73 Beautiful Haruki Murakami Quotes From The Author Of 'Norwegian Wood'
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Haruki Murakami is considered to be one of the greatest living novelists in the world.
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer whose books have been bestsellers in many countries, with his works being translated into more than fifty languages. His stories are often written in first-person narratives and he is known for seamlessly weaving concepts of alienation and loneliness in his stories.
The main protagonists of his stories speak freely about the strange turns the stories take sometimes. This is because Murakami believes that the characters experience what he experiences as he writes.
His love of cats is so widely known that you will find several Haruki Murakami quotes on cats. Also a big music lover, his works see an influence of classical music too. One of his most famous books, 'Norwegian Wood' draws its name from a song by The Beatles that goes by the same name.
You are sure to find help in Haruki Murakami quotes if you are writing short stories of your own. Haruki Murakami quotes are also sure to leave you feeling at peace and hopeful, whether you have read the books he is most known for or not.
For more inspiration, you can also check out these Agatha Christie quotes and Andy Warhol quotes.
Haruki Murakami Quotes About Love
Haruki Murakami doesn’t really write conventional romance stories. However, his ideas about love are so beautifully integrated with different storylines. He offers a certain sense of warmth and simplicity when it comes to the notion of love.
As the author behind several quotes about love we know today, he never ceases to amaze us. These are a few quotes about love from the famous Japanese writer, celebrated as one of the greatest living novelists. Which one would you use?
1. "I was always hungry for love. Just once, I wanted to know what it was like to get my fill of it—to be fed so much love I couldn’t take any more. Just once."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Norwegian Wood’.
2. "Anyone who falls in love is searching for the missing pieces of themselves. So anyone who’s in love gets sad when they think of their lover. It’s like stepping back inside a room you have fond memories of, one you haven’t seen in a long time."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore'.
3. "People fall in love without reason, without even wanting to. You can’t predict it. That’s love."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Dance Dance Dance’.
4. "Maybe it’s just hiding somewhere. Or gone on a trip to come home. But falling in love is always a pretty crazy thing."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’.
5. "I just don’t get it, he told her. I love you so much. I want us to be one. This couldn’t be clearer to me, or more important. I don’t care if it’s unrealistic. That’s how much I love you."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘A Folklore For My Generation’.
6. "We’re both looking at the same moon, in the same world. We’re connected to reality by the same line. All I have to do is quietly draw it towards me."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’.
7. "For a certain kind of person, love begins from something tiny or silly. From something like that or it doesn't begin at all."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Norwegian Wood’.
8. "No mistake about it. Ice is cold; roses are red; I’m in love. And this love is about to carry me off somewhere."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’.
9. "Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I’m gazing at a distant star. It’s dazzling, but the light is from tens of thousands of years ago. Maybe the star doesn’t even exist any more. Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘South Of The Border, West Of The Sun’.
Haruki Murakami Quotes About Life
Many analyses have been done about the aspects of shamanism seen in Murakami's works, with characters often living a parallel storyline.
If you have read the books he is famous for, you will know that he provides an interesting take on life and death, and these Haruki Murakami quotes on death and life will make you realize the importance of the moment you are in.
Pick your favorite!
10. "It’s not as if our lives are divided simply into light and dark. There’s shadowy middle ground. Recognizing and understanding the shadows is what a healthy intelligence does. And to acquire a healthy intelligence takes a certain amount of time and effort."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘After Dark’.
11. "Life is not like water. Things in life don’t necessarily flow over the shortest possible route."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘1Q84’.
12. "In the midst of life, everything revolved around death."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Norwegian Wood’.
13. "Even if we could turn back, we'd probably never end up back where we started."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘1Q84’.
14. "Even chance meetings are the result of karma… Things in life are fated by our previous lives. That even in the smallest events there’s no such thing as coincidence."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
15. "As we go through life, we gradually discover who we are, but the more we discover, the more we lose ourselves."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years Of Pilgrimage’.
16. "What we call the present is given shape by an accumulation of the past."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘1Q84’.
17. "People die all the time. Life is a lot more fragile than we think. So you should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. Fairly, and if possible, sincerely."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’.
18. "One foot in front of the other. Repeat as often as necessary to finish."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’.
