- [last lines]
- Death: I have seen a great many things. I have attended all the world's worst disasters, and worked for the greatest of villains. And I've seen the greatest wonders. But it's still like I said it was: no one lives forever.
- Death: When I finally came for Liesel, I took selfish pleasure in the knowledge that she had lived her ninety years so wisely. By then her stories had touched many souls, some of whom I came to know in passing. Max, whose friendship lasted almost as long as Liesel. Almost. In her final thoughts, she saw the long list of lives that merged with hers. Her three children, her grandchildren, her husband. Among them, lit like lanterns, were Hans and Rosa, her brother, and the boy whose hair remained the color of lemons forever.
- Death: I wanted to tell the book thief she was one of the few souls that made me wonder what it was to live. But in the end there were no words. Only peace. The only truth I truly know is that I am haunted by humans.
- Liesel Meminger: There once was a ghost of a boy who liked to live in the shadows, so he wouldn't frighten people. His job was to wait for his sister, who was still alive. She wasn't afraid of the dark, because she knew that's where her brother was. At night, when darkness came to her room, she would tell her brother about the day. She would remind him how the sun felt on his skin, and what the air felt like to breathe, or how snow felt on his tongue. And that reminded her that she was still alive.
- [first lines]
- Narrator: One small fact: you are going to die. Despite every effort, no one lives forever. Sorry to be such a spoiler. My advice is when the time comes, don't panic. It doesn't seem to help.
- Max Vandenburg: So... How is Rudy?
- Liesel Meminger: I don't know. Rudy is a pain in the neck.
- Max Vandenburg: The only thing worse than a boy you hate, is a boy you like, right?
- Narrator: [Narrator/Death] It's always been the same. The excitement and rush to war. I met so many young men over the years who have thought they were running at their enemy, when the truth was, they were running to me.
- [from trailer]
- Rudy Steiner: You're stealing books? Why?
- Liesel Meminger: When life robs you, sometimes you have to rob it back.
- Rosa Hubermann: This is the stupidest thing I've ever done.
- Hans Hubermann: Yes, and just look how happy you are.
- Death: In my job, I'm always seeing humans at their best, and their worst. I see their ugliness, and their beauty. And I wonder how the same thing can be both.
- Liesel Meminger: Do you think my mother really loved me?
- Max Vandenburg: Of course. Every mother loves her child. Even Hitler's.
- Liesel Meminger: Do you think she writes to him?
- Max Vandenburg: "Dear Führer, just wait until your father gets home! Love, Mama."
- Liesel Meminger: "Dear Führer, clean up your mess."
- Max Vandenburg: "Dear Führer, who cut your hair?"
- Liesel Meminger: "You're not going out in that, are you?"
- Max Vandenburg: "What's that growing on your lip?"
- Liesel Meminger: "Don't raise your voice at me!"
- Max Vandenburg: "Stop spitting when you yell."
- [from trailer]
- Liesel Meminger: I can't lose someone else!
- Max Vandenburg: You've kept me alive, don't ever forget that.
- Liesel Meminger: Did he take away your mother?
- Max Vandenburg: Probably.
- Liesel Meminger: Don't worry... I cried a lot when I first came too.
- [pause]
- Liesel Meminger: The soup is terrible, isn't it?
- Max Vandenburg: You may find this hard to believe, but it's the best thing Ive ever thrown up.
- Max Vandenburg: Where's my weather report?
- Max Vandenburg: [Liesel shows a snow ball] You're full of wonders.
- Narrator: While ten thousand souls hid their heads in fear and trembled, one jew thanked God for the stars that blessed his eyes.
- Rudy Steiner: Are you coming?
- Liesel Meminger: Where are you going to?
- Rudy Steiner: Isn't it obvious? I'm running away.
- Liesel Meminger: Have you thought this through?
- Rudy Steiner: Ya. I don't want to die. There - all thought through.
- Max Vandenburg: [presenting Liesel with a blank book of pages] Write. In my religion we're taught that every living thing, every leaf, every bird, is only alive because it contains the secret word for life. That's the only difference between us and a lump of clay. A word. Words are life, Liesel.
- Max Vandenburg: Tell me, where do you get these words?
- Liesel Meminger: It's a secret.
- Max Vandenburg: Who would I tell?
- Max Vandenburg: I'm not lost to you, Liesel. You'll always be able to find me in your words. That's where I'll live on.
- Rudy Steiner: I miss my dad. I don't even know if he's alive.
- [Rudy pauses]
- Rudy Steiner: I'm not ready. I want to grow up before I die.
- Liesel Meminger: So did my brother.
- Rudy Steiner: I'm sorry.
- [he pauses again]
- Rudy Steiner: I didn't ask for this.
- Liesel Meminger: Who would?
- Rudy Steiner: I hate Hitler.
- Liesel Meminger: Me too.
- [Rudy looks at her, seemingly surprised, but satisfied. Liesel stands up and shouts out to the woods]
- Liesel Meminger: I hate Hitler!
- Rudy Steiner: [stands up as well] I hate Hitler!
- Rudy Steiner, Liesel Meminger: I hate Hitler!
- Liesel Meminger: Hitler is a monkey's ass!
- Rudy Steiner: Stick you, Hitler!
- [they laugh, and then they gradually become more serious]
- Liesel Meminger: You're all I've got, Rudy.
- Rudy Steiner: Let's go home.
- [from trailer]
- Liesel Meminger: My name is Liesel Meminger. I don't have a family. Or even a place to call home. I never understood the meaning of the word Hope. But I'm about to meet the people who will change all that.
- Death: The bombs were falling thicker now. It's probably fair to say that no one was able to serve the Führer as loyally as me.
- Liesel Meminger: Franz Deutscher doesn't sound very smart.
- Rudy Steiner: He's the dumbest kid in school. But he shaves.
- [from trailer]
- Hans Hubermann: I'm not such a good reader myself, you know. We'll have to help each other out.
- [from trailer]
- Hans Hubermann: Your first book! Are you sure this is yours?
- Liesel Meminger: It wasn't always mine.
- Rosa Hubermann: What makes you think that you are good enough for my daughter?
- Rudy Steiner: I'm almost twelve?
- Rosa Hubermann: [cleaning her skinned hands] You're too much like your father. you know that?
- Liesel Meminger: What's wrong with that?
- Liesel Meminger: Rudy, where are you going to stay?
- Rudy Steiner: "You"? What about "we"?
- Liesel Meminger: I didn't think you were this serious.
- Rudy Steiner: What do you call this?
- [holds out his small bag]
- Rudy Steiner: Packed lunch?
- Liesel Meminger: Is there anything in there besides your soccer ball?
- Liesel Meminger: I keep thinking about Max, wondering where he is.
- Hans Hubermann: Me too. I'm not sure what it all meant. Everything he went through. Everything we did.
- Liesel Meminger: We were just being people. That's what people do.
- Rosa Hubermann: [while feeding Max soup] Well, at least someone appreciates my cooking.
- [a second later, Max throws up the soup]
- [from trailer]
- Rosa Hubermann: From now on, you call me mama, ya? And that lazy pig over there, you call him papa.
- [from trailer]
- Liesel Meminger: Who is he, papa?
- Hans Hubermann: His name is Max. He needs help. I need you to promise me that you will not tell anyone
- Liesel Meminger: [about Jewish neighbor] I don't understand. What did he do so wrong?
- Max Vandenburg: He reminded people of their humanity.
- Liesel Meminger: Can't he apologize?
- Max Vandenburg: To who? Hitler?
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
