Your work should be an act of love, not a marriage of convenience.

The world is an inherently unfair place.

I wrote a huge number of letters that spring: one a week to Naoko, several to Reiko, and several more to Midori. I wrote letters in the classroom, I wrote letters at my desk at home with Seagull in my lap, I wrote letters at empty tables during my breaks at the Italian restaurant. It was as if I were writing letters to hold together the pieces of my crumbling life.

Wherever there's hope there's a trial.

Wasn't he the one who said you shouldn't trust anybody who calls himself an ordinar man? - Naoko

I have no models in Japanese literature. I created my own style, my own way.

You don’t get it, do you?" I said. “It’s not a question of ‘what then’. Some people get a kick out of reading railroad timetables and that’s all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out of matchsticks. So what’s wrong if there happens to be one guy in the world who enjoys trying to understand you?