Summary
Analysis
Death describes a future scene with Rudy, where he is diving into the cold Amper River to fetch a book, and then standing in the water, asking Liesel for a kiss. Death then reveals Rudy's death, which will take place two years later among piles of rubble.
This seems to give away the ending, but it also is a reminder that death awaits everyone – even so, the reader's knowledge of Rudy's death make his part in the rest of the novel seem more tragic.