The Book Thief

P: How does the author use imagery throughout the novel?

R: For me the most vivid imagery I come across is in Death's descriptions of the colors he encounters. In the beginning of the tale Death explains that he uses colors as a distraction from the job that he has been cursed to fulfill. After this he continues to describe the colors of the skies on days where he must capture souls. He mentions the white of the snow when he first encounters Liesel. The white he describes paints a picture of the frozen field where Liesel looses her mother and brother. He talks of the color of the sky on blue days and the bloody-red color on days of massacre and unrest. When the books are burned by the Nazi's the sky gleams in colors of smoke and fire. All of these bring myself as the reader to create pictures of the scenery in my mind which tended to distract me from the finer points of the plot. This seems brilliant considering this is exactly what Death uses to provide himself with a "vacation" from the wretched job. Zusak does not limit the colorful imagery solely to scenery. In one scenario he also described Han's eyes as silver comparing them to kindness. "Like soft silver, melting". The colors that described Leisel's life when he collected he soul were Red, White, and Black. The colors of the Nazi flag. He uses the colors as imagery allowing us as readers to create beautiful pictures but he also uses the colors to have symbolic meaning. It is all very genius if you ask me.