Compare the tone of the passages above with the tone in the following:

On the same day as Michael Holtzapfel’s funeral, 45,000 people die in Hamburg. “It was a busy day all round, really.” (page 537)

Compare the tone of the passages above with the tone in the following:

Death describing collecting souls from Auschwitz: “I picked up each soul that day as it if was newly born. I even kissed a few weary, poisoned cheeks.” (page 373).