19. "What we seek is some kind of compensation for what we put up with."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’.
20. "Remove everything pointless from an imperfect life and it’d lose even its imperfection."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’.
Quotes About Dreams And Imagination
Murakami has often said in his interviews that he doesn’t hold himself back from writing about unconventional things, be it talking cats or lost souls. His works are a true representation of what our imaginations can lead to.
These Haruki Murakami quotes about the sky being the limit when it comes to imagination, are sure to inspire you to not limit yourselves!
21. "I dream. Sometimes I think that's the only right thing to do."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’.
22. "Narrow minds devoid of imagination. Intolerance, theories cut off from reality, empty terminology, usurped ideals, inflexible systems. Those are the things that really frighten me."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
23. "The better you were able to imagine what you wanted to imagine, the farther you could flee from reality."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’.
24. "The answer is dreams. Dreaming on and on. Entering the world of dreams and never coming out. Living in dreams for the rest of time."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’.
25. "Dreams come from the past, not from the future. Dreams shouldn’t control you – you should control them."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman’.
26. "It’s just like Yeats said. In dreams begin responsibilities. Flip this around and you could say that where there’s no power to imagine, no responsibility can arise."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
Quotes About Loneliness
Alienation is one of the most common themes that appear in Murakami’s books. The subtle but rich journeys that his characters take often lead the readers in search of connections around them. These quotes about loneliness cover one of the most recurrent concepts of Haruki Murakami. Do you connect to any of these? Do let us know!
27. "In this world, there are things you can only do alone, and things you can only do with somebody else. It's important to combine the two in just the right amount."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘After Dark’.
28. "I could hear the roots of loneliness creeping through me when the world was hushed at four o’clock in the morning."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’.
29. "Sometimes I get real lonely sleeping with you."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘A Wild Sheep Chase’.
30. "Two people can sleep in the same bed and still be alone when they close their eyes."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World’.
31. "Why do people have to be this lonely? What’s the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why?"
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’.
32. "Nobody likes being alone that much. I don’t go out of my way to make friends, that’s all. It just leads to disappointment."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Norwegian Wood’.
33. "I realize full well how hard it must be to go on living alone in a place from which someone has left you, but there is nothing so cruel in this world as the desolation of having nothing to hope for."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’.
34. "An empty shell. Those were the first words that sprang to mind. Something incredibly important had disappeared from Miu for good. Leaving behind not life, but its absence."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’.
Quotes About The Heart
Murakami presents a soft, innocent picture of romance. His stories present a whimsical but mature picture of the concept of love. These quotes about the heart might feel like lines of a poem and we don’t blame you. It is the beauty of Haruki Murakami’s writing!
35. "The human heart is like a night bird. Silently waiting for something, and when the time comes, it flies straight toward it."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years Of Pilgrimage’.
36. "What matters is deciding in your heart to accept another person completely. When you do that, it is always the first time and the last."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman’.
37. "For a long time, she held a special place in my heart. I kept this special place just for her, like a 'Reserved' sign on a quiet corner table in a restaurant. Despite the fact that I was sure I’d never see her again."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘South Of The Border, West Of The Sun’.
38. "What happens when people open their hearts? They get better."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Norwegian Wood’.
39. "I sometimes think that people’s hearts are like deep wells. Nobody knows what’s at the bottom. All you can do is imagine by what comes floating to the surface every once in a while."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman’.
40. "If you can love someone with your whole heart, even one person, then there’s salvation in life. Even if you can’t get together with that person."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘1Q84’.
41. "It’s hard to tell the difference between sea and sky, between voyager and sea. Between reality and the workings of the heart."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
Quotes About Truth And Reality
Just like many other deep notions and ideas, Murakami tackles the concept of truth and reality with absolute grace and elegance. He is known for portraying complex thoughts in the most simple manner and these quotes about truth, reality, and what makes you happy prove just that. Don’t you agree?
42. "Don’t let appearances fool you. There’s always only one reality
- Haruki Murakami, ‘1Q84’.
43. "It seems to me that reality itself has a screw loose somewhere. That's why I try to keep at least myself in line as much as possible."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Killing Commendatore’.
44. "Fact may not be truth, and truth may not be factual."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’.
