The Book Thief: Prologue–Part Two

by Markus Zusak
Liesel Meminger is a foster child living in Nazi Germany in 1939. Surrounded by violence, hardship, and war, Liesel is watched over by Death, who narrates her story.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Part Two, Part Three–Part Four, Part Five–Part Six, Part Seven–Part Nine, Part Ten–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. malicious
    having the nature of threatening evil
    I am not malicious.
  2. abhorrence
    hate coupled with disgust
    The abhorrence on his cheeks was growing thicker by the moment.
  3. illustrious
    widely known and esteemed
    The book thief had struck for the first time — the beginning of an illustrious career. Growing.
  4. hiatus
    an interruption in the intensity or amount of something
    I should hasten to admit, however, that there was a considerable hiatus between the first stolen book and the second.
  5. raucous
    disturbing the public peace; loud and rough
    Evenings in the small kitchen were raucous, without fail.
  6. infamy
    a state of extreme dishonor
    As we both know, Liesel wasn’t on hand on Himmel Street when Rudy performed his act of childhood infamy.
  7. flippant
    showing an inappropriate lack of seriousness
    If you were being flippant about it, you’d say that all it took was a little bit of fire, really, and some human shouting to go with it.
  8. overzealous
    marked by excessive enthusiasm for a cause or idea
    You see, people may tell you that Nazi Germany was built on anti-Semitism, a somewhat overzealous leader, and a nation of hate-fed bigots, but it would all have come to nothing had the Germans not loved one particular activity:
    To burn.
  9. deterrent
    something immaterial that interferes with action or progress
    One afternoon, she was tempted to steal a book from the class bookshelf, but frankly, the prospect of another corridor Watschen at the hands of Sister Maria was a powerful enough deterrent.
  10. adhere
    follow through or carry out a plan without deviation
    Later, they read some more in bed, adhering to the tradition of circling the words she didn’t know and writing them down.
  11. fervent
    characterized by intense emotion
    Rosa Hubermann was a great imitator, and a fervent one.
  12. incinerate
    cause to burn
    It would have come as no surprise if certain members of the party had gone away and published a thousand or so books or posters of poisonous moral matter simply to incinerate them.
  13. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    She didn’t admonish him at all, which, as you know, was highly unusual.
  14. consummate
    having or revealing supreme mastery or skill
    He was performing now what is called a Schreierei — a consummate exhibition of passionate shouting — warning the crowd to be watchful, to be vigilant, to seek out and destroy the evil machinations plotting to infect the motherland with its deplorable ways.
  15. deplorable
    bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure
    He was performing now what is called a Schreierei — a consummate exhibition of passionate shouting — warning the crowd to be watchful, to be vigilant, to seek out and destroy the evil machinations plotting to infect the motherland with its deplorable ways.
Created on Tue Feb 26 18:24:35 EST 2013 (updated Wed Jun 25 14:16:57 EDT 2025)

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