The Book Thief Quotes with Page Numbers

I am haunted by humans. – Death, page 550

I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. – Liesel Meminger, page 528

In the end, the words of love will always be more important than the words of hate. – Liesel Meminger, page 550

I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race – that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. – Death, page 1

The words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain. – Death, page 78

I wanted to tell the book thief she was one of the few souls that made me wonder what it was to live. – Death, page 491

The best souls are tucked deep in the pages of a book. – Death, page 32

How could I ever hold my head up if I failed in such a moment? – Max Vandenburg, page 453

I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sand castles, houses of cards, that’s where they begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate. – Death, page 184

She would also write in words that were hers. And there was more to that, she knew. There was more to it all, still. – Death, page 542

The only truth she had left? A cold and debilitating hatred. – Death, page 541

I am haunted by humans. – Death, page 556

I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. – Death, page 185

I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn’t already know? – Death, page 445

This is the greatest gift a human being can receive: to understand, and to be understood. – Death, page 550

We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. – Rudy Steiner, page 551

She leaned down and looked at his lifeless face and Liesel kissed this broken boy, and she would do it again. – Death, page 536

She was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words. – Death, page 520

The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn’t be any of this. – Death, page 85

I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right. – Liesel Meminger, page 527

Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die. – Death, page 214

Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness. – Death, page 175

When death captures me, the boy vowed, he will feel my fists on his face. Only I will have died. – Max Vandenburg, page 212

I guess humans are too afraid of nothingness to imagine a world without hate. – Death, page 545

People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and at its ends, but to me it’s quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment. – Death, page 293

For her, the sky was the color of Jews. – Death, page 36

Sometimes, I arrive too late. – Death, page 431

To live it so wonderfully means you have to love fiercely. And this is not easy for me. – Death, page 599

I have to say that although it broke my heart, I was, and still am, glad I was there. – Death, page 481

The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy who loves you. – Death, page 281

It kills me sometimes, how people die. – Death, page 491

I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race—that rarely do I even simply estimate it. – Death, page 1

She was the book thief without the words. – Death, page 550

Again, the boy agreed. ‘Where I’m going, I don’t need the sun.’ ‘Good,’ Papa said, ‘because you won’t have it.’ – page 89

I knew that he’d wake up and see me one day, but I had no idea it would be like this. – Liesel Meminger, page 501

Was I ever not addressing you properly, Captain? Do I look like a captain? Alex shrugged. Maybe. A little. A small piece of one, I suppose. I can almost see the clip of a hat. – page 154

A hairbrush is not a weapon. A shame, really, because it could be a lot quieter. – page 244

He was the crazy one who had painted himself black and defeated the world. She was the book thief without the words. Trust me, though, the words were on their way. – page 550

The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy who loves you. – page 281

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. – Death, page 491

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… – Death, page 530

I’ve always been afraid of banked fires. – Death, page 42

This time, she cried until she was empty. The feeling of emptiness of days without the sun. – Death, page 550

And that’s the kind of thing I’m supposed to be telling myself. It’s not a new story. People intimidate each other all the time. – Death, page 271

That was why the girl was dangerous. She was alive. And he had no idea what to do with a thing so alive. – Death, page 376

One was a book thief. The other stole the sky. – Death, page 73

Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness. – Death, page 510

She was the book thief, again. – Death, page 67

She was saying goodbye and she didn’t even know it. – Death, page 414

It amazes me what humans can do, even when streams are flowing down their faces and they stagger on… – Death, page 526