![]() They all reacted differently to their feelings of guilt, either trying to do good things because that must be the reason they survived, or wanting to do bad things to the people who caused their guilt, or simply trying to live a normal life. We also talked about how the people in the book felt different kinds of guilt, mostly to do with surviving when others had died, often in order to save them. We liked that this book showed the quieter ways that the German people tried to help the Jewish people rather than the big brash heroic ways that other books try to show. We felt that Mama, despite her gruff exterior, really loved both Papa and Leisel with all her heart, she just happened to have built a wall around her heart to protect it a little. Some of the characters in this book really spoke to some of the book group, especially Mama and Papa. Interestingly we never find out where the souls eventually end up, just that Death pulls them from the dead bodies and collects them. Some saw him as growing slowly larger and carrying more and more souls, others felt that he must move incredibly fast collecting one or two at a time. We had a quick discussion as to how we saw Death managing to collect all the hundreds and thousands of souls during this particularly death ridden time. Others felt that while some of the imagery was interesting it did have a tendency to become a little too much at some points, causing confusion as to what Death meant. Some of the book club really enjoyed this and felt it really added to the book. There is a lot of imagery in the book, especially from Death regards the colours he sees when collecting souls. Interestingly some people took a while to realise that Death was narrating rather than any of the other characters. Other people didn't enjoy this as they liked the element of not knowing and having surprises through the book. Some people liked this as it meant they could focus on the rest of the book rather than just the deaths. It was interesting that Death gave large hints about when people might be dying, often quite far in advance of the event. We discussed the fact that Death narrates the book, we felt that this gave it an interesting angle rather than seeing things through say Rudy or Leisels viewpoint. Interestingly two people at the meeting had also watched the film so were able to add this viewpoint to the discussion. Most of the people at this meeting had finished the book but some were struggling with it.
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