Study Guide

The Book Thief Chapter 81

By Markus Zusak

Advertisement - Guide continues below

Chapter 81

Confessions

  • Afterwards, Liesel can't talk. Instead of going home, she goes to the train station to wait for Hans.
  • Rudy comes too, but Hans won't be in for another six hours, so he goes to get Rosa.
  • By the time Rosa gets to the train station, she's figured out what happened, from the details Rudy gives her.
  • Hans is so angry when he hears.
  • They are all without appetite, and even the accordion is no comfort.
  • Liesel is in bed for three days, and each day Rudy comes to look for her.
  • After four days, she goes to get him, and they walk out to where they'd put bread in the road for the Jewish people walking to Dachau.
  • She says, "I should have told you earlier" (81.8).
  • She wants to thank him for everything, but she doesn't say the words.
  • After making him promise to tell no one, Liesel tells him the story of the accordion and the story of Max.
  • She shows him a page in The Word Shaker that features him.
  • He asks Liesel, "You told him about me?" (81.30).
  • Liesel can't answer. She realizes she loves him, that maybe she always has. She wants to kiss him. She wants him to kiss her.
  • He's grown from a scrawny kid to a star athlete. He has one month to live.
  • She says, "Of course I told him about you" (81.33).
  • Death tells us, "She [is] saying goodbye and she didn't even know it" (81.34).

The Book Thief Chapter 81 Study Group

Ask questions, get answers, and discuss with others.

Tired of ads?

Join today and never see them again.

This is a premium product

Please Wait...