Liesel Quotes

• She said it out loud, the words distributed into a room that was full of cold air and books. Books everywhere! Each wall was armed with overcrowded yet immaculate shelving. It was barely possible to see paintwork. There were all different styles and sizes of lettering on the spines of the black, the red, the gray, the every-colored books. It was one of the most beautiful things Liesel Meminger had ever seen. With wonder, she smiled. That such a room existed!

  Markus Zusak

  Beautiful, Wall, Book

  Markus Zusak (2016). “The Book Thief: 10th Anniversary Edition”, p.100, Random House

  59 Copy quote

  Show source

• Goodbye, Papa, you saved me. You taught me to read. No one can play like you. I'll never drink champagne. No one can play like you." -Liesel

  Markus Zusak

  Goodbye, Play, Papa

  14 Copy quote

• Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.

  Markus Zusak

  Kindness, Father, Eye

  Markus Zusak (2014). “Markus Zusak: The Book Thief & I Am the Messenger”, p.41, Knopf Books for Young Readers

  9 Copy quote

  Show source

• Often I wish this would all be over, Liesel, but then somehow you do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands.

  Markus Zusak

  Grief, Hands, Wish

  Markus Zusak (2016). “The Book Thief: 10th Anniversary Edition”, p.229, Random House

  19 Copy quote

  Show source

• Liesel's blood had dried inside of her. It crumbled. She almost broke into pieces on the steps.

  Markus Zusak

  Blood, Pieces, Steps

  Markus Zusak (2013). “The Book Thief: Enhanced Movie Tie-in Edition”, p.133, RH Childrens Books

  18 Copy quote

  Show source

• For at least twenty minutes she handed out the story. The youngest kids were soothed by her voice, and everyone else saw visions of the whistler running from the scene. Liesel did not. The book thief saw only the mechanics of the words--their bodies stranded on the paper, beaten down for her to walk on. Somewhere, too, in the gaps between a period and the next capital letter, there was also Max. She remembered reading to him when he was sick. It he in the basement? she wondered. Or is he stealing a glimpse of the sky again?

  Markus Zusak

  Running, Book, Reading

  15 Copy quote

• … it was raining on Himmel Street when the world ended for Liesel Meminger. The sky was dripping. Like a tap that a child has tried its hardest to turn off but hasn’t quite managed.

  Markus Zusak

  Children, Rain, Sky

  Markus Zusak (2013). “The Book Thief: Enhanced Movie Tie-in Edition”, p.497, RH Childrens Books

  73 Copy quote

  Show source

• She was battered and beaten up, and not smiling this time. Liesel could see it on her face. Blood leaked from her nose and licked at her lips. Her eyes had blackened. Cuts had opened up and a series of wounds were rising to the surface of her skin. All from the words. From Liesel's words.

  Markus Zusak

  Eye, Cutting, Blood

  Markus Zusak (2013). “The Book Thief: Enhanced Movie Tie-in Edition”, p.263, RH Childrens Books

  9 Copy quote

  Show source

• Liesel shrugged away entirely from the crowd and entered the tide of Jews, weaving through them till she grabbed hold of his arm with her left hand. His face fell on her. It reached down as she tripped, and the Jew,the nasty Jew, helped her up. It took all of his strength.

  Markus Zusak

  Hands, Left Hand, Crowds

  Markus Zusak (2013). “The Book Thief: Enhanced Movie Tie-in Edition”, p.488, RH Childrens Books

  8 Copy quote

  Show source

• As she watched all of this, Liesel was certain that these were the poorest souls alive. That's what she wrote about them . . . Some looked appealingly at those who had come to observe their humiliation, this prelude to their deaths. Others pleaded for someone, anyone to step forward and catch them in their arms. No one did.

