Haruki Murakami

Literature Japanese 1949 395 quotes

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)

The only way to truly know someone is to love them, even if they don't love you back.

Kafka on the Shore

Life is a series of choices. And every choice has a consequence.

A Wild Sheep Chase

The past is never dead. It's not even past.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

We're all just trying to make sense of a world that doesn't make sense.

South of the Border, West of the Sun

The truth is, we're all a little bit crazy. And that's okay.

Sputnik Sweetheart

Sometimes the most important things are the ones you can't see.

Norwegian Wood

The world is a stage, and we are all just actors, playing our parts.

Kafka on the Shore

The only way to escape the past is to confront it.

A Wild Sheep Chase

We all have a dark side. It's what we do with it that matters.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Love is a strange thing. It can make you do things you never thought you'd do.

South of the Border, West of the Sun

The most important thing is to keep moving forward, even when you don't know where you're going.

Sputnik Sweetheart

The world is full of magic, if you just know where to look.

Kafka on the Shore

The only way to truly live is to embrace your own weirdness.

A Wild Sheep Chase

We're all just trying to find our place in the universe.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

The most beautiful things in life are often the most fragile.

South of the Border, West of the Sun

To be human is to be flawed. And that's what makes us beautiful.

Sputnik Sweetheart

Sometimes the best way to communicate is to say nothing at all.

Norwegian Wood

The world is a dream, and we are all just dreaming it.

Kafka on the Shore

The only way to truly understand something is to experience it for yourself.

A Wild Sheep Chase

We all have secrets. It's what we do with them that defines us.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle