Liesel and Max

     Max Vandenburg is older than Liesel, but they many things in common. Liesel lost her mother when she was ten, while Max lost his father when he was four, so they both lost parents at a young age. Neither Liesel or Max has any family left, with Max's family having been taken by the Nazis, and Liesel's parents missing and her brother dead. Liesel and Max have both led depressing lives, yet they have perservered long enough to meet each other. Max's life has been the hardest, with him being a Jew, Max has spent most of his life in the slums, including the ghettos. He has spent the last two years hiding in an abandoned factory, praying that he would not be found, captured, and possibly killed. Max finally came to live with the Hubermann's, and into Liesel's life.
     Liesel is quickly threatened with the destruction of her precious books if she does not keep Max's living arrangements a secret. She is drawn to the young stranger hiding in her house, much like Death is drawn to her. Max and Liesel become fast friends through their love of words and books. Max's arrival gives Liesel's life new purpose by encouraging her to bring him news of the outside world into his little basement corner. Max is not allowed outside, for fear he will be captured and taken away, since he is living in the center of Nazi
Germany. Liesel delights herself by bringing him newspapers with their unfinished crosswords, and a child like view of the world outside, both of which he deeply appreciates.
     When Liesel's birthday arrives, he has nothing to give her, and neither does her parents. Being determined to give Liesel a gift, Max takes his well worn copy of Mein Kamph, repaints it in a story he calls The Standover Man. "During that week, Max had cut a collection of pages from Mein Kamph and painted them over in white. He then hung them up with pegs on some string, from one end of the basement to the other." (Zusak, 223). Liesel was very happy when she received the story, and read it multiple times. The Standover Man turned out to be Max's life story. In the book, Max describes his hardships and his relationship to the girl who turned his life upside down. "Now I think we are friends, this girl and me. On her birthday, it was she who gave a gift-to me. It makes me understand that the best standover man I've known is not a man at all . . .". (Zusak, 235).

Works Cited

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief . New York City, NY:Alfred A. Knoph, 2005.Print.