Page 403 - The Book Thief

He was not being put on trial for treason or for helping Jews or anything of the
sort. Hans Hubermann was being rewarded, at least as far as some people were
concerned. How could this be possible?

There has to be more.

There was.

On Friday, a statement arrived to say that Hans Hubermann was to be drafted
into the German army. A member of the party would be happy to play a role in
the war effort, it concluded. If he wasnt, there would certainly be consequences.

Liesel had just returned from reading with Frau Holtzapfel. The kitchen was
heavy with soup steam and the vacant faces of Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Papa
was seated. Mama stood above him as the soup started to burn.

God, please dont send me to Russia, Papa said.

Mama, the soups burning.

What?

Liesel hurried across and took it from the stove. The soup. When shed
successfully rescued it, she turned and viewed her foster parents. Faces like
ghost towns. Papa, whats wrong?

He handed her the letter and her hands began to shake as she made her way
through it. The words had been punched forcefully into the paper.

THE CONTENTS OF
LIESEL MEMINGERS IMAGINATION

In the shell-shocked kitchen, somewhere near the
stove, theres an image of a lonely, overworked
typewriter. It sits in a distant, near-empty room. Its keys are
faded and a blank sheet waits patiently upright in the assumed
position. It wavers slightly in the breeze from the window.
Coffee break is nearly over. A pile of paper the height of a human