The Book Thief
The Book Thief Chapter 25 Summary
The Aryan Shopkeeper
- First, Death foreshadows – Liesel and Rudy are leaning against Frau Diller's candy store.
- Liesel is sucking on candy.
- She and Rudy are playfully and semi-profanely (as usual) arguing over the piece of candy.
- She passes the candy to Rudy.
- They both agree it's a wonderful time.
- Now, Death backtracks ever so slightly. It's the end of August (1940).
- Rudy and Liesel find "one pfennig" (25.6) in the dirt. ("Pfennig" sounds an awful lot like the "penny," doesn't it?)
- They take it into Frau Diller's shop to see if they can buy the candy they've heard rumors about.
- Frau Diller makes both of them say heil Hitler.
- Then she accepts the coin, and Rudy asks for "Mixed candy" (25.13).
- Frau Diller gives them one piece of candy and tells Rudy to "Mix it [him]self" (25.15).
- The candy is two hard to break in half, so they trade off every ten sucks.
- The candy stains their tongues and teeth red – they are content.
- Death tells us "The day had been a great one, and Nazi Germany was a wondrous place" (25.20).
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