Chance is a scary thing, isn't it?
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Book
Kafka On The Shore
Coming this October: Killing Commendatore, the much-anticipated new novel from Haruki Murakami Kafka on the Shore displays one of the world’s great storytellers at the peak of his powers. Here we meet a teenage boy, Kafk
Characters
What I'm trying to say is, it must be tough on you not being able to read, but it's not the end of the world. You might not be able to read, but there are things only you can do. That's what you gotta focus on—your strengths.
You're in the middle of something wonderful, something so tremendous you may never experience it again. But you can't really understand how wonderful it is. That makes you impatient. And that, in turn, leads to despair.
But now you find yourself in a new world, in a situation you've never been in before. It's all new to you, so no wonder you feel confused.
The longer people live, the more they learn to distinguish what's important from what's not.
The principle for the labyrinth is inside you. And that correlates to the labyrinth outside . . . A reciprocal metaphor. Things outside you are projections of what's inside you, and what's inside you is a projection of what's outside. So when you step into the labyrinth outside you, at the same time…
But this is something you have to figure out on your own. Nobody can help you. That's what love's all about . . . You're the one having those wonderful feelings, but you have to do it alone as you wander through the dark. Your mind and body have to bear it all. All by yourself.
'Loving somebody, wanting more than anything—it's all a new experience. The same with having somebody want me.' 'I imagine you're confused and don't know what to do . . . You don't know if she shares the same strong, pure feelings you have for her.' 'It hurts to think about it.'
Until things happen, they haven't happened. And often things aren't what they seem.
'The sea is a really nice thing, isn't it?' 'Yeah, it is. Makes you feel calm.' 'Why is that?' 'Probably 'cause it's so big, with nothing on it.'
Pointless thinking is worse than no thinking at all.
We all die and disappear, but that's because the mechanism of the world itself is built on destruction and loss. Our lives are just shadows of that guiding principle. Say the wind blows. It can be a strong, violent wind or a gentle breeze. But eventually every kind of wind dies out and disappears. W…
Weird . . . People are born in order to live, right? But the longer I've lived, the more I've lost what's inside me—and ended up empty. And I bet the longer I live, the emptier, the more worthless, I'll become.
Good things never grow old, do they?
'You can't use that strength as a protective wall around you. There's always going to be something stronger that can overcome your fortress. At least in principle.' 'Strength itself becomes your morality.'
Life's crappy, no matter how you cut it.
Perhaps most people in the world aren't trying to be free . . . They just think they are. It's all an illusion. If they really were set free, most people would be in a real bind. You'd better remember that. People actually prefer not being free.
Having an object that symbolizes freedom might make a person happier than actually getting the freedom it represents.
A deserted library in the morning—there's something about it that really gets to me. All possible words and ideas are there, resting quietly.
Something might happen, but then again maybe nothing. I haven't opened it yet, so I don't know. You can't know until you open it.