Fuck Yeah Markus Zusak

“What is it about the sound of clapping hands? It’s only skin against slapping skin, so why can it make a tide turn in you? Why can it break on top of you and lift you up at the same time?
Maybe it’s because it’s one of the most noble things humans do with their hands.
I mean, think about it.
Humans make fists with their hands.
They use them to fight, to steal things, to hurt each other.
When people clap, it’s one of the few times they stand together and applaud other people.
I think they’re there to keep things. They hold moments together, to remember.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.

“Shadows of cloud lurked in the water, like holes the sun forgot about.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.

“My name’s Cameron. I’ve always said that I wanted to drown inside a girl, inside her spirit, but I’ve never even come close - I’ve barely even touched a girl. I don’t have friends. I live in the shadow of both my brothers - one for his single-minded focus on success, the other for his brilliance, rough smile, and ability to make people like him. I hope my sister won’t just be another slab of flesh that some guy just picks up and throws a few dollars at to buy cheap lipstick but don’t forget the beer. I work with my father on weekends and my hands get dirty and blistered. I get thoughts in my head of movies with sex scenes and about girls from school, model girls, a female teacher or two, girls in ads, girls on calendars, girls on TV shows who turn letters, girls in uniforms or corporate suits who sit on the train reading thick books with perfume smothered on their throats and perfect makeup. I walk around the city a lot and when I do, it feels like the soul of home. I love my brother Rube but I hate what he does to girls, especially when they’re real girls like you who should have known better than to go out with him in the first place. I idolize Mrs. Wolfe because she keeps us together and works like hell. She works harder than she should ever have to, and one day I want to do something brilliant for her like put her in first class on a plane to wherever she wants…” I remembered to breathe but forgot what I was going to say next.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.

“She said, “You can drown inside me anytime, Cameron.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.

“You ever hear a dog cry? You know, howling so loud, it’s almost unbearable? I reckon they howl like that because they’re so hungry it hurts, and that’s what I feel in me every day of my life. I’m so hungry to be somethin’ - to be somebody.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.

“I’m not lyin’ down ever. Not for you. Not for anyone.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.

“I imagine myself in a room, where some shattered pieces are strewn on the floor, in front of me.
As I walk toward them, I have no idea what they are, so I approach with trepidation. They seem to be a puzzle, all torn up and thrown apart. They look injured.
I crouch down and begin putting them together, finding each scrap that surrounds my feet.
Gradually, I see the picture form as I put it all together.
Gradually, I see.
These pieces on the ground.
Are made of me.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.

“It was everything that was different about us. It was Rube being the winner and me not settling to be the underdog anymore. It was the way he treated girls against the way I wanted to treat them. It was me facing the reality that I had lived my whole life not in Rube’s shadow, but behind it, not even able to touch it.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.

“If there are alleys inside me, there must also be hallways.
I take a walk inside, treating past rooms and closets, to find a dark hallway where I’ve never been before. There’s no door, so I walk in, find a string, and pull on it, to produce the adequate light.
The hallway glows now, but dimply enough to not hurt my eyes.
Slowly, I look from side to side as I walk, and I understand that this is a hallway of underdogs.
Plastered to the walls are the images of Sarah Wolfe, my sister. They’re the photos and drawings from her notebook - the people on the street, my mother and father, the ones struggling with their shopping. They’re all people fighting their way through their lives.
I study each one on my way through.
They keep me, and I keep them.
… At the end of the hallway, there’s a light. It’s a lot brighter than what’s in here, but it blinks. It even seems to be limping in its attempt to get my attention.
I keep walking, toward that limping light. I vow to remember each person I’ve just seen, each image of the hallway.
The light awaits me and I approach it uncertain.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.

“I can survive anything you do or say to me.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.

“My hopes struggled forward.”

Getting the Girl, Markus Zusak.