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Changed line(s) 6,10 (click to see context) from:
* An accordionist//
* Some fanatical Germans//
* A Jewish fist fighter//
* And quite a lot of thievery//
I saw the book thief three times.''
* Some fanatical Germans//
* A Jewish fist fighter//
* And quite a lot of thievery//
I saw the book thief three times.''
to:
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Changed line(s) 6,9 (click to see context) from:
* An accordionist\\
* Some fanatical Germans\\
* A Jewish fist fighter\\
* And quite a lot of thievery\\
* Some fanatical Germans\\
* A Jewish fist fighter\\
* And quite a lot of thievery\\
to:
* An accordionist\\
accordionist//
* Some fanaticalGermans\\
Germans//
* A Jewish fistfighter\\
fighter//
* And quite a lot ofthievery\\thievery//
* Some fanatical
* A Jewish fist
* And quite a lot of
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Changed line(s) 3,8 (click to see context) from:
->''It's just a small story really, about, amongst other things:\\
* a girl,\\
* an accordionist,\\
* some fanatical Germans,\\
* a Jewish fist fighter,\\
* and quite a lot of thievery.\\
* a girl,\\
* an accordionist,\\
* some fanatical Germans,\\
* a Jewish fist fighter,\\
* and quite a lot of thievery.\\
to:
->''It's just a small story really, about, amongst among other things:\\
*a girl,\\
A girl\\
*an accordionist,\\
Some words//
*some An accordionist\\
* Some fanaticalGermans,\\
Germans\\
*a A Jewish fist fighter,\\
fighter\\
*and And quite a lot of thievery.\\thievery\\
*
*
*
* Some fanatical
*
*
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Do not spoiler tag trope names on work pages or the names of works on trope pages; please see Handling Spoilers for more information.
Changed line(s) 42,43 (click to see context) from:
* [[spoiler: DownerEnding: Himmel Street is bombed. [[RocksFallEveryoneDies Everybody except Liesel dies]]. This might verge on a BittersweetEnding, though, considering that Max lives through the concentration camp and comes back to Liesel, and that Liesel herself lives a long and fulfilled life.]]
* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: Michael Holtzapfel.]]
* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: Michael Holtzapfel.]]
to:
* [[spoiler: DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Himmel Street is bombed. [[RocksFallEveryoneDies Everybody except Liesel dies]]. This might verge on a BittersweetEnding, though, considering that Max lives through the concentration camp and comes back to Liesel, and that Liesel herself lives a long and fulfilled life.]]
*[[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Michael Holtzapfel.]]
*
Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
* [[spoiler: EverybodysDeadDave: Liesel is the only one to survive when Himmel Street is bombed.]]
to:
* [[spoiler: EverybodysDeadDave: [[spoiler: Liesel is the only one to survive when Himmel Street is bombed.]]
Changed line(s) 68,69 (click to see context) from:
* [[spoiler: KillEmAll: Almost the entire cast in one scene, giving us quite the DownerEnding.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledMidSentence: Rudy in the movie]]
* [[spoiler:KilledMidSentence: Rudy in the movie]]
to:
* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: KillEmAll: Almost the entire cast in one scene, giving us quite the DownerEnding.]]
*[[spoiler:KilledMidSentence: Rudy KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler:Rudy in the movie]]
*
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Changed line(s) 51,52 (click to see context) from:
* GroinAttack: Liesel gives one to Ludwig Schmeikl. Also Rudy's thought. "Just don’t kick me in the eggs.
That’s what he was thinking, but he didn’t tell Liesel that....."
That’s what he was thinking, but he didn’t tell Liesel that....."
to:
* GroinAttack: Liesel gives one to Ludwig Schmeikl. Also Rudy's thought. thought: "Just don’t kick me in the eggs.
That’s what he was thinking, but he didn’t tell Liesel that.....eggs."
That’s what he was thinking, but he didn’t tell Liesel that.....
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Mistakes comparing book and film - a line credited to the film appears in both. Alex Steiner survives in the book, so he is not \"spared by the adaptation\"
Changed line(s) 76 (click to see context) from:
* MeaningfulName: "Himmel" means heaven or sky in German. [[AdaptationNameChange The movie went with the former, renaming it to Heaven Street.]] This is [[LampShade lampshaded]] by Death in the movie.
to:
* MeaningfulName: "Himmel" means heaven or sky in German. [[AdaptationNameChange The movie went with the former, renaming it to Heaven Street.]] This is [[LampShade lampshaded]] by Death in the movie.Death..
