Quotes from book

The Book Thief

“When death captures me,' the boy vowed, 'he will feel my fist on his face.'

Personally, I quite like that. Such stupid gallantry.

Yes.

I like that a lot.”

“Just be patient, she told herself, and with the mounting pages, the strength of her writing fist grew.”

“The point is, it didn’t really matter what the book was about. It was what it meant that was important.”

“He was waving. "Saukerl," she laughed, and as she held up her hand, she knew completely that he was simultaneously calling her a Saumensch. I think that's as close to love as eleven-year-olds can get.”

“for some reason, dying men always ask the question they know the answer to. perhaps it's so they can die being right.”

“She rubbed her eyes, and after a long study of his face, she spoke
"Is it really you?"
Is it from your cheek, she thought, that I took the seed?
The man nodded.
His heart wobbled and he held tighter to the branches.
It is.”

“In years to come, he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer - proof again of the contradictory human being. So much good, so much evil. Just add water.”

“The orange flames waved at the crowd as paper and print dissolved inside them. Burning words were torn from their sentences.”

“Somewhere, far down, there was an itch in his heart, but he made it a point not to scratch it. He was afraid of what might come leaking out.”

“A small fact:
You are going to die…. does this worry you?”

“Death waits for no man - and if he does, he doesn't usually wait for very long.”

“The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn't be any of this.”

“I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”

“Summer came.
For the books thief, everything was going nicely.
For me, the sky was the color of Jews.”

“You can't eat books, sweetheart.”

“First the colours.
Then the humans.
That’s usually how I see things.
Or at least, how I try.”

“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.”

“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.”

“How do you tell if something's alive? You check for breathing.”