{"id":268,"date":"2011-03-25T07:00:45","date_gmt":"2011-03-25T14:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=268"},"modified":"2011-03-20T21:39:34","modified_gmt":"2011-03-21T04:39:34","slug":"mark-reads-the-book-thief-chapters-15-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2011\/03\/mark-reads-the-book-thief-chapters-15-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Book Thief’: Chapters 15-16"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of The Book Thief<\/em>, the happiness that Death spoke so highly of begins to slowly leak away as Liesel is forced to deal with the fact that she will never see her mother again. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Book Thief<\/em>.<\/p>\n

CH. 15: THE TOWN WALKER<\/strong><\/p>\n

The rot started with the washing and it rapidly increased.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Well, all that joy couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have lasted that long, right? In the next two chapters, that happiness starts to deteriorate in a way that even Hans cannot fix. At the center of it all are Liesel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s two mothers. Rosa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own acerbic attitude begins to harm Liesel more than usual, spawned mostly by the rough economic situation the family is in.<\/p>\n
When Liesel accompanied Rosa Hubermann on her deliveries across Molching, one of her customers, Ernst Vogel, informed them that he could no longer afford to have his washing and ironing done. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The times,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he excused himself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153what can I say? They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re getting harder. The war\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s making things tight.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He looked at the girl. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure you get an allowance for keeping the little one, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
To Liesel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dismay, Mama was speechless.<\/p>\n
An empty bag was at her side.<\/p>\n
Come on, Liesel.<\/p>\n
It was not said. It was pulled along, rough-handed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What I worried would become problematic starts here. Rosa takes out her frustrations with her job washing and ironing on Liesel, particularly blaming her because she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/em> get an allowance like that for taking Liesel in.<\/p>\n
That night, when Liesel had a bath, Mama scrubbed her especially hard, muttering the whole time about that Vogel Saukerl<\/em> and imitating him at two-minute intervals. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u2122You must get an allowance for the girl\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She berated Liesel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s naked chest as she scrubbed away. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not worth that <\/em>much, Saumensch<\/em>. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not making me rich, you know.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weird how much I can relate to this. I was adopted just around my first birthday. And while I have no doubts about how much my Mom loved me (or does love me right now), I distinctly remember a time in my life when my mom would say similar things to me. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s indicative of adoptive parents at all, for the record. But my mom was always<\/em> angry at something, and it was really common for her to either blame me or take that anger out on me.<\/p>\n
Rosa decides that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Liesel to help out even more with her work and assigns her to start picking up and delivering the ironing and washing all by herself. Liesel, much like I did in the same situation, is quick to learn that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best if she is entirely obedient. Feelings or protestations don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter. You do as you are told all of the time. I especially related to this part:<\/p>\n
For a moment, it appeared that her foster mother would comfort her or pat her on the shoulder.<\/p>\n
Good girl, Liesel. Good girl. Pat, pat, pat.<\/p>\n
She did no such thing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spoken of my desire for affection a few times in the past, but this is that experience spelled out: When I did exactly as I was told, and especially when I went above and beyond that, I expected this sort of welcoming affection. But I never got it. It was always anger and rage and distaste and passive-aggressive fury.<\/p>\n
WHY DO I GRAVITATE TO THE SADDEST FICTIONAL CHARACTERS EVER.<\/p>\n
Anyway, I like that Liesel at least gets to enjoy her freedom while on her daily trips of delivery, getting the chance to be free of Rosa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anger and free to explore more of her neighborhood, especially the cast of characters that live there. Of course, are any of you surprised that Death uses lists to describe these characters and that I love him for that? Because that is the least surprising thing imaginable<\/em>.<\/p>\n
School has settled down for Liesel, though it soon provides a point of conflict and pain for her when Sister Maria assigns the students a new project: to write two letters, one to a friend and one to someone else in class. (I laughed at the letter Rudy wrote Liesel.) For Liesel, though, writing a letter to a friend or classmate isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enough. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inspired to do something different for her assignment:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Would I be able to write a letter to Mama?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What do you want to write a letter to her for? You have to put up with her every day.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Papa was schmunzel<\/em>ing\u00e2\u20ac\u201da sly smile. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that bad enough?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Not that<\/em> mama.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She swallowed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh. Oh<\/em>. Oh, boy. This is going to be fun, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?<\/p>\n
Hans doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to have any reason to dissuade her from such a notion, so he agrees, even suggesting that she send it to the foster people who brought her to the Hubermanns.<\/p>\n
It took three hours and six drafts to perfect the letter, telling her mother all about Molching, her papa and his accordion, the strange but true ways of Rudy Steiner, and the exploits of Rosa Hubermann. She also explained how proud she was that she could now read and write a little. The next day, she posted it at Frau Diller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s with a stamp from the kitchen drawer. And she began to wait.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That sense of hope is quickly and brutally smashed that night, but not at all in an angry way. This may be the first time in the book so far, but Rosa seems genuinely concerned about the prospect of Liesel writing to her mother. She says something I found unsettling:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Again with the whisper. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153She should just forget her. Who knows where she is? Who knows what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done to her?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
