Haruki Murakami Quotes

It is hard to be an individual in Japan.

Everything passes. Nobody gets anything for keeps. And that`s how we`ve got to live.

I didn`t want to be a writer, but I became one. And now I have many readers, in many countries. I think that`s a miracle. So I think I have to be humble regarding this ability. I`m proud of it and I enjoy it, and it is strange to say it this way, but I respect it.

Most young people were getting jobs in big companies, becoming company men. I wanted to be individual.

In Japan they prefer the realistic style. They like answers and conclusions, but my stories have none. I want to leave them wide open to every possibility. I think my readers understand that openness.

I lost some of my friends because I got so famous, people who just assumed that I would be different now. I felt like everyone hated me. That is the most unhappy time of my life.

I am 55 years old now. It takes three years to write one book. I don`t know how many books I will be able to write before I die. It is like a countdown. So with each book I am praying - please let me live until I am finished.

You are 27 or 28 right? It is very tough to live at that age. When nothing is sure. I have sympathy with you.

When I write about a 15-year old, I jump, I return to the days when I was that age. It`s like a time machine. I can remember everything. I can feel the wind. I can smell the air. Very actually. Very vividly.

There`s no such thing as perfect writing, just like there`s no such thing as perfect despair.