45. "Most people are not looking for provable truths. As you said, truth is often accompanied by intense pain, and almost no one is looking for painful truths. What people need is beautiful, comforting stories that make them feel as if their lives have some meaning."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘1Q84’.
46. "The truth sometimes reminds me of a city buried in sand. As time passes, the sand piles up even thicker, and occasionally it’s blown away and what’s below is revealed."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years Of Pilgrimage’.
47. "No truth can cure the sorrow we feel from losing a loved one.
No truth, no sincerity, no strength, no kindness can cure that sorrow. All we can do is see it through to the end and learn something from it, but what we learn will be no help in facing the next sorrow that comes to us without warning."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Norwegian Wood’.
Haruki Murakami Quotes About Surviving Life
With his simplistic yet profound writing style, Murakami is one of the best novelists to teach you about the workings of the world. His stories often leave the readers with some learning about life and people.
These quotes about experiences will help you learn many great things and make you realize the importance of other great many. Tell us which one helped you the most!
48. "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’.
49. "The most important thing we learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’.
50. "And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
51. "Spend your money on the things money can buy. Spend your time on the things money can’t buy."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’.
52. "The light of morning decomposes everything."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘A Wild Sheep Chase’.
53. "Closing your eyes isn’t going to change anything. Nothing’s going to disappear just because you can’t see what’s going on… Only a coward closes his eyes."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
54. "Despite your best efforts, people are going to be hurt when it's time for them to be hurt."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Norwegian Wood’.
55. "Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
56. "As time goes on, you’ll understand. What lasts, lasts; what doesn’t, doesn’t. Time solves most things. And what time can’t solve, you have to solve yourself."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’.
57. "Taking crazy things seriously is a serious waste of time."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore'.
58. "Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’.
59. "A certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
Quotes About The World And People
Murakami’s books are one of the best ways to make efforts to know another person and the world around you and these quotes do just that! Which one helped you?
60. "Everyone may be ordinary, but they’re not normal."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World’.
61. "Whether you take the doughnut hole as a blank space or as an entity unto itself is a purely metaphysical question and does not affect the taste of the doughnut one bit."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘A Wild Sheep Chase’.
62. "Listen, every object’s in flux… they don’t stay in one form or another or in one place forever."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
63. "I don't know what I want. And, if that's the case, as my ex-wife said, I'd only hurt people."
- Haruki Murakami.
64. "In the world we live in, what we know and what we don't know are like Siamese twins, inseparable, existing in a state of confusion."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart'.
65. "Listen up – there’s no war that will end all wars."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
66. "I never trust people with no appetite. It’s like they’re always holding something back on you."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World’.
Quotes About The Self
These quotes about the self will provide you an insight into Murakami's writing style and influences, but let’s not forget that they will also provide you with some valuable lessons.
67. "Unclose your mind. You are not a prisoner. You are a bird in flight, searching the skies for dreams."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World'.
68. "'What makes us the most normal,' said Reiko, 'is knowing that we're not normal.'"
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Norwegian Wood’.
Quotes About Memories
Murakami quotes about memories will definitely take you back to some random moment in your life that you wish to cherish.
69. "Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
70. "If you remember me, then I don’t care if everyone else forgets."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Kafka On The Shore’.
71. "Most everything you think you know about me is nothing more than memories."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘A Wild Sheep Chase’.
72. "You can hide memories, but you can’t erase the history that produced them."
- Haruki Murakami, ‘Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years Of Pilgrimage’.
73. "If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking."
- Haruki Murakami.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you like our suggestions for 100 beautiful Haruki Murakami quotes from the author of 'Norwegian Wood', then why not take a look at these WH Auden quotes or 'What Dreams May Come' quotes too?
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Bachelor of Arts and Law specializing in Political Science and Intellectual Property Rights
Anusuya MukherjeeBachelor of Arts and Law specializing in Political Science and Intellectual Property Rights
With a wealth of international experience spanning Europe, Africa, North America, and the Middle East, Anusuya brings a unique perspective to her work as a Content Assistant and Content Updating Coordinator. She holds a law degree from India and has practiced law in India and Kuwait. Anusuya is a fan of rap music and enjoys a good cup of coffee in her free time. Currently, she is working on her novel, "Mr. Ivory Merchant".
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