Quotessence
Home / Authors / Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak

Markus Zusak Quotes

Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllBookKnowsIfsHumansThe Book ThiefWantThinkingDeathWritingPeopleFeelsHeartSkyWorldEyeLieselLooksStoriesWayFaces

Famous Markus Zusak Quotes

“My friends ... they usually rib me about how I just sleep in and watch Oprah and that I don't really have a proper job. I've given up arguing now, so I just agree with them, even though half the time I realise I've started work before they have. Still, it's best to keep the romantic idea alive. If they call around midday and ask if they woke me, I always say yes.”

IfsStillsIdeasJobsAsksGivenSleepHalfWatchesAliveMy FriendsAgreeArguingRealisingGiven UpRibs
Author:Markus Zusak
Create image

“After perhaps thirty meters, just as a soldier turned around, the girl was felled. Hands were clamped upon her from behind and the boy next door brought her down. He forced her knees to the road and suffered the penalty. He collected her punches as if they were presents. Her bony hands and elbows were accepted with nothing but a few short moans. He accumulated the loud, clumsy specks of saliva and tears as if they were lovely to his face, and more important, he was able to hold her down.”

IfsImportantHandsAbleFacesGirlNextBehindsBoysDoorsTearsSoldierAcceptedLovelyLoudKneesThirtyPenaltiesMeterElbowsClumsySpecksSaliva
Author:Markus Zusak
Create image

“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.”

IfsHumansHeartStillsDiesLinesMy OwnAbilityWonderOne ThingWorstMinesFindingsConsequenceUglyEnvyCirclesEndlessHuman HeartRight TimeRight PlaceGood Sense
Book:The Book Thief: 10th Anniversary Edition
Create image

“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.”

IfsKnowsHeartHas BeensBookBodyHandsNightCertainNextDarkBoysDarknessSkyKissingLipsGladWitnessKneesBombsThievesFrighteningCriedPassed AwayRobberySwellingRubbleRudy
Author:Markus Zusak
Create image

“What would you do if you were me? Tell me. Please tell me! But you're far from this. Your fingers turn the strangeness of these pages that somehow connect my life to yours. Your eyes are safe. The story is just another few hundred pages of your mind. For me, it's here. It's now. I have to go through with this, considering the cost at every turn. Nothing will be the same.”

IfsMindStoriesEyeTurnsPleaseCostSafePagesHundredFingersConsideringStrangeness
Author:Markus Zusak
Create image

“I want to talk to him. I want to ask him about that girl and if he loved her and still misses her. Nothing, however, exits my mouth. How well do we really let ourselves know each other? There's a long quietness until I finally break it open. It reminds me of someone breaking bread and handing it out. In my case, I hand out a question to my friend.”

IfsKnowsWantWellsLongStillsHandsGirlAsksBreakCasesMissingMouthsMy FriendsBreadExitThat GirlQuietness
Book:I Am the Messenger
Create image

“Don't be afraid to fail. I fail every day. I failed thousands of times writing The Book Thief, and that book now means everything to me. I had many doubts and fears about that book, but some of what I feel are the best ideas in it came to me when I was working away for apparently no result. Failure has been my best friend as a writer. It tests you, to see if you have what it takes to see it through.”

IfsFeelsWritingMeanHas BeensBookIdeasResultsDoubtFailingTestsThievesMy Best FriendAfraid To FailDoubt And Fear
Author:Markus Zusak
Create image