Post #5: Adapting The Book Thief

Although there is a movie adaption already in theaters for The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, I have not yet seen it. So, I'm going to tell you how I would adapt the book into a movie.

One thing that would definitely need to be kept in the movie would be Liesel Meminger's journey to her new home and parents on Himmel Street. This is the main event that starts off the events in the book. Without Liesel’s arrival, none of the events in the book would've taken place.

Rudy, a boy Liesel meets on Himmel Street, would have to be a strong main character in the movie. He is often involved in Liesel’s mischievous adventures, and he grows to be a very good friend to Liesel. Without Rudy, Liesel would probably just sit inside her house all day feeling depressed that her mother left her. Rudy encourages her to come out and play with the kids on the street and is a big part of her life.

A third important piece that could not be left out of the movie is the arrival of the Jewish man, Max Vandenburg. Although I have not finished reading the book, I can tell this will be a very important event because the book is set in Nazi Germany, so inviting a Jew to live in your house is a very dangerous thing to do. I’m curious to see what is going to happen to Liesel and her parents because of this.

However, there are a few things mentioned in the book that would have to be cut out of the movie for time’s sake. In the beginning when Liesel is traveling to her new home, her brother dies. Although this is very hard for Liesel and causes her to be very depressed, it doesn’t seem to be a key event in the book so far because it hasn’t really triggered any of the events.

Finally, the part where Rudy talks about wanting to be Jesse Owens would have to be cut out. The author spends a fairly good amount of time discussing how much Rudy idolizes Jesse Owens, but once again, it doesn’t seem to trigger any important events. I don’t think the audience would have to know that about Rudy to understand the movie.