What comparison does death make to liesel reading in the mayor's library, and max living in the basement

This is when Liezel is reading excerpts from "The Whistler" in the Mayor's library. She felt cold reading it, "Every time she picked up or delivered from the Mayor's house, she read three pages and shivered, but she could not last forever..." Similarly Max could not "withstand the basement much longer." Like Liezel he felt the cold; he felt the coldness of the damp basement and the coldness of the isolation.

In Chapter 22, Death tells us that Liesel was seen stealing by the mayor's wife, but the woman is "just waiting for the right moment" (22.36) to let her know. Ilsa eventually allows her to use the library in secret.

Hop to Chapter 23, and Death does allude once more to secrecy~ that would be the secret of Max's hiding place; "to a secret storage room" (23.6). He doesn't really compare the two, but the similarities have been placed in context for a reason.

Actually, if you take a look at the chapter "The Swapping of Nightmares", the comparison I made right there on pg 213 (my copy).

Actually, if you take a look at the chapter "The Swapping of Nightmares", the comparison is made right there on pg 213 (my copy).