Thursday, February 14, 2019

What was the second book Liesel (from The Book Thief) stole?

The second book that Liesel steals is called The Shoulder Shrug.
She stole her first book, The Grave Digger's Handbook, on January 13, 1939, and this second, The Shoulder Shrug, on April 20, 1940, the Fuhrer's birthday. So, more than a year has passed between her actions.
The Shoulder Shrug is one of three books that don't burn in a bonfire that was lit to celebrate the Fuhrer. Nazis have collected books that they deem to be "propaganda" from every house to use as fodder. Liesel sees the un-burned book among the ashes and the ruin and steals it. She describes the book as burning her (from the heat of the fire) when she holds it against her chest to hide it as she walks away.
The book not burning in the fire ties back into a central theme of The Book Thief: no matter how hard anyone tries, knowledge and ideas can never be fully eradicated.


The text tells us that Liesel owned a total of fourteen books. Of the fourteen, ten were most important to her in terms of her life story. We also learn that six of the books were stolen by Liesel.
The first book she stole was The Grave Digger's Handbook: A Twelve-Step Guide to Grave-Digging Success. 
The second book Liesel stole was The Shoulder Shrug. Liesel called the stealing of this book her "second success story." The book was blue, with red writing on the cover. There was also a picture of a cuckoo bird under the title. The text tells us that Liesel stole this second book on April 20th, the day of the Fuhrer's birthday. She saved it from the fire before the book was burned by Nazi soldiers.
The protagonist of The Shoulder Shrug was Jewish, and Liesel was glad that he was portrayed in a positive light.

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