The Book Thief is set in Germany before and during World War II. The story is told from the point of veiw of Death, who narrates the story and gives a whole new image to the "death" image we the people see. Death finds the story of the book thief Liesel Meminger. Liesels story begins when she and her brother who dies in a sudden spur of coughing while travelling on the train, are sent to a foster home by their communist mother when she is interned in Dachau concentration camp. She later arrives at the home of the foster parents. Hans and Rosa Hubberman near Munich at Himmel Street (Himmel is the German word for Heaven). They treat her well although Rosa swears fiercely to cover up her inner lying compassion. Liesel than meets Rudy Steiner, a neighbour of her own age who becomes her best friend. Rudy is well known in the neighborhood for his romp around the Hubert Oval track as his idol Jesse Owens, covered in charcoal. Rudy and Liesels relationship steadily becomes more romantic over the years and Rudy continually asks Liesel for a kiss. Liesel learns to read and begins stealing books. Max, a 24 year old Jewish man that the Hubberman family helps to hide, composes his experiences with Liesel in a series of sketches, as well as two homemade books.
This book is commomly thought of as a "Modern Tragedy" as it displays many of the key features. First and Formost the story is narrated by a chorus (in this case "death") , it revolves around ordinary working class people (exploring the suffering or clashes within families) and a sense of catharsis at the end of the book.
