The Book Thief Love

Though we don't know it until the end of the novel, that boy is Rudy. By this time in the novel, he's dedicated himself to acts of kindness and love, small and large. Ironically, a plane like the one he sees crashed here, with its pilot barely alive, is like the one that will drop a bomb on Himmel Street, ending Rudy's life.

We understand it too. The novel seems to argue that it's easy to be loving, when we take the time to see the worth in those around it. Of course, Hans makes this really easy.

Liesel does change her tune, but doesn't reveal the change to Rudy, until it's too late. The fact that she never kisses Rudy when he's alive will haunt Liesel for a long time to come.

Hans demonstrates that sometimes love simply means telling the truth. Love is behind Hans' desire to shield Liesel from the fact that her mother is dead, but the truth is much more helpful. When she learns that Hitler is at the root of her mother's disappearance, she learns to see Nazism for what it is.

This is the second line Max speaks to Hans when he finally makes it to Himmel Street. Bringing up the accordion evokes the relationship between Hans and Erik, Max's father. They are words that foreshadow the father-son like relationship that will develop between Hans and Max.

Walter commits a huge act of love by taking Max into hiding and helping him find his way to Hans. And that's what friends are for.

These are lines from The Standover Man, Max's loving gift to Liesel after she hugs him on his birthday. The hug, at that point, is more out of pity than love. But, The Standover Man changes all that.

Rudy's premature death keeps Liesel and Rudy from ever truly discovering whether their love is confined to friendship, or whether it extends into the romantic realm. We are sure it's a romantic love for Rudy, at least in his imagination, but he's only fourteen, with much more to learn and see and grow.

This is a moment from the end of the novel, when Max and Liesel reunite. We don't know what happens to their relationship after this, but we can be sure it has lots to do with love.