" A lot of the time I think about those four and a half minutes between when i came home and when Dad called."
In this quote Oskar, shows a lot of regret because he missed the last opportunity he had to talk to his dad ever and only by four and a half minutes.
Regret and lying are linked together because everytime Oskar lies he regrets it.
When Oskar visits the next Mr. Black, the one that lives in the apartment above him, Oskar tries the key in every lock because "[he] wanted to be able to say: [he doesn't] know how [he] could have tried harder" (160). He doesn't want to regret his Search, wishing he could have done it differently.
"I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live, Oskar. Because if I were able to live my life again, I would do things differently." (184)
Oskar's grandmother is retelling her life story and after living her life with Oskar's grandpa and all the choices she has made, she, like everyone else in the world, regret decisions she has made and would redo it if she could. Sometimes it is only after it is too late to live life that people figure out how to live it, I think.
This quote is from one of Oskars grandfathers letters. It expresses his regret about not being able to love.
"I lost a baby," if I'd said, "I'm so afraid of losing something I love that I refuse to love anything," maybe that would have been the impossible possible.
This quote is from where Oskar is talking about how he regrets not saying anything to Mr. Black when he said he was going to leave.
"I wish I'd known that I wasn't going to see Mr.Black again when we shook hands that afternoon. I wouldn't have let go. Or I would have forced him to keep searching with me."
I feel like Oskar is connecting this quote towards his father. Saying that if he knew he wouldn't see his father again he wouldn't have let go and probably regrets not keeping him closer to him.