Deleted line(s) 95 (click to see context) :
* SparedByTheAdaptation: In the book, Rudy's father [[spoiler:dies in the war]] but in the movie, he returns safe and sound. [[spoiler: The rest of his family still die in the bombings, though.]]
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* GroinAttack: Liesel gives one to Ludwig Schmeikl. Also Rudy's thought. "Just don’t kick me in the eggs.
That’s what he was thinking, but he didn’t tell Liesel that....."
That’s what he was thinking, but he didn’t tell Liesel that....."
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*HeldGaze: In the movie adaption, this happens between Liesel and Max and Rudy and Liesel to create some ShipTease.
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* TheGrimReaper: Subverted. At one point, Death even [[LampShade lampshades]] this trope by telling us how amusing the whole 'grim reaper with scythe and cloak' thing is.
* TheMasochismTango: You really have to wonder what got Hans and Rosa Hubermann together in the first place.
* ThePowerOfLove: Subverted. [[spoiler: When Liesel sees Rudy's dead body, she tries to wake him up by giving him the kiss he has always asked for. Not surprisingly, it was a gigantic TearJerker moment.]]
** [[spoiler: Even [[WordOfGod Markus Zusak]] himself has admitted to being a mess when he wrote that.]]
** [[spoiler: Even [[WordOfGod Markus Zusak]] himself has admitted to being a mess when he wrote that.]]
Deleted line(s) 89,92 (click to see context) :
* TheGrimReaper: Subverted. At one point, Death even [[LampShade lampshades]] this trope by telling us how amusing the whole 'grim reaper with scythe and cloak' thing is.
* TheMasochismTango: You really have to wonder what got Hans and Rosa Hubermann together in the first place.
* ThePowerOfLove: Subverted. [[spoiler: When Liesel sees Rudy's dead body, she tries to wake him up by giving him the kiss he has always asked for. Not surprisingly, it was a gigantic TearJerker moment.]]
** [[spoiler: Even [[WordOfGod Markus Zusak]] himself has admitted to being a mess when he wrote that.]]
* TheMasochismTango: You really have to wonder what got Hans and Rosa Hubermann together in the first place.
* ThePowerOfLove: Subverted. [[spoiler: When Liesel sees Rudy's dead body, she tries to wake him up by giving him the kiss he has always asked for. Not surprisingly, it was a gigantic TearJerker moment.]]
** [[spoiler: Even [[WordOfGod Markus Zusak]] himself has admitted to being a mess when he wrote that.]]
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Changed line(s) 39,41 (click to see context) from:
* [[spoiler:DiesMidSentence: Rudy in the movie]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Rudy''': I lo-]]
* DiesWithEyesWideOpen: Liesel's little brother, Werner dies this way.
-->[[spoiler:'''Rudy''': I lo-]]
* DiesWithEyesWideOpen: Liesel's little brother, Werner dies this way.
to:
* [[spoiler:DiesMidSentence: Rudy in the movie]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Rudy''': I lo-]]
* DiesWithEyesWideOpen:DiesWideOpen: Liesel's little brother, Werner dies this way.
-->[[spoiler:'''Rudy''': I lo-]]
* DiesWithEyesWideOpen:
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* [[spoiler:KilledMidSentence: Rudy in the movie]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Rudy''': I lo-]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Rudy''': I lo-]]
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Death is heard not only at the beginning and end of the film
Changed line(s) 38 (click to see context) from:
* DemotedToExtra: Death, who's the book's narrator , only has a voice over at the very beginning and very end of the film.
to:
* DemotedToExtra: Death, who's the book's narrator , narrator, only has a voice over at few voiceovers through the very beginning film (the beginning, the end, and very end of the film.a few TimeSkips).
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Changed line(s) 70 (click to see context) from:
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Liesel and Max ''might'' have gotten together at the end. Or not. In the film they remained close friends for the rest of their lives. WordOfGod from Mark Zusak is that he, personally, believes [[http://zusakbooks.tumblr.com/post/45944163316/liesel-and-max-do-they-remain-together Liesel and Max don't get married]] - but in the end that's just his opinion, and every reader can have their own belief about how things turned out.]]
to:
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Liesel and Max ''might'' have gotten together at the end. Or not. In the film they remained close friends for the rest of their lives. WordOfGod from Mark Markus Zusak is that he, personally, believes [[http://zusakbooks.tumblr.com/post/45944163316/liesel-and-max-do-they-remain-together Liesel and Max don't get married]] - but in the end that's just his opinion, and every reader can have their own belief about how things turned out.]]
