2,618 Quotes by Haruki Murakami

I wasn't particularly afraid of death itself. As Shakespeare said, die this year and you don't have to die the next.

I could have been a cult writer if I'd kept writing surrealistic novels. But I wanted to break into the mainstream, so I had to prove that I could write a realistic book.

When there's nothing to do, you do nothing slowly and intently.

So many dreams, so many disappointments, so many promises. And in the end, they all just vanish.

I contented myself with whiskey, for medicinal purposes. It helped numb my various aches and pains. Not that the alcohol actually reduced the pain; it just gave the pain a life of its own, apart from mine.

Even when I ran my bar I followed the same policy. A lot of customers came to the bar. If one in ten enjoyed the place and said he'd come again, that was enough. If one out of ten was a repeat customer, then the business would survive. To put it another way, it didn't matter if nine out of ten didn't like my bar. This realization lifted a weight off my shoulders. Still, I had to make sure that the one person who did like the place.

Of what value is a civilization that can't toast a piece of bread as ordered?

It seems to me, though, that you always understand very well what I can't say very well. Trouble is I end up being even worse at saying things well.

Lots of different ways to live and lots of different ways to die. But in the end that doesn't make a bit of difference. All that remains is a desert.