This is no honky-tonk parade. 1Q84 is the real world, where a cut draws real blood, where pain is real pain and fear is real fear. The moon in the sky is no paper moon.

As long as I was alive, I was something. That was just how it was. But somewhere along the way it all changed. Living turned me into nothing.

If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.

The grounds of the place were dominated by several large, old willow trees that towered over the surrounding stone wall and swayed soundlessly in the wind like lost souls.

I didn't feel like I was in my own body; my body was just a lonely, temporary container I happened to be borrowing.

What the world needs is a set villain that people can point at and say, “It’s all your fault!

I've always liked libraries. They're quiet and full of books and full of knowledge.