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Changed line(s) 70 (click to see context) from:
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Liesel and Max ''might'' have gotten together at the end. Or not. In the film they remained close friends for the rest of their lives.]]
to:
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Liesel and Max ''might'' have gotten together at the end. Or not. In the film they remained close friends for the rest of their lives. WordOfGod from Mark Zusak is that he, personally, believes [[http://zusakbooks.tumblr.com/post/45944163316/liesel-and-max-do-they-remain-together Liesel and Max don't get married]] - but in the end that's just his opinion, and every reader can have their own belief about how things turned out.]]
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Added DiffLines:
* DiesWithEyesWideOpen: Liesel's little brother, Werner dies this way.
Added DiffLines:
* {{Irony}}: The basement of Liesel's house was rejected as an air raid shelter due to its low ceiling but it was sufficient to [[spoiler:shelter Liesel from the bombs that fell on Himmel Street, killing everybody ''but'' her]].
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Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
* AdaptationDistillation: What did you expect? The movie cut out some lesser elements from the book, and the main plotlines featured in the film were simplified. It also cut a few of the minor characters out. Most notably, Frau Deustcher had a much larger role in the film, it being a compression of several minor characters.
to:
* AdaptationDistillation: What did you expect? The movie cut out some lesser elements from the book, and the main plotlines featured in the film were simplified. It also cut a few of the minor characters out. Most notably, Frau Deustcher Franz Deutcher had a much larger role in the film, it being a compression of several minor characters.
* [[spoiler:DiesMidSentence: Rudy in the movie]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Rudy''': I lo-]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Rudy''': I lo-]]
Changed line(s) 67 (click to see context) from:
* MissingMom: Liesel's mother. In the movie, it's said that she is a refugee.
to:
* MeaningfulName: "Himmel" means heaven or sky in German. [[AdaptationNameChange The movie went with the former, renaming it to Heaven Street.]] This is [[LampShade lampshaded]] by Death in the movie.
--> ''"Nobody wanted to [[spoiler:bomb]] a street named after Heaven."''
* MissingMom: Liesel's mother. In the movie, it's said that she is arefugee.refugee from Communist Russia, implied to have chosen for her children to be brought up in Germany.
--> ''"Nobody wanted to [[spoiler:bomb]] a street named after Heaven."''
* MissingMom: Liesel's mother. In the movie, it's said that she is a
* ProductPlacement: Near the end of the movie, an AppleMacintosh computer can be seen in Liesel's home.
Changed line(s) 81 (click to see context) from:
* SparedByTheAdaptation: In the book, Rudy's father [[spoiler:dies in the war]] but in the movie, he returns safe and sound. [[spoiler: The rest of his family still die in the accidental bombings, though.]]
to:
* SparedByTheAdaptation: In the book, Rudy's father [[spoiler:dies in the war]] but in the movie, he returns safe and sound. [[spoiler: The rest of his family still die in the accidental bombings, though.]]
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* AdaptationDistillation: What did you expect? The movie cut out some lesser elements from the book, and the main plotlines featured in the film were simplified. It also cut a few of the minor characters out. Most notably, Frau Deustcher had a much larger role in the film, it being a compression of several minor characters.
Changed line(s) 66 (click to see context) from:
* MissingMom: Liesel's mother.
to:
* MissingMom: Liesel's mother. In the movie, it's said that she is a refugee.
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* SparedByTheAdaptation: In the book, Rudy's father [[spoiler:dies in the war]] but in the movie, he returns safe and sound. [[spoiler: The rest of his family still die in the accidental bombings, though.]]
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Changed line(s) 28 (click to see context) from:
* BookBurning: One is held in Molching. Liesel rescues ''The Shoulder Shrug'' from the pile of "objectionable materials" being burnt. (In the movie, it's '' TheInvisibleMan''.)
to:
* BookBurning: One is held in Molching. Liesel rescues ''The Shoulder Shrug'' from the pile of "objectionable materials" being burnt. (In the movie, it's '' TheInvisibleMan''.Literature/TheInvisibleMan''.)
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Changed line(s) 28 (click to see context) from:
* BookBurning: One is held in Molching. Liesel rescues ''The Shoulder Shrug'' from the pile of "objectionable materials" being burnt.
to:
* BookBurning: One is held in Molching. Liesel rescues ''The Shoulder Shrug'' from the pile of "objectionable materials" being burnt. (In the movie, it's '' TheInvisibleMan''.)
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** Rosa to Liesel in a parental love kind of way.
