The Swapping of Nightmares (p. 207-222)

This section was a rather emotional one for me. It covered Max and the first part of his stay at the Hubermanns. During this period, I found that Max was treated in such animalistic ways that he does not think he deserves anything anymore, and neither does he understand some basic human emotions. I found that this shows how horribly Jews were treated during the time period in Germany, and it makes me feel for them. During Max's stay, he stayed mostly in the basement in basically a pile of junk. Not only this, the basement was an extremely cold place, because it was winter at the time. The closest I have ever slept to this temperature was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and even then I was wearing some warm clothes. This man had barely anything to keep him warm. After Hans and Rosa decided that it was too cold for him to sleep there, during the night Max was moved up to the living room, with a fire, even though this was a potentially dangerous idea. This gave me some happiness, knowing at least it got better for someone. Because of the movement from the basement to the living room, Liesel went and talked to Max about his nightmares. It turns out that they had very similar dreams, both relating to saying goodbye to someone. Max's being literally waving, and Liesel needing to let go of her brother. This section ends with Liesel's twelfth birthday, and getting a new book. Max was not aware of this occasion, and therefore he did not get her a gift. In return, Liesel gave Max a hug, which he seems very incapable of doing.