Time for round two of Book Club! First up is the first section of part one, entitled "Arrival on Himmel Street." In this section, we gain more insight into the death of the book thief's brother, get a glimpse of her new foster family, and witness her first instance of book thievery.

Discussion Questions

-Death makes an observation not long into this section: "A pair of train guards. A pair of grave diggers. When it came down to it, one of them called the shots. The other did what he was told. The question is, what if the other is a lot more than one?" -Does Death's question apply to contemporary events as well as Nazi Germany? And why do these multiple-others stand by and simply do as they are told?

-Liesel snatches up The Grave Digger's Handbook minutes after her brother is buried. -Why would she, an illiterate child, steal a book?

-Liesel's foster parents live on Himmel Street, himmel meaning heaven in German. -Do you think the name foreshadows Liesel's life aptly (as in her life will be good there) or ironically (in the words of Death, "It wasn't [hell]. But it sure as hell wasn't heaven, either,")? Or is there any foreshadowing at all?

-We get a bare glimpse of Liesel's foster parents towards the end of this section. -What is your impression of Rosa and Hans Hubermann? How do you think Liesel will get along with each of them?

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