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* DemotedToExtra: Death, who's the book's narrator , only has a voice over at the very beginning and very end of the film.
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Changed line(s) 63 (click to see context) from:
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Liesel and Max might have gotten together at the end. Or not.]]
to:
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Liesel and Max might ''might'' have gotten together at the end. Or not. In the film they remained close friends for the rest of their lives.]]
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Changed line(s) 25 (click to see context) from:
* BerserkButton: DO NOT call Liesel stupid. She'll kill you.
to:
* BerserkButton: DO NOT call Liesel stupid. She'll kill you.[[CurbStompBattle mess you up]].
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Changed line(s) 12,13 (click to see context) from:
Set in WWII-era Germany, The Book Thief tells the story of a twelve year old girl called Liesel Meminger, the eponymous book thief, living with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. This book is entirely narrated from the perspective of Death--[[LemonyNarrator who has surprisingly witty and dry sense of humor]] (and uses beautiful metaphors a lot). Written by Markus Zusak.
to:
Set in WWII-era Germany, The Book Thief tells the story of a twelve year old girl called Liesel Meminger, the eponymous book thief, living with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. This book is entirely narrated from the perspective of Death--[[LemonyNarrator who has surprisingly witty and dry sense of humor]] (and uses beautiful metaphors a lot). Written by Markus Zusak.
Zusak. A film adaptation was released in 2013, starring Sophie Nélisse as Liesel and Creator/GeoffreyRush and Emily Watson as the Hubermanns.
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Deleted line(s) 35 (click to see context) :
* CurbStompBattle: When Liesel fights Ludwig Schmeikel. He loses. Badly.
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* BookBurning: One is held in Molching. Liesel rescues ''The Shoulder Shrug'' from the pile of "objectionable materials" being burnt.
Added DiffLines:
* CrankyNeighbor: The antagonistic Frau Holtzapfel, who detests Rosa Hubermann, and makes it a point to spit on their door handle. She gets friendlier after Liesel starts to read to her.
* CurbStompBattle: When Liesel fights Ludwig Schmeikel. He loses. Badly.
* CurbStompBattle: When Liesel fights Ludwig Schmeikel. He loses. Badly.
Added DiffLines:
*** So are Michael and Robert Holtzapfel. [[spoiler: Robert dies, Michael returns home but hangs himself soon after.]]
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Changed line(s) 3,11 (click to see context) from:
->''It's just a small story really, about, amongst other things:
->* a girl,
->* an accordionist,
->* some fanatical Germans,
->* a Jewish fist fighter,
->* and quite a lot of thievery.
->I saw the book thief three times.''
-->--'''[[LemonyNarrator Death]]''', from the prologue
->* a girl,
->* an accordionist,
->* some fanatical Germans,
->* a Jewish fist fighter,
->* and quite a lot of thievery.
->I saw the book thief three times.''
-->--'''[[LemonyNarrator Death]]''', from the prologue
to:
->''It's just a small story really, about, amongst other things:
->*things:\\
* agirl,
->*girl,\\
* anaccordionist,
->*accordionist,\\
* some fanaticalGermans,
->*Germans,\\
* a Jewish fistfighter,
->*fighter,\\
* and quite a lot ofthievery.
->Ithievery.\\
I saw the book thief three times.''
-->--'''[[LemonyNarrator -->-- '''[[LemonyNarrator Death]]''', from the prologue
->*
* a
->*
* an
->*
* some fanatical
->*
* a Jewish fist
->*
* and quite a lot of
->I
I saw the book thief three times.''
Deleted line(s) 15 (click to see context) :
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* BeigeProse: Several sections of Death's narration is this:
-->Sister Maria.
-->Was not impressed.
-->Sister Maria.
-->Was not impressed.
Deleted line(s) 26,28 (click to see context) :
* BrevityIsWit: Several sections of Death's narration is this:
-->Sister Maria.
-->Was not impressed.
-->Sister Maria.
-->Was not impressed.
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Tropes cannot be averted/subverted/whatever \"tragically\"
Changed line(s) 77 (click to see context) from:
* ThePowerOfLove: Tragically subverted. [[spoiler: When Liesel sees Rudy's dead body, she tries to wake him up by giving him the kiss he has always asked for. Not surprisingly, it was a gigantic TearJerker moment.]]
to:
* ThePowerOfLove: Tragically subverted.Subverted. [[spoiler: When Liesel sees Rudy's dead body, she tries to wake him up by giving him the kiss he has always asked for. Not surprisingly, it was a gigantic TearJerker moment.]]
