I learned that realism can come in all shapes and sizes. The world is big enough for different values to coexist.

The ocean was one of the greatest things he had ever seen in his life—bigger and deeper than anything he had imagined. It changed its color and shape and expression according to time and place and weather. It aroused a deep sadness in his heart, and at the same time it brought his heart peace and comfort.

When you fall in love, the natural thing to do is give yourself to it.

When I start to write, I don't have any plan at all. I just wait for the story to come.

Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?

The pillow smells like the sunlight, a precious smell.

I’ve never once thought about how I was going to die,” she said. “I can’t think about it. I don’t even know how I’m going to live.