Max Vandenburg is a Jewish boy hiding from Nazi persecution in “The Book Thief.”
He uses writing and drawing as escapism, leading to some of his most inventive work during his loneliest moments.
This is evident when he writes “The Standover Man” for his friend Liesel about his tumultuous life.
Max’s character also embodies guilt, despair, and deep friendship, making his survival and reconnection with Liesel post-war a crucial aspect of the narrative.
The Book Thief Quotes With Page Numbers
Max Vandenburg Quotes With Page Numbers
“A few hundred miles northwest, in Stuttgart… a man was sitting in the dark. It was the best place, they decided. It’s harder to find a Jew in the dark. He sat on his suitcase, waiting. How many days had it been now? He had eaten only the foul taste of his own hungry breath for what felt like weeks, and still, nothing. Occasionally voices wandered past and sometimes he longed for them to knuckle the door, to open it, to drag him out, into the unbearable light.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (Death about Max), Page 139
“It’s harder to find a Jew in the dark. He sat on his suitcase, waiting. How many days had it been now? He had eaten only the foul taste of his own hungry breath for what felt like weeks, and still, nothing. Occasionally voices wandered past and sometimes he longed for them to knuckle the door, to open it, to drag him out, into the unbearable light.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (Death about Max), Page 139
“You cannot be afraid, Read the book. Smile at it. It’s a great book-the greatest book you’ve ever read.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 151
“With a clean-shaven face and lopsided yet neatly combed hair, he had walked out of that building a new man. In fact, he walked out German. Hang on a second, he was German. Or more to the point, he had been.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 159
“If they killed him tonight, at least he would die alive.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 168
“Now he turned on to the side street . . . resisting the urge to sob or even imagine the safety that might be awaiting him. He reminded himself that this was no time for hope. Certainly he could almost touch it. He could feel it, somewhere just out of reach. Instead of acknowledging it, he went about the business of deciding again what to do if he was caught at the last moment or if by some chance the wrong person awaited him inside.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 169
“At thirteen, tragedy struck again when his uncle died… Somehow, between the sadness and loss, Max Vandenburg, who was now a teenager with hard hands, blackened eyes, and a sore tooth, was also a little disappointed. Even disgruntled. As he watched his uncle sink slowly into the bed, he decided that he would never allow himself to die like that.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 188
“When death captures me,” the boy vowed, “he will feel my fist in his face.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 189
“They fought each other until 1933, when they were seventeen. Grudging respect turned to genuine friendship, and the urge to fight left them.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 191
“Altogether, over the next few years, Max Vandenburg and Walter Kugler fought thirteen times. Walter was always seeking revenge for that first victory Max took from him, and Max was always looking to emulate his moment of glory. In the end, the record stood at 10–3 for Walter. They fought each other until 1933, when they were seventeen. Grudging respect turned to genuine friendship, and the urge to fight left them.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 191
“Max Vandenburg promised that he would never sleep in Liesel’s room again. What was he thinking of that first night? The very idea of it mortified him. He rationalized that he was so bewildered upon his arrival that he allowed such a thing. The basement was the only place for him as far as he was concerned. Forget the cold and the loneliness. He was a Jew, and if there was one place he was destined to exist, it was a basement or any other such hidden venue of survival.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 207
“Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day.
That was the business of hiding a Jew.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 211
“It was a Monday and they walked on a tightrope to the sun.”
~Marcus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 249
“He was twenty-four, but he could still fantasize. “In the blue corner,” he quietly commentated, “we have the champion of the world, the Aryan masterpiece—the Fuhrer.” He breathed and turned. “And in the red corner, we have the Jewish, rat-faced challenger—Max Vandenburg.” Around him, it all materialized.”
~Marcus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max), Page 251
“Often I wish this would all be over, Liesel, but then somehow you do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Max Vandenburg about kindness), Page 313
“I…” He struggled to answer. “When everything was quiet, I went up to the corridor and the curtain in the livingroom was open just a crack… I could see outside. I watched, only for a few seconds.” He had not seen the outside world for twenty-two months.
There was no anger or reproach.
It was Papa who spoke.
How did it look?”
Max lifted his head, with great sorrow and great astonishment. “There were stars,” he said. “They burned by eyes.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Hans Hubermann and Max Vandenburg), Pages 377-78
“There were stars. They burned my eyes.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Max), Page 378
“One was a book thief. The other stole the sky.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Liesel and Max), Page 381
“The best world shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words. They were the ones who could climb the highest. One such word shaker was a small, skinny girl. She was renowned as the best word shaker of her region because she knew how powerless a person could be WITHOUT words. That’s why she could climb higher than anyone else. She had desire. She was hungry for them.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max and Liesel), Page 446
“It was how the face was acting—also studying the crowd. Fixed in concentration. Liesel felt herself pausing as she found the only face looking directly into the German spectators. It examined them with such purpose that people on either side of the book thief noticed and pointed him out.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max and Liesel), Page 509
“Liesel searched them and it was not so much a recognition of facial features that gave Max Vandenburg away. It was how the face was acting—also studying the crowd. Fixed in concentration. Liesel felt herself pausing as she found the only face looking directly into the German spectators. It examined them with such purpose that people on either side of the book thief noticed and pointed him out. “What’s he looking at?” said a male voice at her side.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death about Max and Liesel), Page 509
“Max,” she said. He turned and briefly closed his eyes as the girl continued.
