💬 Quotes

"Murakami utilizes the motif of the well as a classic liminal space—a place of isolation where the protagonist sheds his social mask to encounter the raw, often terrifying truth of his existence."

"Through his characters’ passivity, Murakami suggests that in an increasingly alienated society, the only way to resist the encroaching darkness is to maintain an unwavering focus on one’s own inner narrative."

"That’s what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It’s geometrically progressive – all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer delight."

"We clung to books and to our friends; they reminded us that we had another part to us. We were more than potatoes and peelings."

"I think that if you have souls, all souls are equal. I cannot imagine a God who would have a preference for one over the other."

"I hope I shall never marry. The thought of being someone’s 'other half' fills me with dread. I am my own whole."

"Books possess a way of getting through to us, even when we think we have closed ourselves off to the world."

"Is it not wonderful how a book can connect two strangers across the miles, making them feel like old friends?"

"A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol meant nothing to him. A dog couldn't care less if you are rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he will give you his."

"He was a dog who lived with the singular conviction that life was a banquet and he was there to eat every last crumb."

"We learned from Marley that it’s not about how much you get out of life, but how much of yourself you give to those you love."

"He was a dog of pure heart, and he left this world a better place for having been in it."

"At times like that, when he looked at me with those soulful, trusting eyes, I knew he wasn't just a dog. He was a soul, one that understood more than I ever could."

"You don't get a dog like Marley every day. You don't get a dog like him in a lifetime, really. He was a once-in-a-lifetime dog."

"Whatever you are, you always have a choice."

"The sharpest beauty is a lie."

"You’ve had surgery to make you look like everybody else. You’ve had your personality adjusted so that you’re fun to be with, and you don’t cause any trouble."

"Maybe being ugly means you actually have a brain."

"Everything changed when she realized that being perfect wasn't the same as being happy."

"I am me. I am Tally Youngblood. And I am as ugly as anyone else."