How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
They say that dead men tell no tales, but they're wrong. Even the dead tell stories. (1.5)
Storytelling isn't exactly what we think about when we read dead men but hey, we understand that Sig is in desperate need of learning what happened to his dad. Telling your story is almost as important as hearing someone else's in the book, because Sig can't move on without knowing.
Quote #2
"Yes. It was. Even the dead tell stories. But it seems to be another mistake your father made. He's saying nothing, I think. So now, you had better do his storytelling for him. I've followed him for ten years, wanting to hear how the story ends." (21.31)
Wolff says this to Sig and it surprises him, perhaps because it's the same thing his dad used to tell him. We'd also like to point out that Wolff is invested partly in the gold, but partly in knowing what happens next. Just like a page-turning murder mystery, Wolff can't wait to get to the end.
Quote #3
Even the dead tell stories. Einar had inherited the saying not from his Swedish father, but from his mother. It was a proverb that meant, as far as the young Anna could work out, nothing is ever truly finished; the past is always with us. (23.1)
Is this true in the book? Does anything finish by the end of the book? We're tempted to say yes, but when we look again, we might reconsider given the fact that Sig is still dealing with his dad's crimes some fifty years after he found out about them.