Discover the profound and thought-provoking words of Haruki Murakami, one of the most renowned authors of our time. Delve into his quotes on love, loneliness, and the complexities of human emotions. Let his words transport you to a world where every sentence is a masterpiece.
Haruki Murakami is a highly acclaimed Japanese writer, known for his bestselling novels, essays, and short stories. His works have been translated into 50 languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Notable accolades include the Gunzo Prize for New Writers, the World Fantasy Award, and the Franz Kafka Prize. Murakami's diverse range of writing spans genres such as science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction. He often incorporates magical realism elements into his narratives.
Born in Kyoto during the post-World War II era, Murakami grew up in Nishinomiya, Ashiya, and Kobe. Influenced by Western culture from a young age, he developed a passion for literature and music by European and American writers. Murakami studied drama at Waseda University in Tokyo where he met his wife Yoko. Before establishing himself as a writer, he owned a jazz bar called Peter Cat with his wife from 1974 to 1981. In addition to his literary pursuits, Murakami is an avid marathon runner and triathlon enthusiast.
Despite his immense popularity internationally, Murakami has faced criticism from Japan's literary establishment for being un-Japanese in style. However, he has been applauded by editors and critics worldwide for his extraordinary talent as a novelist.
“I'm an average person. Is just that I like reading.”
IQ84 (2009-2010)
Variant: I'm a very ordinary human being; I just happen to like reading books.
Source: 1Q84 BOOK 1
“If only I could fall
sound asleep and wake up in my old reality!”
Source: After Dark
Source: A Wild Sheep Chase: A Novel (1982)
Context: I watched an old American submarine movie on television. The creaking plot had the captain and first officer constantly at each other’s throat. The submarine was a fossil, and one guy had claustrophobia. But all that didn’t stop everything from working out well in the end. It was an everything-works-out-in-the-end-so-maybe-war’s-not-so-bad-after-all sort of film. One of these days they’ll be making a film where the whole human race gets wiped out in a nuclear war, but everything works out in the end.
Source: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
“In traveling, a companion, in life, compassion.”
Source: Kafka on the Shore
“A person’s destiny is something you look back at afterwards, not something to be known in advance.”
Source: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Source: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Variant: People want to be bowled over by something special. Nine times out of ten you can forget, but that tenth time, that peak experience, is what people want. That's what can move the world. That's art.
Source: South of the Border, West of the Sun
“Her cry was the saddest sound of orgasm that I had ever heard.”
Source: Norwegian Wood
Source: Kafka on the Shore
Source: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Source: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
“What we needed were not words and promises but the steady accumulation of small realities.”
Variant: What we needed were not words and promises but a steady accumulation of small realities.
Source: South of the Border, West of the Sun
“You know what it’s like when you’re trying to fall asleep and it only makes you more wide awake?”
Source: The Elephant Vanishes
Source: A Wild Sheep Chase: A Novel (1982), Chapter 15, The Song Is Over
“I’m me, and at the same time not me. That’s what it felt like. A very still, quiet feeling.”
Source: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
“Ordinary imperfect people, always choose similarly imperfect people as friends.”
Source: Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
Source: A Wild Sheep Chase
Source: Norwegian Wood (1987)
Source: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Source: What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
Source: Kafka on the Shore
“The little things are important, Mr. Wind-Up Bird”
Source: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
“Looking at the ocean makes me miss people, and hanging out with people makes me miss the ocean.”
Source: Wind/Pinball: Two Novels
Source: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
“Things that have form will all disappear. But certain feelings stay with us forever.”
Source: South of the Border, West of the Sun
Source: Norwegian Wood
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