death was foreshadowing? Had Death tricked us by making us believe the bombing and death of Rudy Steiner was what future event we should focus on? I felt so terribly nervous and brimming with anxiety, and Hans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eventual plan certainly did not put me at ease either. As the Nazis knock on the door before they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve even figured out what to do, Hans rushes to the steps and yells a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153warning\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to Max, and then turn back to his family in the next room and says:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Look, there is no time for tricks. We could distract him a hundred different ways, but there is only one solution.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He eyed the door and summed up. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nothing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
That was not the answer Rosa wanted. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nothing? Are you crazy?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n
The knocking resumed.<\/p>\n
Papa was strict. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nothing. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even go down there\u00e2\u20ac\u201dnot a care in the world.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Somehow, this is both the best and worst possible thing I could have read at this moment, but what choice does anyone have? They can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t try to distract successfully, could they? So they just have to accept whatever happens.<\/p>\n
THE LONGEST THREE MINUTES
\nIN HUBERMANN HISTORY
\nPapa sat at the table. Rosa prayed
\nin the corner, mouthing the words.
\nLiesel was cooked: her knee, her chest,
\nthe muscles in her arms. I doubt any
\nof them had the audacity to consider
\nwhat they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d do if the basement was
\nappointed as a shelter. They had to
\nsurvive the inspection first<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
They try to imitate a life without a Jew hiding in the basement as best that they can, and seriously, I know they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do it well, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the best they can do for what it is. I think I took about three minutes to make it from the moment the Nazis descended into the basement to the time when the Nazi who commented on Liesel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s soccer injury bids them goodbye. Saying I breathed a sigh of relief is an understatement as well. I felt like I needed to take a nap for a week. THIS IS SO STRESSFUL<\/p>\n
They collected Liesel and made their way to the basement, removing the well-placed drop sheets and paint cans. Max Vandenburg sat beneath the steps, holding his rusty scissors like a knife. His armpits were soggy and the words fell like injuries from his mouth.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have used them,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he quietly said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He held the rusty arms flat against his forehead. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so sorry I put you through that.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Papa lit a cigarette. Rosa took the scissors.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re alive,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We all are.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
It was too late now for apologies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Amen to that. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time to appreciate life and for me to stop feeling like my heart is going to burst out of my chest. I just want each of you to know that I am writing this in a coffee shop and I just had to get up and alleviate my bladder because that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <\/em>how nervous this made me.<\/p>\n
Jesus, Zusak.<\/p>\n
CH. 51: THE SCHMUNZELER<\/strong><\/p>\n
JUST KIDDING, NOTHING IS SAFE<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Minutes later, a second knocker was at the door.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Good Lord, another one!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Worry resumed immediately.<\/p>\n
Max was covered up.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
GREAT. JUST GREAT. LULLED INTO A SENSE OF COMFORT, ONLY TO HAVE THAT IMMEDIATELY DESTROYED<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Rosa trudged up the basement steps, but when she opened the door this time, it was not the Nazis. It was none other than Rudy Steiner. He stood there, yellow-haired and good-intentioned. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just came to see how Liesel is.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
When she heard his voice, Liesel started making her way up the steps. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can deal with this one.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
OH GOD, WHAT A RELIEF. Surely Rudy is easier to deal with than the Nazis! Right?<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Her boyfriend,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Papa mentioned to the paint cans. He blew another mouthful of smoke.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He is not<\/em> my boyfriend,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Liesel countered, but she was not irritated. It was impossible after such a close call. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m only going up because Mama will be yelling out any second.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Liesel!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
She was on the fifth step. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153See?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
OH god, I never thought it would feel so good to laugh<\/em>. This fucking book, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. This book<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Rudy is his usual sarcastic and insulting self, immediately ridiculing the smell in the Hubermann household and implying that Liesel steals from her father. Given what just happened, though, Liesel is not at all in the mood to play around. She just wants to sit in her home with her Rosa and Papa and with max and enjoy the sanctity of it all.<\/p>\n
But Rudy says something here that I know is intended to be his commentary on Liesel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s growing guilt as a thief, yet I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but be immediately disturbed by the subtext of it:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never stolen anything.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes, but you reek of it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Rudy was really warming up now. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Maybe that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not cigarette smoke after all.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He leaned closer and smiled. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a criminal I can smell. You should have a bath.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He shouted back to Tommy M\u00c3\u00bcller. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hey, Tommy, you should come and have a smell of this!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I know it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not actually accurate, but all I could think was, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153OH MY GOD HE CAN SMELL MAX VANDENBURG<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And perhaps that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not actually that realistic at all, but after what just happened, everything seems like a huge risk and a chance for Max to be discovered.<\/p>\n
