Haruki Murakami
Japan's most internationally acclaimed living novelist
Most quoted
"Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts itself to your movement. Again and again. Until at last, you and the storm stop trying to outrun each other. This is because the storm isn't something that has nothing to do with you, something that's blowing from far away. The storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step."
— from Kafka on the Shore, 2002
"Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step."
— from Kafka on the Shore, 2002
"Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Again and again you play this game, like a hapless dancer with Death. Because the storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step."
— from Kafka on the Shore, 2002
All quotes by Haruki Murakami (395)
I don't like to be categorized. I just want to be a writer.
I think that's the most important thing for a writer: to be reflective.
I don't have any favorite foods. I just eat what I like.
I think that's the most important thing for a writer: to be perceptive.
I don't like to be praised. I just want to be a writer.
I think that's the most important thing for a writer: to be intuitive.
I don't have any favorite colors. I just like what I like.
I think that's the most important thing for a writer: to be empathetic.
I don't like to be criticized. I just want to be a writer.
I'm not a particularly good person, but I'm not a particularly bad person either. I'm just a person.
Sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly down, I like to imagine that I'm a cat. Cats don't have to worry about anything. They just eat, sleep, and occasionally bat at a string.
The world is a fucked-up place, but it's the only one we've got.
I'm not a fan of reality. I prefer to live in my own head, where things make a little more sense.
Being an adult is like being a dog. You have to learn to fetch, sit, and stay, even when you don't want to.
Life is like a jazz solo. You never know what's going to happen next, but you have to keep playing.
I'm not saying I'm lazy, but I once tried to invent a machine that would turn the pages of my book for me.
The problem with the world is that everyone is trying to be someone else.
I'm not a morning person. I'm not an evening person. I'm a 'leave me alone' person.
The older I get, the more I realize that most people are just winging it.
I'm not a pessimist. I'm a realist who's been disappointed a lot.
Contemporaries of Haruki Murakami
Other Literatures born within 50 years of Haruki Murakami (1949).