Contents
Chapter 10 - The Joy of Cigarettes
Overview
Liesel finishes The Grave Digger’s Handbook with Hans during a sleepless night, marking a milestone in her reading. Over Christmas, she receives two books that Hans bought by trading cigarettes, briefly lifting the family’s spirits. Liesel’s school tensions ease, but the chapter ends by hinting this happiness will not last.
Summary
Toward the end of 1939, Liesel grows more settled in Molching, balancing grief for her brother and mother with growing affection for Hans and Rosa and a complicated friendship with Rudy. Her reading improves, edging her closer to real competence.
On December 17, after waking from her recurring nightmare, Liesel asks Hans to finish The Grave Digger’s Handbook. Through the night they read the final chapter, noting difficult words. At dawn they complete the book and share a quiet, hard-won satisfaction as Liesel remembers her brother Werner.
At school, there are no more public reading tests. Liesel cautiously tests herself with a textbook, reads slowly but successfully, and avoids Sister Maria’s punishments by keeping her head down. She resists stealing from the classroom shelf, still stung by her earlier failure.
Over Christmas, after midnight mass with Rosa, Hans, Hans Junior, and Trudy, Liesel discovers two gifts: Faust the Dog and The Lighthouse. Hans reveals he traded his cigarette rations—eight per book—to buy them, to Rosa’s mixed disgust and grudging acceptance. The family enjoys a brief period of warmth and humor, even celebrating a box of eggs procured the same way. The chapter closes with the note that this happiness ends a few weeks later.
Who Appears
- Liesel MemingerFinishes The Grave Digger’s Handbook, gains reading confidence, avoids trouble at school, and cherishes two Christmas books.
- Hans HubermannReads through the night with Liesel and trades cigarette rations to buy her two books, briefly brightening the household.
- Rosa HubermannGruff but supportive; scolds Hans for trading cigarettes, then enjoys the eggs and the brief holiday cheer.
- Sister MariaStrict teacher whose punishments Liesel avoids by staying quiet and diligent after previous failures.
- Hans JuniorAppears at midnight mass and argues politics with Hans on Christmas Eve.
- Trudy HubermannJoins the family at church on Christmas Eve; present during the holiday at the Hubermanns.