The Book Thief Part II The Gamblers - Floating Book Summary

Liesel continued to read in the mayor's library and Frau Hermann tried to give Liesel a book, The Whistler, which Liesel had been reading, but Liesel refused to take the book.

Max decided he should start to exercise and as his body became stronger, he began to fantasize he and Hitler were fighting.

In early July, Frau Hermann insisted Liesel take The Whistler home with her. She also gave Liesel a note telling Rosa her services were no longer needed. Liesel, after she read the note, went back to the mayor's home and told Frau Hermann what she thought of her and gave back the book. That night she told Rosa the mayor's wife fired her, because Liesel insulted her, but Rosa didn't believe her.

Rudy meanwhile was busy sticking up for Tommy Müller at Hitler Youth meetings. The boys were supposed to all stop marching at the same time. They were told Hitler wanted to hear one click as the unit came to a halt. But, Tommy, who suffered from severe ear infections, couldn't hear the command to halt. This caused the leader of their unit, Franz Deutscher, to become irritated with Tommy.

Rudy tried to tell Franz about Tommy's hearing problems, but all Franz could hear was Rudy contradicting him. He punished the boys by making them run and do sprints, which made them muddy and exhausted. Tommy felt awful about the situation, but Rudy wouldn't hear his apology. It was this treatment, which Liesel realized led Rudy and her too, to commit crimes.

It was time to once again go out and steal from the farmers. Viktor Chemmel took Arthur Berg's place as the group leader; he was mean and he stole because he liked it.

The farmers had a poor crop, which meant the haul for the group was slim. Rudy and Liesel's share was one apple between the two of them. When Rudy complained about it, Viktor threw a half-eaten apple at them. Rudy was rewarded for expressing his dissatisfaction, by having Viktor make his nose bleed. Viktor threw Liesel and Rudy out of the group, but before they left Rudy spat saliva and blood on Viktor's feet. He promised Rudy that someday he would pay for that act. He made Rudy pay for his actions five months later.

Max down in the basement used the painted over pages of Mein Kampf to express his feelings about what had happened to him and how he felt about his experience. He kept the book with him at all times. It showed his true feelings about Germany and how Hitler's effect changed the people.

One day Liesel found the book lying beside a sleeping Max and she read it. Max woke up as she was turning to leave and scared her. She was startled by his voice and frightened by his illustrations and words.

Rudy was fed up with the abuse he was being subjected to at the Hitler Youth meetings. He needed to have a win, so he decided he and Liesel would steal something, hopefully food.

Liesel decided to steal The Whistler from the mayor's house. She didn't tell Rudy she wasn't stealing food, but instead a book.

One night, after they found the library window open, Liesel took off her shoes and crept into the library. She left quickly after she found the book, but as they ran away, they discovered they had left Liesel's shoes behind at the house. Rudy went back and retrieved the shoes. That night as he left her he said, "Good night, book thief."

Rudy Steiner was a good boy, with a streak of mischievousness that often caused him trouble. The first problem occurred in November of 1941 in Mr. Thomas Mamer's grocery store. Rudy, who was always hungry, stole the largest potato in the store. This caused ire among the other customers in the store, not to mention in Mr. Mamer. Mr. Mamer wanted to call the police and hand Rudy over to them, but with the help of his school teacher, who was at the store, he instead was thrown out of the store.

He could also be defiant, which caused him trouble at the Hitler Youth meetings. He was constantly being disciplined by Franz Deutscher for such indiscretions as not knowing Hitler's birthdate. One day he spotted Franz on the street and threw a rock at him. Franz retaliated by throwing him onto the sidewalk causing Rudy to develop a black eye, cracked his ribs and gave him a humiliating haircut.

Rudy decided, after a few more meetings, to stop attending the Hitler Youth sessions. His parents were alerted to his absences and told they could be fined if he did not attend. Eventually Rudy's brother found another division for him to join, which was an aeronautical division, and he attended its meetings.

In the first weeks of December 1941, Rudy and Liesel saw Franz Deutscher walking down the street. So they went down another street to avoid him and instead ran into Viktor Chemmel and his gang of boys.

Viktor saw Liesel's book The Whistler and decided to have some fun, so he took the book demanding fifty marks for its return. Rudy came at Viktor in an attempt to retrieve the book, but Viktor threw the book into the Amper River. Rudy ran after the book, jumped into the river and got it back for Liesel. He asked for a kiss in return for his good deed, but was once again denied. The retrieval of the book was the victory Rudy had been looking for all along. The denial of the kiss didn't matter, because he knew he loved Liesel and that was all that mattered.

Rudy showed that while he may not always make the best decisions, he was a true and loyal friend. He also would not allow anyone to hurt Liesel in anyway. Liesel stood by Rudy in return and helped him in his exploits.



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