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Changed line(s) 36 (click to see context) from:
* [[spoiler: DownerEnding: Himmel Street is bombed. [[RocksFallEveryoneDies Everybody except Liesel dies]]. This might verge on a BittersweetEnding, though, considering that Max lives through concentration camp and comes back.]]
to:
* [[spoiler: DownerEnding: Himmel Street is bombed. [[RocksFallEveryoneDies Everybody except Liesel dies]]. This might verge on a BittersweetEnding, though, considering that Max lives through the concentration camp and comes back.back to Liesel, and that Liesel herself lives a long and fulfilled life.]]
Changed line(s) 62,63 (click to see context) from:
* MissingMom: Liesel's mother
* NaiveNewcomer: Liesel
* NaiveNewcomer: Liesel
to:
* MissingMom: Liesel's mother
mother.
* NaiveNewcomer:LieselLiesel.
* NaiveNewcomer:
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[[quoteright:233:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/book_thief.jpg]]
->''It's just a small story really, about, amongst other things:
->* a girl,
->* an accordionist,
->* some fanatical Germans,
->* a Jewish fist fighter,
->* and quite a lot of thievery.
->I saw the book thief three times.''
-->--'''[[LemonyNarrator Death]]''', from the prologue
Set in WWII-era Germany, The Book Thief tells the story of a twelve year old girl called Liesel Meminger, the eponymous book thief, living with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. This book is entirely narrated from the perspective of Death--[[LemonyNarrator who has surprisingly witty and dry sense of humor]] (and uses beautiful metaphors a lot). Written by Markus Zusak.
[[{{TearJerker}} Keep some tissues handy.]]
----
!!This work provides examples of:
* AlliterativeName: Hans Hubermann.
* AlmostKiss: [[ShipTease Liesel to Rudy]] when they're celebrating his birthday in his father's shop.
* TheAtoner: Ilsa Hermann is a version of this, never lighting fires, always opening windows, constantly living in a cold, dreary house because of how [[spoiler: her son froze to death]].
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Even though Hans and Rosa are locked in TheMasochismTango, Hans brings eggs back to Rosa and genuinely cares for her, while Rosa prayed for Hans' safety with his accordion every night [[spoiler: when he was sent to war]].
* BerserkButton: DO NOT call Liesel stupid. She'll kill you.
* {{Blackface}}: Rudy, earlier in the book. But it's an homage to Jesse Owens and Rudy's father sets him straight.
** It should be noted that the issue here isn't that [[{{DeliberateValuesDissonance}} anyone's concerned about offending black people,]] it's that Rudy's a boy growing up in NaziGermany and this kind of behavior could get him in serious trouble.
* BrevityIsWit: Several sections of Death's narration is this:
-->Sister Maria.
-->Was not impressed.
* CannotSpitItOut: Liesel to Rudy. ''Just kiss him, already.''
* CasanovaWannabe: Rudy to Liesel. Yep, even as a kid. And [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by our [[LemonyNarrator narrator]]:
-->Rudy Steiner was one of those audacious little bastards who actually ''fancied'' himself with the ladies. Every childhood seems to have exactly such a little juvenile in its midst and mists. He's the boy who refuses to fear the opposite sex, purely because everyone else chooses to embrace that fear...
* ClusterFBomb: Rosa Hubermann is ''very'' prone to this. And Pfiffikus makes Rosa, in the book's own words, 'look like a saint and a wordsmith'.
* CoversAlwaysLie: A lot of versions of the cover depict a scythe-wielding hooded Death. Y'know, ''exactly'' like how Death specified he/she DIDN'T look like?
* DaddysGirl: Liesel, after the adoption.
* DisappearedDad: Liesel has never met or seen her biological father.
* [[DontFearTheReaper Don't Fear the Reaper]]: Death, the narrator, is amusing, non-linear and rather compassionate towards humans, particularly the other main characters. He even describes cradling the souls of particularly vulnerable or sad people, like children or the Jews killed in the death camps, in his arms. Given that it's a book about World War II, the "amusing" part takes a sharp turn. The death camp scenes, unsurprisingly, are particularly bad.
* [[spoiler: DownerEnding: Himmel Street is bombed. [[RocksFallEveryoneDies Everybody except Liesel dies]]. This might verge on a BittersweetEnding, though, considering that Max lives through concentration camp and comes back.]]
* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: Michael Holtzapfel.]]
