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)
Love is a journey, not a destination.
The most important thing is to never give up on yourself.
Sometimes the most ordinary things are the most extraordinary.
The world is a mirror, reflecting back what we put into it.
The only way to truly be free is to let go of everything you think you know.
We all have a story to tell. And every story is important.
The past is a ghost that haunts us, until we learn to make peace with it.
To be alive is to be constantly changing. And that's a beautiful thing.
Sometimes the most profound truths are found in the simplest things.
The world is a puzzle, and we are all just trying to put the pieces together.
The only way to truly live is to embrace the unknown.
We all have a purpose. It's up to us to find it.
Love is a mystery. And some mysteries are best left unsolved.
No matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away.
Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions.
I can bear any pain as long as it has meaning.
Listen up - there's no war that will end all wars.
But who can say what's best? That's why you need to grab whatever chance you have of happiness where you find it, and not worry about other people too much.
It's like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.
You have to overcome the fear of being alone.
Contemporaries of Haruki Murakami
Other Literatures born within 50 years of Haruki Murakami (1949).