I spent thirty-three years in another man's shadow. I went everywhere he went, I helped him with everything he did. I was in a sense a part of him. When you live like that for a long time, you gradually lose track of what it is you yourself really want out of life

Give yourself five minutes to consider how you can turn a miserable situation to your benefit and that light bulb is going to click on.

I'm all alone, but I'm not lonely.

It is very simple, actually. It is because you and Tengo were so powerfully drawn to each other.

..finally he was just another ant, working and working until he died without meaning.

For me, writing a novel is like having a dream. Writing a novel lets me intentionally dream while I'm still awake. I can continue yesterday's dream today, something you can't normally do in everyday life.

There is nothing so cruel in this world as the desolation of having nothing to hope for.