Home > Work > The Book Thief

The Book Thief QUOTES

The Book Thief QUOTES

1 " The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy that loves you. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

2 " He does something to me, that boy. Every time. It’s his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

3 " She leaned down and looked at his lifeless face and Leisel kissed her best friend, Rudy Steiner, soft and true on his lips. He tasted dusty and sweet. He tasted like regret in the shadows of trees and in the glow of the anarchist's suit collection. She kissed him long and soft, and when she pulled herself away, she touched his mouth with her fingers...She did not say goodbye. She was incapable, and after a few more minutes at his side, she was able to tear herself from the ground. It amazes me what humans can do, even when streams are flowing down their faces and they stagger on... "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

4 " If only she could be so oblivious again, to feel such love without knowing it, mistaking it for laughter. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

5 " Even death has a heart. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

6 " Can a person steal happiness? Or is just another internal, infernal human trick? "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

7 " So much good, so much evil. Just add water. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

8 " ***A KEY WORD***
Imagined "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

9 " It kills me sometimes, how people die. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

10 " A small but noteworthy note. I've seen so many young men over the years who think they're running at other young men. They are not. They are running at me. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

11 " I carried [Rudy] softly through the broken street...with him I tried a little harder [at comforting]. I watched the contents of his soul for a moment and saw a black-painted boy calling the name Jesse Owens as he ran through an imaginary tape. I saw him hip-deep in some icy water, chasing a book, and I saw a boy lying in bed, imagining how a kiss would taste from his glorious next-door neighbor. He does something to me, that boy. Every time. It's his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

12 " Together, they would watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse, and they would smile at the beauty of destruction. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

13 " I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race - that rarely do I even simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant...I AM HAUNTED BY HUMANS. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

14 " On many counts, taking a boy like Rudy Steiner was robbery--so much life, so much to live for--yet somehow, I'm certain he would have loved to see the frightening rubble and the swelling of the sky on the night he passed away. He'd have cried and turned and smiled if only he could have seen the book thief on her hands and knees, next to his decimated body. He'd have been glad to witness her kissing his dusty, bomb-hit lips.
Yes, I know it.
In the darkness of my dark-beating heart, I know. He'd have loved it all right.
You see?
Even death has a heart. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

15 " A SMALL PIECE OF TRUTH
I do not carry a sickle or scythe.
I only wear a hooded black robe when it's cold.
And I don't have those skull-like facial features you seem to enjoy pinning on me from a distance. You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

16 " A human doesn't have a heart like mine. The human heart is a line, whereas my own is a circle, and I have the endless ability to be in the right place at the right time. The consequence of this is that I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both. Still, they have one thing I envy. Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

17 " ***HERE IS A SMALL FACT***
You are going to die. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

18 " I could introduce myself properly, but it's not really necessary. You will know me well enough and soon enough, depending on a diverse range of variables. It suffices to say that at some point in time, I will be standing over you, as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

19 " They say that war is death's best friend, but I must offer you a different point of view on that one. To me, war is like the new boss who expects the impossible. He stands over your shoulder repeating one thin, incessantly: 'Get it done, get it done.' So you work harder. You get the job done. The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more. "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief

20 " A halo surrounded the grim reaper nun, Sister Maria. (By the way-I like this human idea of the grim reaper. I like the scythe. It amuses me.) "

― Markus Zusak , The Book Thief