End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland: A New Translation

by Haruki Murakami

“Exploiting science—whether for good or evil—is a cause of the current crisis of contemporary civilization.

I didn’t like having to deal with big organizations. They’re too inflexible, and they take too much time and trouble. And they have too many stupid people.

“The older you get, the more things you can’t undo,”

When people are trying to accomplish something, they quite naturally grasp three points: What have I done so far? Where am I standing now? And how much do I have to do from here on out? Deprived of these three things, all one has left are fear, self-doubt, and fatigue.

The world had things that changed and things that didn’t change, and the things that didn’t change would never change.

“Everybody has feelings, but not that many people can put them into words.”

Once something is lost, even if it should vanish completely, it goes on being lost forever.