The Poisonwood Bible

Don't expect God's protection in places beyond God's dominion. It will only make you feel punished. When things go badly, you will blame yourself.

Don't try to make life a mathematics problem with yourself in the center and everything coming out equal. When you are good, bad things can still happen. And if you are bad, you can still be lucky.

In Congo there is only two ages of people: babies that have to be carried, and people that stand up and fend for themselves. No in-between phase. No such thing as childhood.

發條鳥年代記

『勇氣和好奇心不是很類似嗎？』『有勇氣時就有好奇心，有好奇心時就有勇氣，不是嗎？』
『有時候，好奇心像會挖起或挑起勇氣。不過好奇心這東西多半的情況是立即會消失。勇氣卻必須走更長遠的路。好奇心就像一個不可信賴的興致勃勃的朋友一樣。起先拼命地挑動煽動你，到了一個程度的時候，卻一下子就消失不見了。這麼一來，你只好自己一個人勉強鼓起勇氣應付下去。』

在有人離開之後，一個人留在那個地方過日子，我想確實是一件很難過的事。但是在這個世界上，沒有比沒有東西可以追求的寂寥感更殘酷的事了。

Kafka on the Shore

“Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s what part of it means to be alive. But inside our heads — at least that’s where I imagine it — there’s a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks in this library. And to understand the workings of our own heart we have to keep on making new reference cards. We have to dust things off every once in a while, let fresh air in, change the water in the flower vases. In other words, you’ll live for ever in your own private library.”

“When I first met you, I felt a kind of contradiction in you. You’re seeking something, but at the same time, you are running away for all you’re worth.”


"If you remember me, then I don't care if everyone else forgets."

"Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart."

"You have to overcome the fear and anger inside you,” the boy named Crow says. “Let a bright light shine in and melt the coldness in your heart. That’s what being tough is all about."

— Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore