The Nakano Thrift Shop Quotes

“Having to worry about whether someone is healthy enough to tolerate my fierce hatred or criticism before I decide to blame them - that's what I call getting old.”
― Hiromi Kawakami, Herr Nakano und die Frauen

“If sexual desire wasn’t the origin of Masayo and Mr. Maruyama’s relationship, then what was their love based on?”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Nakano Thrift Shop

“Having to worry about whether someone is healthy enough to tolerate my fierce hatred or criticism before I decide to blame them – that’s what I call getting old.”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Nakano Thrift Shop

“The one I love most in this world. I had no one to say those words to. I hadn’t even felt the desire to say them to someone, ever, I thought as I ran. There was still time before the last train, but I kept running all the way to the station, without stopping to catch my breath. The”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Nakano Thrift Shop

“It was as if everyone doled themselves out in such small portions. Never completely open, not all at once.”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Nakano Thrift Shop

“When you get old and long-sighted, you can't look your sweetheart in the eye from close up. You need a little distance, so that you can focus on each other. So that your faces don't look blurry- anyway, you need a little distance.”
― Hiromi Kawakami, Herr Nakano und die Frauen

“Could Takeo have died on the side of a road? That would serve him right! I thought at the idea of such a thing. But my smugness was soon dampened by the realization of how troublesome it was, just to feel that way—how troublesome it was, really, just to be alive. I wanted nothing to do with love! I wanted the stiffness in my shoulders to go away. I could probably put a bit of money into savings this month. These thoughts drifted by one by one, like tiny bubbles. The flowers I had put in the vase looked as though they were artificial.”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Nakano Thrift Shop

“My own way. Clutching the bouquet as I walked home, I repeated these words in my head. I had spent time with these young women for eight months. Some of them were a little mean, some of them were quite kind, some of them were slightly particular, and some of them were a bit odd. Did that mean that I was the one among them who did things ‘my own way’?”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Nakano Thrift Shop

“Takeo and I had some good memories . . . Yes, I would eat a diet rich in vegetables, seaweed, and legumes, and every day would be sparkling and bright, my life brimming with health and vitality.”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Nakano Thrift Shop

“You know what I mean?

The newly opened bottle of wine clinked against the rim of my teacup, sounding a clear ring”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Nakano Thrift Shop

“Having to worry about whether someone is healthy enough to tolerate my fierce hatred or criticism before I decide to blame them -that’s what I call getting old.”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Nakano Thrift Shop

“But it's a good thing to earn money,'I said. Masayo laughed. 'Hitomi, you sound like an old lady! I am an old lady! "Oh, come off it! You're barely thirty! And then, even though we were already in our cups, we clinked a toast.”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Nakano Thrift Shop