John Boyne Quotes

“And were they really so different?”

“Nothing, thought Bruno, not even the insects, would ever choose to stay at Out-With.”

“Father laughed, which upset Bruno even more; there was nothing that made him more angry than when a grown-up laughed at him for not knowing something, especially when he was trying to find out the answer by asking questions.”

“Well, you’ve been brought here against your will, just like I have. If you ask me, we’re all in the same boat. And it’s leaking.”

“But don’t you ever wake up in the morning and feel like wearing something different? There must be something else in your wardrobe.”

″‘It’s so unfair,’ said Bruno. ‘I don’t see why I have to be stuck over here on this side of the fence where there’s no one to talk to and no one to play with and you get to have dozens of friends and are probably playing for hours every day. I’ll have to speak to Father about it.‘”

“And who decided which people wore striped pajamas and which people wore the uniforms?”

“We don’t have the luxury of thinking ... Some people make all the decisions for us.”

“And then the room went very dark and somehow, despite the chaos that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel’s hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go.”

“He felt that he should say it one last time and really mean it. ‘I’m very sorry, Shmuel,’ he said in a clear voice. ‘I can’t believe I didn’t tell him the truth. I’ve never let a friend down like that before. Shmuel, I’m ashamed of myself.‘”

“Bruno was sure that he had never seen a skinnier or sadder boy in his life but decided that he had better talk to him.”

“Their lost voices must continue to be heard.”

“He took hold of Shmuel’s tiny hand in his and squeezed it tightly. ‘You’re my best friend, Shmuel,’ he said. ‘My best friend.‘”

“Groups, staring at the ground, looking horribly sad; they all had one thing in common: they were all terribly skinny and their eyes were sunken and they all had shaved heads”

“We should never have let the Fury come to dinner.”

“Just because a man glances up at the sky at night does not make him an astronomer, you know.”

“Bruno had read enough books about explorers to know that one could never be sure what one was going to find.”

“But still there are moments when a brother and sister can lay down their instruments of torture for a moment and speak as civilized human beings and Bruno decided to make this one of those moments.”

“He looked up at the skies, and although they were still very dark he thought the day had probably had enough rain”

“Looking handsome in your fine uniforms. Dressing up and doing the terrible, terrible things you do. Its makes me ashamed.”

“Sitting around miserable all day won’t make you any happier.”