* DumbBlonde: Played with with Rudy Steiner. He isn't exactly an idiot, but with the way he acts, [[ObfuscatingStupidity it's hard to tell at times]], so he kind of falls in GeniusDitz territory as well.
* [[spoiler: EverybodysDeadDave: Liesel is the only one to survive when Himmel Street is bombed.]]
* FirstKiss: A sad example here: [[spoiler: Liesel and Rudy have their first kiss when she sees Rudy's body being carted out of the rubble and hopes to wake him up with the kiss he's been always dreaming of.]]
* ForTheEvulz: Basically why Viktor Chemmel steals from farmers, even though he's a well-provided for rich boy.
* ForegoneConclusion: About half way through the book, Death accidently spoils that [[spoiler: Rudy dies]] because he is bad at mystery. It's still a TearJerker.
** The ending itself is a ForegoneConclusion as well, as Death warns in the early pages that [[SnicketWarningLabel Liesel's story doesn't have a happy ending.]]
* HappilyAdopted: Liesel.
* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: Hans prompts Liesel to say this about Rudy.
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: Liesel goes into one after Himmel Street is bombed.]]
** [[spoiler: And before, Liesel has a minor breakdown after she sees Max being sent to the concentration camp in Dachau.]]
** Hans does as well [[spoiler: when he gives a Jewish man in the "parade" bread, after he is [[WhipItGood whipped]]]].
* HonorAmongThieves: Arthur Berg and his apple-stealing troupe.
-->'''Arthur''' (after [[spoiler: Rudy and Liesel have stolen from Otto Sturm]]): We'll get the others. We might be criminals, but we're not totally immoral.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Sort of. It's not explained why Werner died (it's hinted he was ill) but right before he did so he was overcome by a violent coughing fit.
* IShouldWriteABookAboutThis: Liesel ends up writing a memoir about her experiences. [[spoiler: Then, Death picks it up, which is how we get the story. When he meets Liesel at the end of her life, he gives the memoir back to her.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Viktor Chemmel will always give you the inexplicable urge to punch him in his smug face.
** Also Franz Deutcher, Rudy's Hitler Youth leader.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Rosa Hubermann. The narration itself states that she really does love Liesel, but she doesn't quite know how to show it. [[HonorAmongThieves Arthur Berg]] also counts, especially compared to [[{{Jerkass}} his successor]]. Death is more of a DeadpanSnarker with a heart of gold.
* [[BatmanInMyBasement Jew In My Basement]]
* KidAnova: Rudy.
* [[spoiler: KillEmAll: Almost the entire cast in one scene, giving us quite the DownerEnding.]]
* LemonyNarrator: The entire thing is narrated by Death. He has quite a unique voice.
* LethalChef: Rosa Hubermann's cooking is ''horrible''.
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Liesel and Max might have gotten together at the end. Or not.]]
* MissingMom: Liesel's mother
* NaiveNewcomer: Liesel
* NaziGermany
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: This happens to Liesel a ''lot''. [[spoiler: She never got to say goodbye to her mother, to Max Vandenburg, hell, to ''everyone on Himmel Street''.]]
* NoFourthWall: Death frequently addresses the audience directly.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Again, ''do not call Liesel stupid.''
* NoodleIncident: The infamous Jesse Owens incident is mentioned a couple of times. Subverted in that later, Rudy tells Liesel about the incident in such detail that she can now picture it perfectly in her head.
* OddFriendship: Liesel and Max end up bonding over a number of things, including fists, trains, words, and their respective dead relatives.
* OhAndXDies: Several times over.
* PerpetualPoverty: Himmel Street isn't one of the better parts of town...
* SnicketWarningLabel: Death warns at the beginning that the story doesn't have a happy ending.
* SnowMeansDeath: Liesel's little brother dies on the way to Himmel Street and is given a hasty burial in the snow.
** Hans and Rosa's son is sent to Stalingrad, which inevitably invokes this trope.
* TheGrimReaper: Subverted. At one point, Death even [[LampShade lampshades]] this trope by telling us how amusing the whole 'grim reaper with scythe and cloak' thing is.
* TheMasochismTango: You really have to wonder what got Hans and Rosa Hubermann together in the first place.
* ThePowerOfLove: Tragically subverted. [[spoiler: When Liesel sees Rudy's dead body, she tries to wake him up by giving him the kiss he has always asked for. Not surprisingly, it was a gigantic TearJerker moment.]]
** [[spoiler: Even [[WordOfGod Markus Zusak]] himself has admitted to being a mess when he wrote that.]]
* TakeThat: Death makes sure to step on the picture of Hitler Frau Diller keeps framed when [[spoiler: he's collecting everybody's souls]].