She started shutting the door. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Get lost, Saukerl<\/em>, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the last thing I need right now.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Very pleased with himself, Rudy made his way back to the street. At the mailbox, he seemed to remember what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d wanted to verify all along. He came back a few steps. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Alles gut, Saumensch?<\/em> The injury, I mean.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
At heart, Rudy does care about her, despite all the joking and insulting. And I had to remember that her injury, though orchestrated, gave a very real appearance.<\/p>\n
It was June. It was Germany.<\/p>\n
Things were on the verge of decay.<\/p>\n
Liesel was unaware of this. For her, the Jew in her basement had not been revealed. Her foster parents were not taken away, and she herself had contributed greatly to both of these accomplishments.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everything\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said, and she was not talking about a soccer injury of any description.<\/p>\n
She was fine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spelled out, right there on the pages, as a warning.<\/p>\n
She was fine. For now<\/em>.<\/p>\n
CH. 52: DEATH\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S DIARY: THE PARISIANS<\/strong><\/p>\n
Closing out part six of The Book Thief<\/em>, Death constantly reminds us that we are reaching a critical point in the entire story, that soon everything will come together and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll understand why he had to tell us all of this. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disturbing that the device he uses to do this is to draw out the historical situation and remind us that the world is falling apart while these small tragedies and victories happen in Molching on 33 Himmel Street.<\/p>\n
Summer came.<\/p>\n
For the book thief, everything was going nicely.<\/p>\n
For me, the sky was the color of Jews.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We only get two pages on this specific bit of insight to Death\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s activities that summer, far from the steps of the Hubermann house where he once visited and was fought against, but two pages is enough. The little we do get in chapter fifty-two is agonizing. The gas chambers are operating at a nightmarish frequency, as Zyklon B was used to terminate so many lives:<\/p>\n
When their bodies had finished scouring for gaps in the door, their souls rose up. When their fingernails had scratched at the wood and in some cases were nailed into it by the sheer force of desperation, their spirits came toward me, into my arms, and we climbed out of those shower facilities, onto the roof and up, into eternity\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certain breadth. They just kept feeding me. Minute after minute. Shower after shower.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I appreciate that this is not sugar-coated, but I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say I necessarily enjoyed<\/em> reading this. I got a bit lost in a Wikipedia hole when I tried to look up dates that corresponded with this summer during World War II and I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t last long before I had to close those tabs and walk away for a second. Again, as fucked up as some of the stuff in past books has been, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forget that the basis for what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in The Book Thief<\/em> is not imagined. It happened.<\/p>\n
God.<\/p>\n
I always say that name when I think of it.<\/p>\n
God.<\/p>\n
Twice, I speak it.<\/p>\n
I say His name in a futile attempt to understand. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not your job to understand.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s me who answers. God never answers anything. You think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the only one he never answers? \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your job is to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And I stop listening to me, because to put it bluntly, I tire me. When I start thinking like that, I become so exhausted, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the luxury of indulging fatigue. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m compelled to continue on, because although it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not true for every person on earth, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true for the vast majority\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat death waits for no man\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand if he does, he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t usually wait very long.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I mentioned many reviews ago that there seemed to be no mention of God anywhere in this book, aside from when God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name was used to curse someone else. First of all, I was surprised to read that Death is just as distant from God as we are, that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no relationship between the two, just an imagined half of a conversation. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how prayer was to me and how it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always been. I was always jealous of the people who could claim that God spoke to them in some way or that God answered their prayers, and I foolishly believed if I became a better Christian, that would happen to me, too.<\/p>\n
It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. I distinctly recall so many times I was praying and I imagined<\/em> what God might say and I imagined<\/em> that feeling of knowing I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t alone, that some being cared for me. I have no interest in determining whether or not I was lied to growing up, or whether others are imagining the other half of the conversation, too. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t concern me, and if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re speaking to God\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.well, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m one jealous atheist. I just haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever read anyone vocalizing my experience so succinctly before.<\/p>\n
Death continues on, alone and ignored by God or whomever made him Death, or simply doing what he was born into, gift or no gift, collecting the souls of the French Jews from a German prison in Poland. And he appreciates and cares for each one of those souls, desperately wishing this could all be over.<\/p>\n
But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not over. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s coming for Molching.t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the forty-ninth through fifty-second chapters of The Book Thief, Death continues to build the dread of the oncoming bombs certain to ruin what the Hubermanns have in 33 Himmel Street, but a new threat arrives much sooner than that, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[23,46,45,44],"class_list":["post-304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-book-thief","tag-mark-reads","tag-mark-reads-the-book-thief","tag-markus-zusak","tag-the-book-thief-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}