Source: Kafka on the Shore
Quotes from book
Kafka on the Shore
Haruki Murakami
Original title
海辺のカフカ
(Japanese, 2002)
Kafka on the Shore is a 2002 novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Its 2005 English translation was among "The 10 Best Books of 2005" from The New York Times and received the World Fantasy Award for 2006.
“I'll never see them again. I know that. And they know that. And knowing this, we say farewell.”
Source: Kafka on the Shore
Source: Kafka on the Shore (2002), Chapter 12
Context: Most things are forgotten over time. Even the war itself, the life-and-death struggle people went through, is now like something from the distant past. We're so caught up in our everyday lives that events of the past, like ancient stars that have burned out, are no longer in orbit around our minds. There are just too many things we have to think about every day, too many new things we have to learn. New styles, new information, new technology, new terminology... But still, 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. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone. And for me, what happened in the woods that day is one of these.
“People are drawn deeper into tragedy not by their defects but by their virtues.”
Source: Kafka on the Shore
Source: Kafka on the Shore
“As long as you have the courage to admit mistakes, things can be turned around.”
Source: Kafka on the Shore
Source: Kafka on the Shore (2002), Chapter 30, Colonel Sanders
Context: Listen- God only exists in people's minds. Especially in Japan, God's always been kind of a flexible concept. Look at what happened after the war. Douglas MacArthur ordered the divine emperor to quit being God, and he did, making a speech saying he was just an ordinary person. So after 1946 he wasn't God anymore. That's what Japanese gods are like-they can be tweaked and adjusted. Some American chomping on a cheap pipe gives the order and presto change-o - God's no longer God. A very postmodern kind of thing. If you think God's there, He is. If you don't, He isn't. And if that's what God's like, I wouldn't worry about it.
“When I wake up, my pillow’s cold and damp with tears. But tears for what? I have no idea.”
Source: Kafka on the Shore
Source: Kafka on the Shore