* TrueCompanions: Arthur Berg's apple stealing team. When he moves away, the new leader doesn't keep the group quite as close-knit.
* TrueLovesKiss: [[spoiler: Subverted, in what is probably the saddest scene in the novel.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: Liesel and Rudy's exchanges are frequently littered with insults, jabs, and a rather colorful assortment of German swear words.
* WarIsHell
* WorldWarTwo
----
->''It's just a small story really, about, amongst other things:
->* a girl,
->* an accordionist,
->* some fanatical Germans,
->* a Jewish fist fighter,
->* and quite a lot of thievery.
->I saw the book thief three times.''
-->--'''[[LemonyNarrator Death]]''', from the prologue
Set in WWII-era Germany, The Book Thief tells the story of a twelve year old girl called Liesel Meminger, the eponymous book thief, living with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. This book is entirely narrated from the perspective of Death--[[LemonyNarrator who has surprisingly witty and dry sense of humor]] (and uses beautiful metaphors a lot). Written by Markus Zusak.
[[{{TearJerker}} Keep some tissues handy.]]
----
!!This work provides examples of:
* AlliterativeName: Hans Hubermann.
* AlmostKiss: [[ShipTease Liesel to Rudy]] when they're celebrating his birthday in his father's shop.
* TheAtoner: Ilsa Hermann is a version of this, never lighting fires, always opening windows, constantly living in a cold, dreary house because of how [[spoiler: her son froze to death]].
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Even though Hans and Rosa are locked in TheMasochismTango, Hans brings eggs back to Rosa and genuinely cares for her, while Rosa prayed for Hans' safety with his accordion every night [[spoiler: when he was sent to war]].
* BerserkButton: DO NOT call Liesel stupid. She'll kill you.
* {{Blackface}}: Rudy, earlier in the book. But it's an homage to Jesse Owens and Rudy's father sets him straight.
** It should be noted that the issue here isn't that [[{{DeliberateValuesDissonance}} anyone's concerned about offending black people,]] it's that Rudy's a boy growing up in NaziGermany and this kind of behavior could get him in serious trouble.
* BrevityIsWit: Several sections of Death's narration is this:
-->Sister Maria.
-->Was not impressed.
* CannotSpitItOut: Liesel to Rudy. ''Just kiss him, already.''
* CasanovaWannabe: Rudy to Liesel. Yep, even as a kid. And [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by our [[LemonyNarrator narrator]]:
-->Rudy Steiner was one of those audacious little bastards who actually ''fancied'' himself with the ladies. Every childhood seems to have exactly such a little juvenile in its midst and mists. He's the boy who refuses to fear the opposite sex, purely because everyone else chooses to embrace that fear...
* ClusterFBomb: Rosa Hubermann is ''very'' prone to this. And Pfiffikus makes Rosa, in the book's own words, 'look like a saint and a wordsmith'.
* CoversAlwaysLie: A lot of versions of the cover depict a scythe-wielding hooded Death. Y'know, ''exactly'' like how Death specified he/she DIDN'T look like?
* DaddysGirl: Liesel, after the adoption.
* DisappearedDad: Liesel has never met or seen her biological father.
* [[DontFearTheReaper Don't Fear the Reaper]]: Death, the narrator, is amusing, non-linear and rather compassionate towards humans, particularly the other main characters. He even describes cradling the souls of particularly vulnerable or sad people, like children or the Jews killed in the death camps, in his arms. Given that it's a book about World War II, the "amusing" part takes a sharp turn. The death camp scenes, unsurprisingly, are particularly bad.
* [[spoiler: DownerEnding: Himmel Street is bombed. [[RocksFallEveryoneDies Everybody except Liesel dies]]. This might verge on a BittersweetEnding, though, considering that Max lives through concentration camp and comes back.]]
* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: Michael Holtzapfel.]]
* DumbBlonde: Played with with Rudy Steiner. He isn't exactly an idiot, but with the way he acts, [[ObfuscatingStupidity it's hard to tell at times]], so he kind of falls in GeniusDitz territory as well.
* [[spoiler: EverybodysDeadDave: Liesel is the only one to survive when Himmel Street is bombed.]]
* FirstKiss: A sad example here: [[spoiler: Liesel and Rudy have their first kiss when she sees Rudy's body being carted out of the rubble and hopes to wake him up with the kiss he's been always dreaming of.]]
