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)
Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a dream. And sometimes I feel like I'm living in a nightmare.
The world is full of beautiful things, but you have to look for them.
I'm not a fan of happy endings. I prefer realistic endings.
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.
I'm not a fan of rules. I prefer to make my own.
The more you know, the more you realize you don't know.
I'm not a fan of the past. I prefer to live in the present.
The human heart is like a vast and dark forest. All you can do is grope your way through it, one tree at a time.
I'm not a fan of the future. I prefer to live in the now.
The truth is a terrible thing, but it's also a beautiful thing.
I'm not a fan of reality. I prefer to live in my own head.
The world is a complicated place. And sometimes, the only way to make sense of it is to make up your own rules.
I'm not a fan of people. I prefer to be alone.
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
I'm not a fan of happiness. I prefer to be content.
The world is a beautiful place, but it's also a dangerous place.
I'm not a fan of love. I prefer to be loved.
The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.
I'm not a fan of dreams. I prefer to live in reality.
The world is a stage, and we are merely players.
Contemporaries of Haruki Murakami
Other Literatures born within 50 years of Haruki Murakami (1949).