In many great novels, the difficulties of a character's past develop major themes and "The Book Thief" is no exception. In the novel, author Markus Zusak utilizes the difficulties of his character's pasts to reveal a major theme in this novel. A theme is the central message of a literary work. It is a meaning of a piece of work. The ultimate theme in this novel is that no one can truly overcome the passing of their loved ones. Liesel has been through a lot in her life and her inability to overcome the death of her brother, the parting of her mother and also the bombing of Himmel Street develop the main theme in this story. Firstly, Liesel's first time being unable to get over her loss is when her brother dies in her arms. Liesel goes through a time of shock, followed by denial, and finally, her nightmares never let Liesel forget about her brother's death. Upon seeing her brother's face, Death states, "Her mouth jittered. Her cold arms were folded. Tears were frozen to the book thief's face  Page 9. All of her actions show Liesel's shock. The folding of her arms represents Liesel trying to separate herself from the cold truth and later on, Liesel tries to tell herself about her brother still alive. "Still in disbelief, she started to dig. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't-" Page 23. Death's narration shows Liesel in denial as she refuses to come to terms with the death of her brother. Furthermore, the nightmares that visit her each night all center around her brother's death. "Every night, Liesel would nightmare. Her brother's death ¦the bed that was meant for her brother floated boatlike in the darkness  Page 36. Liesel's nightmares show Liesel still reminiscing about her brother. Therefore, Liesel's shock, denial, and her nightmares all prove that Liesel cannot overcome the passing of her loved one, her brother, which relates to the theme that no one can fully recover from the leaving of their loved ones. Seco