"It is very good to pretend to be someone who is not," I told Zoya later in the lobby, when we expected to congratulate him, without knowing very well whether or not those words were flattering. I...

I had told the truth, or a version of it, anyway.

all – were wearing the same clothes as each other: a pair of grey striped pyjamas with a grey striped cap on their heads.

When you sit down with a book, you are separating yourself out of your world for a few hours and getting lost in the story.

irritated by the fact that the rules that always applied to children never seemed to apply to grown-ups at all {despite the fact that they were the ones who enforced them}.

Is it really that easy for the innocent to be corrupted?

if you ask me we are all in the same boat and it's leaking

Something must be done. Not just for him but for all the Pierrots out there. The Führer will destroy the whole country if he's not stopped. The whole of Europe. He says that he is illuminating the...

You have many years ahead of you to come to terms with your complicity in these matters. Just don't ever tell yourself that you didn't know." She released him now from her grip. "That would be the...

He put his face to the glass and saw what was out there, and this time when his eyes opened wide and his mouth made the shape of an O, his hands stayed by his sides because something made him feel...

The people are behind him for now. He has infected them with his hatred. He demands absolute loyalty, and when anyone dares to criticize him, they lose their position. I think he will lead a great...

But there was something about the new house that made Bruno think that no one ever laughed there; that there was nothing to laugh at and nothing to be happy about.

I never really noticed it any more, in the way that one often ignores familiar things, like seat cushions or loved ones.

it seemed like a great adventure, at least at the start.

Some things are just sitting there, waiting to be discovered. Other things are probably better off left alone' Nine-year-old

That one contemplates the sky at night does not make it an astronomer.

No, said Bruno quickly, because he always tried to be honest and knew that if he hesitated even for a moment, he would no longer have the courage to say what he thought.

He looked the boy up and down as if he had never seen a child before and wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do with one: eat it, ignore it or kick it down the stairs.

Here's a tip though', he told me, leaning over and pressing a hand into my shoulder. 'If you want to improve your time, run faster.

However, as he reflected, he had led him step by step closer to the point in the distance, which in the meantime became a stain, then turned into a splash. And soon after that, the stress became a...

Let's just hope we get to come back here someday when all this is over

no man with any sense should marry the girl to whom he loses his virginity. It's like learning to drive in some clapped-out old banger and then holding on to it for the rest of your life when you've...

There are times when your youth envy you, but I try not to think much about that. An old man should not be jealous of those who come to occupy his position, and remember the time when he was young,...

Situations like that always made Bruno feel very uncomfortable because, in his heart, he knew that there was no reason to be impolite to someone, even if they did work for you. There was such a thing...

Please don't embarrass yourself by offering an opinion.

There was a huge wire fence that ran along the length of the house and turned in at the top, extending further along in either direction, further than she could possibly see. The fence was very high,...

I didn't blow anyone!' he roared. 'If anyone was getting blown it was me. Although, of course, it wasn't me anyway, as it never happened.' 'That's a great quote,' said Mr Denby-Denby. 'We should...

The notion that he had a life outside our life, outside our friendship, was deeply hurtful to me.

If it wasn't for the fact that Bruno was nowhere near as skinny as the boys on his side of the fence, and not quite so pale either, it would have been difficult to tell them apart. It was almost...

It occurs to me that, even if Zoya and I are still alive, my life has already concluded. It will soon lose it and there will be no reason to continue without it. You will see, we are one person. We...