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)
When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.
It's like a dream, but it's not a dream. It's real.
The world is a beautiful place, and we should cherish it.
We are all alone in this world, but we are also all connected.
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
The world is full of mysteries, and we should embrace them.
We are all just trying to make sense of this crazy world.
The world is a mirror, and it reflects back what you put into it.
Sometimes the most important things are the ones we can't see.
What we see in the world is a reflection of what we have in our hearts.
The world is like a gigantic shopping mall. You can buy anything you want, but there's no guarantee it'll make you happy.
Sometimes, when I'm alone, I like to imagine that I'm a character in a novel. It makes life more interesting.
Memory is a funny thing. It can make you feel like you're living in the past, even when you're not.
The most important thing is to be yourself, even if you're not sure who that is.
We're all just trying to find our way in the dark, bumping into each other along the way.
The world is full of paradoxes. The more you try to understand it, the less sense it makes.
Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to just let it be.
What is it that we are searching for, anyway? The answer is always the same: ourselves.
To be a writer is to be a liar, but a good liar tells the truth.
I'm not interested in happy endings. I'm interested in what happens after the happy ending.
Contemporaries of Haruki Murakami
Other Literatures born within 50 years of Haruki Murakami (1949).