In bed, Liesel hugged herself tight. She balled herself up. She thought of her mother and repeated Rosa Hubermann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s questions.<\/p>\n
Where was she?<\/p>\n
What had they done to her?<\/p>\n
And once and for all, who, in actual fact, were they<\/em>?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So what aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we being told about Liesel and her mother? I feel like some crucial detail has been left out of the story.<\/p>\n
Ugh, DO NOT WANT.<\/p>\n
CH. 16: DEAD LETTERS<\/strong><\/p>\n
If the previous chapter was about setting up the anguish to come, then this one is all about delivering it. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re given another glimpse of the future, late in 1943:<\/p>\n
A fourteen-year-old girl is writing in a small dark-covered book. She is bony but strong and has seen many things. Papa sits with the accordion at his feet.<\/p>\n
He says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You know, Liesel? I nearly wrote you a reply and signed your mother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He scratches his leg, where the plaster used to be. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bring myself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I was previously irritated at this technique, of showing us the future so blatantly, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m starting to see how this is an interesting way of telling the story, of gaining my interesting and framing how I should see all of this. Of course, with this introduction, my first question is, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What is he talking about?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Zusak is quick to answer that:<\/p>\n
Several times, through the remainder of January and the entirety of February 1940, when Liesel searched the mailbox for a reply to her letter, it clearly broke her foster father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heart.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Liesel receives no reply from her mother. No sign that she is alive, or remembers Liesel, or that she even cares about her daughter. To make matters worse, the Hubermann household does get a letter, but it is from the Pfaffelh\u00c3\u00bcrvers, telling Rosa that they can no longer pay for her services.<\/p>\n
It just gets worse and worse.<\/p>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no birthday celebration for Liesel, no gifts because the family cannot afford them. However, Liesel is not deterred by this; she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a surprisingly understanding child.<\/p>\n
Liesel didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mind. She didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t whine or moan or stamp her feet. She simply swallowed the disappointment and decided on one calculated risk\u00e2\u20ac\u201da present from herself. She would gather all of the accrued letters to her mother, stuff them into one envelope, and use just a tiny portion of the washing and ironing money to mail it. Then, of course, she would take the Watschen<\/em>, most likely in the kitchen, and she would not make a sound.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Unfortunately, Liesel acts out this birthday gift to herself and it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take Rosa long figure this out. Rosa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s response wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily surprising, but the ferocity of it was hard to read for me. If you remember from my review on Monday, my mom was a big fan of using kitchen utensils to hit me, so reading through this section was like SERIOUSLY KIND OF TRAUMATIC. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also harder to read because I had initially believed that Hans would be the first to abuse his foster daughter, but this proved that thought wrong. This part, though, made it worse:<\/p>\n
What came to her then was the dustiness of the floor, the feeling that her clothes were more next to her than on her, and the sudden realization that this would all be for nothing\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat her mother would never write back and she would never see her again. The reality of this gave her a second Watschen<\/em>. It stung her, and it did not stop for many minutes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And that shame and disappointment is so much more powerful than the physical beating that Rosa gave her. Rosa, on the other hand, has a rare moment of letting her guard down:<\/p>\n
Above her, Rosa appeared to be smudged, but she soon clarified as her cardboard face loomed closer. Dejected, she stood there in all her plumpness, holding the wooden spoon at her side like a club. She reached down and leaked a little. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sorry, Liesel.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Liesel knew her well enough to understand that it was not for the hiding.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not spelled out, but I wonder if Rosa is apologizing less for her own actions than the situation, one where Liesel is punished for trying to contact her mother, and where Rosa feels obligated to do so because they are poor. Or maybe Rosa, too, realizes the hopelessness of it all and is sorry for Liesel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s growing shame.<\/p>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a unique call back to the first time Liesel arrived at the Hubermann residence, when she refused to get out of the car until Hans was able to coax her out. She remains still underneath the table and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only Hans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s accordion playing that brings her out from her spot. Still, I have to wonder how much this moment is going to hurt Liesel. Is she going to stop writing her mother, too? The memories of her mother are no longer quite as painful as they were and Liesel even goes on to admit to herself that she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hold animosity for either Rosa or her mother. But her life is still surrounded with the darkness of it, of being abandoned, of being abused, of the music coming from Hans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s accordion.<\/p>\n
The strange thing was that she was vaguely comforted by that thought, rather than distressed by it. The dark, the light. What was the difference?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What does this mean for Liesel? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite understand it yet.<\/p>\n
Perhaps that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why on the F\u00c3\u00bchrer<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s birthday, when the answer to the question of her mother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suffering showed itself completely, she was able to react, despite her perplexity and her rage.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh boy. What happened to Liesel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mother? DEATH, YOU ARE TEASING ME.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of The Book Thief, the happiness that Death spoke so highly of begins to slowly leak away as Liesel is forced to deal with the fact that she will never see her mother again. … 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-268","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":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}