The Book Thief Chapter 88 Summary

The Handover Man

  • Death has many stories that he uses to ease his mind while he works.
  • Death says, "I pick them up in the unluckiest, unlikeliest of places and I make sure to remember them as I go about my work" (88.3).
  • The Book Thief is (obviously) included in this mix.
  • When Death comes to Sydney for Liesel, he returns her book, The Book Thief.
  • She reads it and sits with Death.
  • She asks him if he read it and if it made sense.
  • Death wants to tell her all the things he's told us, but he can only say one thing to her: "I am haunted by humans" (88.17).
  • (If you want to talk about the ending, join us in "What's Up With the Ending?"