  Markus Zusak

  Soul, Alive, Arms

  9 Copy quote

• How does it feel, anyway?" How does what feel?" When you take one of those books?" At that moment, she chose to keep still. If he wants an answer, he'd have to come back, and he did. "Well?" he asked, but again, it was the boy who replied, before Liesel could even open her mouth. It feels good, doesn't it? To steal something back.

  Markus Zusak

  Book, Boys, Feel Good

  7 Copy quote

• 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, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain.

  Markus Zusak

  Patience, Crazy, Rain

  Markus Zusak (2016). “The Book Thief: 10th Anniversary Edition”, p.62, Random House

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• And I can promise you something, because it was a thing I saw many years later - a vision in the book thief herself - that as she knelt next to Hans Hubermann, she watched him stand and play the accordion. He stood and strapped it on in the alps of broken houses and played the accordion with kindness silver eyes and even a cigarette slouched on his lips. The bellows breathed and the tall man played for Liesel Meminger one last time as the sky was slowly taken away from her.

  Markus Zusak

  Kindness, Book, Taken

  16 Copy quote

• Each night, Liesel would step outside, wipe the door, and watch the sky. Usually it was like spillage - cold and heavy, slippery and gray - but once in a while some stars had the nerve to rise and float, if only for a few minutes. On those nights, she would stay a little longer and wait. Hello, stars.

  Markus Zusak

  Stars, Night, Doors

  6 Copy quote

• One day, Liesel.' he said, 'you'll be dying to kiss me.

  Markus Zusak

  Kissing, Dying, One Day

  Markus Zusak (2013). “The Book Thief: Enhanced Movie Tie-in Edition”, p.61, RH Childrens Books

  5 Copy quote

  Show source

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

  Markus Zusak

  Kissing, Want, Kiss Me

  7 Copy quote

• Rudy handed it back. "Speaking of which, I think we're both slightly in for it when we get home. You especially." "Why me?" "You know- your mama." "What about her?" Liesel was exercising the blatant right of every person who's ever belonged to a family. It's all very well for such a person to whine and moan and criticize other family members, but they won't let anyone else do it. That's when you get your back up and show loyalty.

  Markus Zusak

  Loyalty, Home, Exercise

  8 Copy quote

• You should give it to Max, Liesel. See if you can leave it on the bedside table, like all the other things." Liesel watched him as if he'd gone insane. "How, though?" Lightly, he tapped her skull with his knuckles. "Memorize it. Then write it down for him.

  Markus Zusak

  Writing, Skulls, Giving

  Markus Zusak (2013). “The Book Thief: Enhanced Movie Tie-in Edition”, p.322, RH Childrens Books

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• Liesel crossed the bridge over the Amper River. The water was glorious and emerald and rich. She could see the stones at the bottom and hear the familiar song of water. The world did not deserve such a river.

  Markus Zusak

  Song, Bridges, Rivers

  Markus Zusak (2013). “The Book Thief: Enhanced Movie Tie-in Edition”, p.520, RH Childrens Books

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• After another ten minutes, the gates of thievery would open just a crack, and Liesel Meminger would widen them a little further and squeeze through. ***TWO QUESTIONS*** Would the gates shut behind her? Or would they have the goodwill to let her back out? As Liesel would discover, a good thief requires many things. Stealth. Nerve. Speed. More important than any of those things, however, was one final requirement. Luck. Actually. Forget the ten minutes. The gates open now.

  Markus Zusak

  Two, Luck, Important

  6 Copy quote

• There was the gate next, which she(Liesel)clung to. A gang of tears trudged from her eyes as she held on and refused to go inside. People started to gather on the street, until Rosa Hubermann swore at them, after which they reversed back whence they came. ~A TRANSLATION OF ROSA HUBERMANN’S ANNOUNCEMENT~ ‘What are you arseholes looking at?

  Markus Zusak

  Eye, People, Tears

  Markus Zusak (2014). “Markus Zusak: The Book Thief & I Am the Messenger”, p.35, Knopf Books for Young Readers

  7 Copy quote

  Show source