The Grave Digger's Handbook

[stefanie]

In the beginning of the novel, the first book Liesel "steals" is The Grave Digger's Handbook. It is also the first book Liesel learns to read, thanks to Hans Hubermann. What role does the book have on the course of Liesel's life on Himmel Street? Could the book symbolize her severed connection with her mom and brother? And if so, how?

[Calliope]

The Gravedigger's Handbook kindles an obsession for reading, which compels Liesel to read and steal more books, which help her to discover the effects that words have on people. I think also think that the book could symbolize how she becomes separated from her brother and mom, because by dealing with the topic of proper burials, it reminds me of the fact that the book helps her to cope with the loss of her real family, since burials are part of the process of commemorating the deceased, and the book reminded Liesel of the last day she saw her mom and brother.

[isabelleansberry]

The book is definitely a huge connection of Liesel to her past, and a memory of her old family. I also believe that the author made the first stolen book to be one about something grim and depressing as an ironic connection between the book and the narrator, Death. The book explains how the character Death was present when Liesel's brother was buried, and when she stole her first book. The Gravedigger's Handbook and Death are a perfect match, in a way, since they both tie back to the day on the train when Liesel's brother died, and her life changed forever.

[ethanashbrook]

“When the dragging was done, the mother and the girl stood and breathed. There was something black and rectangular lodged in the snow. Only the girl saw it. She bent down and picked it up and held it firmly in her fingers.” (Zusak 24).
Naturally, the first book anyone reads is a very remarkable milestone. Being “the first” gives the book in question a lot of significance. So why did the author choose to place, of all things, The Grave Digger's Handbook on this pedestal? Why not a volume of Shakespeare's great works, or copy of the Bible? The author choose this unassuming book not because it had a high significance with many people, but because it had a high significance with the protagonist. Its acquisition parallels the death of her brother, showing how her journey in the story and her journey into literature both begin with death. It’s subject matter, grave digging, ties into one of the book’s themes; the power of mortality. It also foreshadows the many deaths Liesel Meminger will come to see along her journey.

[ninaseidel]

I think The Grave Digger's Handbook gave Leisel something to hold onto that was connected to her brother but it was also one of the first things that she and Hans Hubermann bonded over. The book helped her cling onto something that reminded her of her brother and mother but it also helped kick off her new life with Hans and Rosa Hubermann.

[roselyn]

The Grave Digger's Handbook is the start of everything. It started her obsession for books and the friendship between her and Hans. The Handbook was the first book she read. It started her interest in books which led to her hobby of stealing. It also sparked the friendship that was to be formed between her and Hans. They grew close due to the late night reading lessons. The Handbook can also symbolize her old life with her real mother and brother. It is one of the last memories she has of them. I believe that whenever she reads the Grave Digger's Handbook she can't help but think about her brother's grave and how he died and how her mother had to drag her away. The book is like a tether to her past.

[alexhammond]

The Grave Digger's Handbook, in my opinion, represents how some things end giving the opportunity for others to begin. She developed her love of reading and her fascination with learning, which helped her build her relationship with max. Yet it also represents her final relations with her brother and her mother. It was the first emotional bond between her and Hans, it set up her relations with everyone for the rest of the story.

[simonplotkin]

Because of the scarcity of books, each one represents not only itself, but also when and where she got it. The grave diggers hand book is the only physical object that she has from the day her brother died. It is the reminder of her past throughout the novel. It is fitting that it is a book about death from when her brother died. It is a book that no one would read for entertainment or pleasure, but Liesel reads it because it is all she has and because of this grows an attachment to it. It represents the day she found it, harsh, bleak and mournful.

[hannahnegri]

The Grave Diggers Handbook originally starts off as a connection to Liesel's lost family, but it eventually turns into a connection with Hans Hubermann, and motivates her to learn to read. Liesel's connection with Hans is one of the most important relationships she has, and fundamental to the plot. If Liesel hadn't been close with her papa she would not have become more compassionate, would not have formed the bond with Max, and would also be less likely to come to understand and love Rosa.

[janepearson]

I believe that The Grave Diggers Handbook was just the start of Liesel's journey. I think that when she first finds the book, it was meant to be her last connection between her mother and brother. The book was the last thing she could remember either of them by. But as the book continues, it becomes more of a tool, and also a bridge connecting her and her new relationship with her father. The Grave Diggers Handbook brings out the curiosity in Liesel, and without the book, her relationship between her new father, Max, and Rosa could of never evolved the way it did at the end of the book.