"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Eight

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 One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. anarchist
    an advocate of the abolition of governments
    featuring:
    dominoes and darkness—punishment—a promise keeper’s wife—a collector—the bread eaters—a candle in the trees—a hidden sketchbook—and the anarchist’s suit collection
  2. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    The remaining three listened to the radio in the bedroom, oblivious.
  3. canny
    showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
    It was one of the girls who answered. The youngest, Bettina. She was five. “There are two monsters,” she said. “They’ve come for Rudy”
    Again, the human child. So much cannier.
  4. intervene
    get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action
    If he’d intervened, it might have changed everything.
  5. mannerism
    a behavioral attribute that is distinctive to an individual
    He was small and nimble, pacing the school office with his manic yet businesslike movements and mannerisms.
  6. perilous
    fraught with danger
    Both Rudy and the other boy, Olaf Spiegel, had started undressing now as well, but they were nowhere near the perilous position of Jurgen Schwarz.
  7. abject
    most unfortunate or miserable
    When his underpants came down, it was with abject humiliation that he stood in the small, cool office.
  8. hail
    many objects thrown forcefully through the air
    "Arms out now.” A cough. “I said arms out.” A horrendous hail of coughing.
  9. perverse
    deviating from what is considered moral or right or proper
    In a perverse kind of way, he conceded that it didn’t feel half bad.
  10. saga
    a narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family
    The day after they’d visited Himmel Street, Rudy sat on his front step with Liesel and related the whole saga, even the smallest details.
  11. ration
    a fixed portion that is allotted
    On the ration cards of Nazi Germany, there was no listing for punishment, but everyone had to take their turn.
  12. compulsory
    required by rule
    Words like compulsory and duty were beaten into the page.
  13. vain
    unproductive of success
    Liesel followed, in a vain attempt to stop her.
  14. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    Mama was not the same—she didn’t berate.
  15. expertise
    skillfulness by virtue of possessing special knowledge
    Given his expertise in tailoring, he was given a job that at least resembled his profession.
  16. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    He almost came to enjoy finding a smoldering rafter or disheveled slab of concrete to prop those elbows up, to give them something to rest on.
  17. doggedly
    with obstinate determination
    Once in a while there was a person roaming doggedly through the fog, mostly single-worded.
  18. abridged
    shortened by condensing or rewriting
    The reading sessions included Wednesday now as well, and they’d finished the water-abridged version of The Whistler and were on to The Dream Carrier.
  19. miscreant
    a person without moral scruples
    In mid-December, a small collection of Jews and other miscreants was brought down Munich Street again, to Dachau.
  20. livid
    furiously angry
    “Hey!” Rudy was livid. “Don’t move. If they find us here and match us to the bread, we’re history.”
  21. sidle
    move unobtrusively or furtively
    They ran, and after a hundred meters, the hunched breath of the soldier drew closer. It sidled up next to her and she waited for the accompanying hand.
  22. patron
    a regular customer
    Once the last few patrons had arrived, everyone settled down solemnly and waited.
  23. dais
    a platform raised above the surrounding level
    She made her way through the countless sketches and stories, and the pictures with captions. Things like Rudy on a dais with three gold medals slung around his neck.
  24. rampant
    occurring or increasing in an unrestrained way
    They were all placed on a conveyor belt and run through a rampant machine that gave them a lifetime in ten minutes.
  25. lanky
    tall and thin and having long slender limbs
    Liesel walked hurriedly to remain in step with the lankier stride of her neighbor.
Created on Wed Feb 27 11:03:26 EST 2013 (updated Wed May 11 14:05:21 EDT 2022)

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