* ForTheEvulz: Basically why Viktor Chemmel steals from farmers, even though he's a well-provided for rich boy.
* ForegoneConclusion: About half way through the book, Death accidently spoils that [[spoiler: Rudy dies]] because he is bad at mystery. It's still a TearJerker.
** The ending itself is a ForegoneConclusion as well, as Death warns in the early pages that [[SnicketWarningLabel Liesel's story doesn't have a happy ending.]]
* HappilyAdopted: Liesel.
* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: Hans prompts Liesel to say this about Rudy.
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: Liesel goes into one after Himmel Street is bombed.]]
** [[spoiler: And before, Liesel has a minor breakdown after she sees Max being sent to the concentration camp in Dachau.]]
** Hans does as well [[spoiler: when he gives a Jewish man in the "parade" bread, after he is [[WhipItGood whipped]]]].
* HonorAmongThieves: Arthur Berg and his apple-stealing troupe.
-->'''Arthur''' (after [[spoiler: Rudy and Liesel have stolen from Otto Sturm]]): We'll get the others. We might be criminals, but we're not totally immoral.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Sort of. It's not explained why Werner died (it's hinted he was ill) but right before he did so he was overcome by a violent coughing fit.
* IShouldWriteABookAboutThis: Liesel ends up writing a memoir about her experiences. [[spoiler: Then, Death picks it up, which is how we get the story. When he meets Liesel at the end of her life, he gives the memoir back to her.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Viktor Chemmel will always give you the inexplicable urge to punch him in his smug face.
** Also Franz Deutcher, Rudy's Hitler Youth leader.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Rosa Hubermann. The narration itself states that she really does love Liesel, but she doesn't quite know how to show it. [[HonorAmongThieves Arthur Berg]] also counts, especially compared to [[{{Jerkass}} his successor]]. Death is more of a DeadpanSnarker with a heart of gold.
* [[BatmanInMyBasement Jew In My Basement]]
* KidAnova: Rudy.
* [[spoiler: KillEmAll: Almost the entire cast in one scene, giving us quite the DownerEnding.]]
* LemonyNarrator: The entire thing is narrated by Death. He has quite a unique voice.
* LethalChef: Rosa Hubermann's cooking is ''horrible''.
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler: Liesel and Max might have gotten together at the end. Or not.]]
* MissingMom: Liesel's mother
* NaiveNewcomer: Liesel
* NaziGermany
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: This happens to Liesel a ''lot''. [[spoiler: She never got to say goodbye to her mother, to Max Vandenburg, hell, to ''everyone on Himmel Street''.]]
* NoFourthWall: Death frequently addresses the audience directly.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Again, ''do not call Liesel stupid.''
* NoodleIncident: The infamous Jesse Owens incident is mentioned a couple of times. Subverted in that later, Rudy tells Liesel about the incident in such detail that she can now picture it perfectly in her head.
* OddFriendship: Liesel and Max end up bonding over a number of things, including fists, trains, words, and their respective dead relatives.
* OhAndXDies: Several times over.
* PerpetualPoverty: Himmel Street isn't one of the better parts of town...
* SnicketWarningLabel: Death warns at the beginning that the story doesn't have a happy ending.
* SnowMeansDeath: Liesel's little brother dies on the way to Himmel Street and is given a hasty burial in the snow.
** Hans and Rosa's son is sent to Stalingrad, which inevitably invokes this trope.
* TheGrimReaper: Subverted. At one point, Death even [[LampShade lampshades]] this trope by telling us how amusing the whole 'grim reaper with scythe and cloak' thing is.
* TheMasochismTango: You really have to wonder what got Hans and Rosa Hubermann together in the first place.
* ThePowerOfLove: Tragically subverted. [[spoiler: When Liesel sees Rudy's dead body, she tries to wake him up by giving him the kiss he has always asked for. Not surprisingly, it was a gigantic TearJerker moment.]]
** [[spoiler: Even [[WordOfGod Markus Zusak]] himself has admitted to being a mess when he wrote that.]]
* TakeThat: Death makes sure to step on the picture of Hitler Frau Diller keeps framed when [[spoiler: he's collecting everybody's souls]].
* TrueCompanions: Arthur Berg's apple stealing team. When he moves away, the new leader doesn't keep the group quite as close-knit.
* TrueLovesKiss: [[spoiler: Subverted, in what is probably the saddest scene in the novel.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: Liesel and Rudy's exchanges are frequently littered with insults, jabs, and a rather colorful assortment of German swear words.
* WarIsHell
* WorldWarTwo
----