There was once a strange, small man,” she said. Her arms were loose but her hands were fists at her side. “But there was a word shaker, too.”
One of the Jews on his way to Dachau had stopped walking now. He stood absolutely still as the others swerved morosely around him, leaving him completely alone. His eyes staggered, and it was so simple. The words were given across from the girl to the Jew. They climbed on to him.
The next time she spoke, the questions stumbled from her mouth. Hot tears fought for room in her eyes as she would not let them out. Better to stand resolute and proud. Let the words do all of it. “Is it really you? the young man asked,” she said. ” Is it from your cheek that I took the seed?”
Max Vandenburg remained standing.
He did not drop to his knees.
People and Jews and clouds all stopped. They watched.
As he stood, Max looked first at the girl and then stared directly into the sky who was wide and blue and magnificent. There were heavy beams– planks of son– falling randomly, wonderfully to the road. Clouds arched their backs to look behind as they started again to move on. “It’s such a beautiful day,” he said, and his voice was in many pieces. A great day to die. A great day to die,like this.
Liesel walked at him. She was courageous enought to reach out and hold his bearded face. “Is it really you,Max?”
Such a brilliant German day and its attentive crowd.
He let his mouth kiss her palm. “Yes, Liesel, it’s me,” and he held the girl’s hand in his face and cried onto her fingers. He cried as the soldiers came and a small collection of insolent Jews stood and watched.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Liesel and Max), Pages 512-13
“MAX
When the war was over and Hitler had delivered himself to my arms, Alex Steiner resumed work in his tailor shop. There was no money in it, but he busied himself there for a few hours each day, and Liesel often accompanied him. They spent many days together, often walking to Dachau after its liberation, only to be denied by the Americans.
Finally, in October 1945, a man with swampy eyes, feathers of hair, and a clean-shaven face walked into the shop. He approached the counter. “Is there someone here by the name of Liesel Meminger?”
“Yes, she’s in the back,” said Alex. He was hopeful, but he wanted to be sure. “May I ask who is calling on her?”
Liesel came out.
They hugged and cried and fell to the floor.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Death, Max, and Alex), Page 548
What does Max say to Liesel?
“Often I wish this would all be over, Liesel, but then somehow you do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands.”
~Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, (by Max Vandenburg), Page 313
Max Vandenburg Description
Max Vandenburg is a significant character in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. The book uses the perspective of Death to describe him, providing a deeply emotional perspective of Max’s life during the dark times of the Holocaust.
- Max Vandenburg, described as a Jew hiding in Germany during the Nazi regime, is marked by a strong will to survive and a vivid sense of fear which drives him into hiding.
- He is noted for his physical appearance with a clean-shaven face and neatly combed hair (Page 159), indicators of his determined efforts to blend into his surroundings and escape persecution.
- His emotional state is deeply descriptive; Max often dwells in despair and can taste the “foul taste of his own hungry breath” (Page 139). He is perpetually on edge, always ready to decide “what to do if he was caught at the last moment” (Page 169).
- Despite his situation, Max is also characterized by resilience and defiance, vowing that if death captured him, it would “feel my fist in his face.” (Page 189) This bold proclamation signifies Max’s adamant refusal to die without a fight and his indomitable spirit.
- Max’s early life is steeped in hardship and struggle, with the loss of his uncle at the age of thirteen (Page 188) and his repeated fights against Walter Kugler (Page 191). These struggles hardened Max’s hands and blackened his eyes, symbolizing his introduction to hardship and struggle early in his life.
- Amidst everything, Max is marked by resilience. As evident in the quote, “Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day. That was the business of hiding.” (Page 207).
- Despite the physical and emotional agony he endures, Max Vandenburg exhibits the binding force of friendship and reaches out for human connection. He forms a genuine bond with Liesel, albeit struggling with the shame he initially feels for sleeping in her room (Page 207).
- Max’s character shifts from a man torn between “hope” and despair (Page 169) to a symbol of the strength of the human spirit amidst extreme adversity. His narrative in The Book Thief exemplifies the immense struggle against persecution, the agony of hiding, and the necessary infusions of hope and friendship in life’s darkest hours.
Overall, Max Vandenburg’s character impresses with his resilience, strength, perseverance, and the underlying layers of emotion and fear, making his character-rich and deeply impactful.
His persistence to survive, his temerity in the face of death, and his efforts to maintain dignity and humanity amid fear and persecution provide a poignant insight into the experiences of a Jew during the Holocaust.
What does Max Vandenburg symbolize?
Max Vandenburg, from “The Book Thief,” symbolizes the strength of the human spirit even in the face of extreme adversity. Despite his situation as a Jew during the Holocaust, his bravery, loyalty, and resilience characterize him, making him a symbol of hope and resistance.
How is Max Vandenburg described?
Max Vandenburg, a character from the novel “The Book Thief,” is described as a 22-year-old Jew living during the Holocaust who is brave and loyal yet damaged by the losses he has experienced.
While initially portrayed as a struggler who was sick and emaciated upon arrival in the Hubermanns’ basement, he later reveals his strong resilience through his creativity, determination, and deeply rooted hatred for Hitler.
Despite his hardships, Max proved to be a fighter, particularly in times of suffering, showcasing many qualities that most people aspire to have.
Did Liesel marry Max?
No, Liesel did not marry Max Vandenburg. Despite developing a strong bond of friendship, their relationship did not evolve into a romantic one. Liesel married another man and had children, with Max remaining a dear friend.