Question by NiteOwl: “Book Thief” question – probably really simple but I’m stumped?
I have to do a project on the chapter 13 presents. We have to include pictures, so I was just going to do one for every present basically. One of the presents is “a slab of grief” and I can’t figure out what to put there, or what it means really. I think its when Liesel starts to cry after finishing “The Whistler” and Max won’t wake up and the tear falls on his face. Is that the slab of grief? Any idea what I should put for the picture? Thanks so much!

Best answer:

Answer by Lucy Prewett
I LOVE The Book Thief.
The dictionary.com definition of “grief” is
1.keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret.
2.a cause or occasion of keen distress or sorrow.
So yes, I think a tear would be suitable for this picture, because Max is one of Liesel’s few friends, and the only that shares her love of literacy. I think that maybe a broken, grey heart inside of a rectangular prism would be more symbolic of the “slab of grief” because she really loves him as a friend.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

My Journey to Hope – my-journey-to-hope.com Don Goehner explains why he wrote My Journey to Hope, a book on grief, that deals with loss of a loved one and is one the great books on grief.