1Q84 Quotes
1Q84 (いちきゅうはちよん, Ichi-Kyū-Hachi-Yon, stylized in the Japanese cover as "ichi-kew-hachi-yon") is a novel written by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, first published in three volumes in Japan in 2009–10. It covers a fictionalized year of 1984 in parallel with a "real" one. The novel is a story of how a woman named Aomame begins to notice strange changes occurring in the world. She is quickly caught up in a plot involving Sakigake, a religious cult, and her childhood love, Tengo, and embarks on a journey to discover what is "real".
Notable Passages
“I move, therefore I am.”
“I can bear any pain as long as it has meaning.”
“What we call the present is given shape by an accumulation of the past.”
“No one knows for certain what it means to die until they actually do it.”
“In Ushikawa’s experience, nobody hated paying taxes more than the rich.”
“That’s what the world is, after all: an endless battle of contrasting memories.”
“The pursuer’s blind spot is that he never thinks he’s being pursued.”
“It’s no fun growing old, no fun at all. The drawers where you store memories get harder to open.”
“This may be the most important proposition revealed by history: “At the time, no one knew what was coming.””
““Not very heartwarming facts, are they.”
“Well, with facts what’s important is their weight and accuracy. Warmth is secondary.””
““It’s very difficult to logically explain the illogical.”
“Exactly. As difficult as finding a real pearl in a Roppongi oyster bar.””
“If you can love someone with your whole heart, even one person, then there’s salvation in life. Even if you can’t get together with that person.”
““There is always just a thin line separating deep faith from intolerance,” Ushikawa said. “And it’s very hard for people to do anything about it.””
“What did it mean for a person to be free? she would often ask herself. Even if you managed to escape from one cage, weren’t you just in another, larger one?”
“Komatsu was good at keeping a straight face when saying things he didn’t believe, though this was a skill mastered by all experienced editors to some degree.”
“It was her personal view that people who are overly choosy about the drinks they order in a bar tend to be sexually bland. She had no idea why this should be so.”
“Mathematics gave Tengo an effective means of retreat. By fleeing into a world of numerical expression, he was able to escape from the troublesome cage of reality.”
“Everything ended in silence. The beasts and spirits heaved a deep breath, broke up their encirclement, and returned to the depths of a forest that had lost its heart.”
““Tell me, Tengo, as a novelist, what is your definition of reality?”
“When you prick a person with a needle, red blood comes out—that’s the real world,” Tengo replied.”
“The guru is a degenerate with perverted sexual tastes. There can be no doubt. The organization and the doctrines are nothing but a convenient guise for masking his individual desires.”