Quotes from Markus Zusak

I'm just another stupid human.

You cannot be afraid, Read the book. Smile at it. It's a great book-the greatest book you've ever read.

It was a year for the ages, like 79, like 1346, to name just a few. Forget the scythe, Goddamn it, I needed a broom or a mop. And I needed a vacation.

It's a lot easier, she realized, to be on the verge of something than to actually be it. This would still take time.

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

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.

When death captures me, the boy vowed, he will feel my fist in his face. (31.26)

That was when the world wasn't so big and I could see everywhere. It was when my father was a hero and not a human.

It amazes me what humans can do, even when streams are flowing down their faces and they stagger on, coughing and searching, and finding.

What do you want to kiss me for? I'm filthy.'- Liesel So am I.'- Rudy

All my friends seem to be smart arses. Don't ask me why. Like many things, it is what it is.

It's impeccable how brutal the truth can be at times. You can only admire it. Usually, we walk around constantly believing ourselves. I'm okay, we say. I'm alright. But sometimes the truth arrives on you, and you can't get it off. That's when you realize that sometimes it isn't even an answer - it's a question. Even now, I wonder how much of my life is convinced.

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.

There were people everywhere on the city street, but the stranger could not have been more alone if it were empty.

there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing.

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.

Make no mistake, the woman had a heart. She had a bigger one that people would think. There was a lot in it, stored up, high in miles of hidden shelving. Remember that she was the woman with the instrument strapped to her body in the long, moon-slit night.

She soon says, You're my best friend, Ed. You can kill a man with those words. No gun. No bullets. Just words and a girl.

She was a girl with a mountain to climb.

The best word shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words. They were the ones who could climb the highest. One such word shaker was a small, skinny girl. She was renowned as the best word shaker of her region because she knew how powerless a person could be WITHOUT words.

Of course you're real-like any thought or any story. It's real when you're in it.

Finally, in October 1945, a man with swampy eyes, feathers of hair, and a clean-shaven face walked into the shop. He approached the counter. Is there someone here by the name of Leisel Meminger? Yes, she's in the back, said Alex. He was hopeful, but he wanted to be sure. May I ask who is calling on her? Leisel came out. They hugged and cried and fell to the floor.

There was also a rumor that later in the day, she walked fully clothed into the Amper River and said something very strange. Something about a kiss. Something about a Saumensch. How many times did she have to say goodbye?

They were French, they were Jews, and they were you.