In the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Magical realism is used to convey certain ideas to the reader. Zusak does this throughout the text by altering reality in order to expose an idea readers may not have otherwise apprehended. an example of this is that the setting for most of the book is in the town of Molching which the reader only realizes after reading the text that does not actually exist. this betrayal makes the reader start to question what else is made up due to the use of real places and events throughout the novel. “A quiet town way beyond the outskirts of Munich, there was a town called Molching”. This use of real places leads the reader to start questioning other aspects of the text. By creating a fictional setting like Molching, Zusak gets the freedom to alter the setting as he pleases. an example of this is Himel Street. Liesel is brought up on Himmel street, which death tells us is a direct translation of heaven. “Whoever named Himmel Street has a healthy sense of irony. Not that it was a living hell. It wasn’t. But it sure wasn’t heaven, either.” by being able to create all aspects of the setting Zusak is able to create this irony.