How would you interpret this phrase?
How would you interpret this phrase “He told Udi such stories you could die” in the last but one sentence?
How would you interpret the “die” here?
Thank you.
PS: the excerpt is taken from “Hole in the Wall” written by an Israeli author, Etgar Keret.

…And once, when he was feeling really lonely, he screamed into the hole in the wall that he wanted to have an angel for a friend, and an angel really did show up right after that, but he was never much of a friend, and he’d always disappear just when Udi really needed him. This angel was skinny and all stooped and he wore a trench coat the whole time to hide his wings. People in the street were sure he was a hunchback. Sometimes, when there were just the two of them, he’d take the coat off. Once he even let Udi touch the feathers on his wings. But when there was anyone else in the room, he always kept it on. Klein’s kids asked him once what he had under his coat, and he said it was a backpack full of books that didn’t belong to him and that he didn’t want them to get wet. Actually, he lied all the time. He told Udi such stories you could die: about places in heaven, about people who when they go to bed at night leave the keys in the ignition, about cats who aren’t afraid of anything and don’t even know the meaning of scat. The stories he made up were something else, and to top it all, he’d cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die.

Question

How would you interpret this phrase?
How would you interpret this phrase “He told Udi such stories you could die” in the last but one sentence?
How would you interpret the “die” here?
Thank you.
PS: the excerpt is taken from “Hole in the Wall” written by an Israeli author, Etgar Keret.

…And once, when he was feeling really lonely, he screamed into the hole in the wall that he wanted to have an angel for a friend, and an angel really did show up right after that, but he was never much of a friend, and he’d always disappear just when Udi really needed him. This angel was skinny and all stooped and he wore a trench coat the whole time to hide his wings. People in the street were sure he was a hunchback. Sometimes, when there were just the two of them, he’d take the coat off. Once he even let Udi touch the feathers on his wings. But when there was anyone else in the room, he always kept it on. Klein’s kids asked him once what he had under his coat, and he said it was a backpack full of books that didn’t belong to him and that he didn’t want them to get wet. Actually, he lied all the time. He told Udi such stories you could die: about places in heaven, about people who when they go to bed at night leave the keys in the ignition, about cats who aren’t afraid of anything and don’t even know the meaning of scat. The stories he made up were something else, and to top it all, he’d cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die.

Answer

"He told Udi such stories you could die:"

In this context it means, "Such stories that would really surprise you." There's also a hint that it may shock/bother/disturb you a little.

Answer

Thank both of you.

Answer

The stories he told to Udi were so extreme ; strange, funny, sad, joyous, but always unrealistic. It follows on from the "he lied all the time". The stories were all lies (though most stories could be described as lies).  "So ... you could die " is being used as an intensifying phrase, really emphasising how extreme the stories (lies) were.   Lady Gaga has a song using this idiom, "So Happy I Could Die."

Answer

In this situation it's a little bit hard to know exactly what is meant, but in general the phrase "I could die" or similar means what I heard had a big impact on me.  Sometimes that's embarrassment, sometimes shock, and sometimes even amusement. Like when someone shares a funny joke or meme online, often the comments will say things like "Dead. I'm dead." It means the person laughed very hard.