I would like to share some of my favorite quotes from Six of Crows. It doesn’t contain the humorous dialogue or exchanges between characters – which I think should be experienced by readers first hand. However, the quotes do have spoilers for the rest of the characters and their development in the book.
Additionally, these are my top 5 favorite quotes in the book based on my personal opinion – I mean no offense or attack if your favorite quote is not in here. Everyone has their own set of favorite quotes in books and all are valid – feel free to comment on your favorite quote or book scenes in Six of Crows!
WARNING: Reading book quotes could spoil details for those who have not read Six of Crows (yet). If you wish to avoid spoilers in the book, please avoid reading this post. Otherwise, proceed at your own caution and advisory.
#5
“There is a Suli saying: The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.”
-Inej, Chapter 10
Early on, I already knew I was going to adore Inej as a character. I always looked Early on, I already knew I was going to adore Inej as a character. I always looked forward to reading her Chapter POVs! This is my favorite quote as it reveals many things about Inej: her faith, her family, and how she ended up in the Menagerie. Despite so much pain and trauma she experienced as a young girl, this quote exemplifies the hope, beauty, and bravery that is Inej Ghafa and other people just like her in our world.
#4
“The life you live, the hate you feel—it’s poison. I can drink it no longer.”
-Matthias, Chapter 35
Matthias was a character who grew on me while reading Six of Crows, and the reason I grew to like him is based on his character growth. I related to him in the sense of being unaware in my youth about what others had told me to be the truth – and then discover later on to be more complex, layered, and not entirely accurate. This is one of my favorite quotes because it shows how Matthias has grown from his national/ religious views on hating Grisha. He calls hate a “poison” he can no longer drink because he understands the errors and wrongs his country has done to all Grisha. The quote resonates with hope for those wanting to grow, learn, and change than stay willfully ignorant and hateful to others.
#3
“She wouldn’t wish love on anyone. It was the guest you welcomed and then couldn’t be rid of.”
-Nina, Chapter 14
Nina was a wonderful POV character to read, too! And even though she has so much humorous dialogue, this one is one of my favorites from her. This quote succinctly explains both love and heartbreak and the pain of it all. This quote comes after Kaz gouged out Oomen’s eye and threw him overboard after hurting Inej with a grave injury. After the bloody delivery of Kaz’s ruthless actions, Nina bemusedly wonders if Kaz did it under the pretenses of love for Inej. I think this quote illustrates how there are things like love are out of our control. This quote is a reflection and (arguably) a foreshadowing of the different dynamics of love and how they were not searching for love but found it somehow.
#2
“Kaz had taught her to crack a safe, pick a pocket, wield a knife. He’d gifted her with her first blade, the one she called Sankt Petyr – not as pretty as wild geraniums, but more practical, she supposed.”
-Inej, Chapter 16
This quote wonderfully illustrates the relationship between Kaz and Inej on a multitude of levels. The dynamic between Kaz and Inej is not based on hierarchy, and this quote and scene support that. Tante Heleen and her clients abused Inej at the Menagerie by taking away her voice, her autonomy, and even her name; Whereas, Kaz gifted her with skills and tools she can use (in a way) to reclaim those things she lost at the Menagerie. Later, he names her the Wraith (much to her initial displeasure), which was a way for Inej Ghafa, the Suli acrobat, can separate herself from the silent spy of Ketterdam and even erase the little lynx at the Menagerie. Kaz saw Inej as a person rather than an object, as Heleen and clients at the Menagerie did, and that’s why I think this is one of my favorite quotes. Instead of gifting her with something pretty like flowers (related to how her father and mother fell in love), he gave her skills and tools to reclaim ownership of her bodily autonomy. Overall, it reveals how Kaz and Inej have a mutual respect and trust for one another.
#1
“He needed to tell her…what? That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. That he was twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn’t pull himself together into some semblance of a man for her. That without meaning to, he’d begun to lean on her, to look for her, to need her near. He needed to thank her for his new hat.”
-Kaz, Chapter 38
Kaz is my second favorite POV to read in Six of Crows; He has been hardened by his trauma, his brother’s death, Ketterdam, and others around him and cannot afford to express any form of vulnerability – but this quote shows that! Although Kaz is portrayed as ruthless and cruel throughout the book, Inej still sees the good in him. One of the last things Kaz was thinking about when he was so close to drowning – to dying – was Inej. In the previous paragraph, Kaz thought of Inej – her making it out of the Ice Court heist and needing her to be alive. The quote illustrates a small side of Kaz’s vulnerability as a criminal mastermind. It reinforces to the reader that he is STILL a teenager with fears and hopes despite growing up too quickly. Kaz has stated continuously in the book how he is driven by greed and money; At that moment, rather than thinking of losing the big payout on the heist, he thinks of Inej. This is my favorite quote because it illustrates the relationship between Kaz and Inej while simultaneously reminding readers that, despite the harsh world that made these characters grow up, they are still teenagers growing up still.
Those are my Top 5 Favorite Quotes from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo! I finished watching the Shadow and Bone series on Netflix, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the Grishaverse series!
I hope you all enjoyed my list! Please comment on your favorite quotes in Six of Crows or answer any of the other questions down below!
Questions for You
- What are your favorite book scenes from Six of Crows? Why?
- Did any of these quotes resonate with you? Why/ why not?
- What are your favorite scenes with the Crows in the Netflix series? Why?
- What are you hoping for season 2 in the Netflix series?
Midnight Skies 