"Here's a Small Fact: You Are Going to Die" (pgs. 1-42)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a work of historical fiction, set at the beginning of WWII and progresses throughout the course of the war. While the author chooses a very unorthodox manner of writing, he creates a very interesting narrator in the character Death.Death recounts his run-ins with the book's main character, Liesel Meminger. He explains that, while collecting souls he experiences different colors and when he encounters the book thief during her life, he sees three that stay with him.
White, Black and Red.
Death sees the white of the snow while releasing the soul of Liesel's younger brother, black when she encounters a plane wreck, and the red of the sky after the bombing of a town (hers?).
Liesel and her brother were supposed to be brought to the Hubermann's as foster children. Her mother was ill and unable to care for them. She traveled with them, in hopes the new family would be able to provide for them better than herself. The brother did not survive the trip and had to be buried along the way.
Liesel struggles to accomodate in her new life and deal with the feelings of abandonment. She slowly forms a bond with her caretakers, Hans and Rosa.
At the makeshift burial of her brother, one of the gravediggers dropped a book in the snow. As a memento of that moment, Liesel stole the book from the ground, taking it with her to Munich. Although she can't read, she keeps the book because of what it represents.
This is her first thievery.
