The Thief: Ilsa Hermann - Book Report/Review Example

“The Book Thief Ilsa Hermann. Markus Zusak’s “The Book Thief” is a deeply poignant story. Zusak’s writing style isvery refreshing and makes for easy reading. Zusak moves back and forth in time. This is particularly effective in introducing the reader to the characters and building them up as the book goes along. The reader’s feeling of sympathy and identification with even the minor characters becomes more pronounced as Zusak progressively reveals snippets of their lives and personalities.

Ilsa Hermann’s character moves from distant to enigmatic, and finally to sympathetic, in the mind of the reader. Ilsa Hemann first appears to be a distant, cold character. She is the Mayor’s wife, living in a grand house on the appropriately named ‘Grande Strasse.’ Rosa Hubermann groups her with all the other wealthy inhabitants of the town, people who are too lazy to wash their own clothes. Rosa introduces Ilsa to Liesel Meminger as a woman who “sits at home all day, too mean to light a fire --- She’s crazy” (Zusak, 31).

Ilsa’s total silence appears to be a form of snobbishness, reflecting her disdain for the lowly Hubermanns. She is “Always silent. Always alone. No words, not once” (Zusak, 66), and wears a look of “utter distance” (Zusak, 92). Liesel gradually gets closer to the mayor’s wife. As Lisesl gets better acquainted with her, Ilsa takes on an enigmatic aspect for the reader. Ilsa witnesses Liesel picking up the forbidden books from the Nazi bonfire, but holds her silence and shields the girl.

She goes on to encourage the little girl to read the books in her library. Ilsa genuinely regrets having to terminate Rosa Hubermann’s services. It now becomes clear that her silence does not connote distance, but is a sign of vulnerability. This is a women who has been defeated by life. She is no snob, but a “mute, damaged woman” (Zusak, 101), whose smile gives “the appearance now of a bruise” (Zusak, 95). Her strangeness and abnormality hint at some dark tragedy in her past. As the story progresses, Ilsa’s character is revealed more fully.

Ilsa Hubermann wins the sympathy of the reader as her character develops. Her declaration on the death of her son, “He froze to death, I’m sure of it” (Zusak, 102) makes her human. Soon, the “sorrowful woman with a roomful of books” (Zusak, 103) becomes an active player in the plot. Even after Liesel lashes out at her in fury, Ilsa facilitates Liesel’s ‘stealing’ of books from her house, deliberately leaving the window open so that she can access the library. Her underlying kindness becomes apparent, with her gift of cookies.

She is the true friend who gives Liesel “Books and pages and a happy place” (Zusak, 365). When she gives Liesel the notebook, she turns the reader of books into a writer. She passes on the wisdom of her own experience to the child: “don’t punish yourself, --- Don’t be like me, Liesel” (Zusak, 368). Finally, it is Ilsa who gives Liesel a home when the Hubermann’s and the Steiner’s die. Ilsa Hubermann grows on the reader. At her introduction, she remains closed to the reader’s scrutiny.

She opens up as the story progresses, gradually earning the reader’s interest and empathy: she even has a sense of humor, asking Liesel, “Shall we use the door or the window?” (Zusak, 368). Her character develops with the snippets Zusak gives the reader. From a distant figure, she becomes a woman with a mysterious, tragic past. She then goes on to become a fast friend to Liesel Meminger. In this role, the reader becomes completely sympathetic to the Mayor’s wife and Ilsa Hubermann’s character is accepted as a portrait of a decent, compassionate woman, like the other major characters in the story.

Works Cited. Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Year of Publication. Print.