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Banana Yoshimoto

Banana Yoshimoto Books

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Kitchen

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The Lake

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Three plays

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Goodbye Tsugumi

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Asleep

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Lizard

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Amrita

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N.P

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N.P.: A Novel

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The Premonition

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L'abito di piume

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Related Quotes

“And it seemed to me that even if you weren’t actively letting your emotions ride its surface, the ocean still went on giving you something, teaching you some sort of lesson. Perhaps that was why I had never actually considered its existence before—never really thought about the thundering of the waves as they sweep in endlessly toward the shore. But since I was thinking about it, what on earth did people in the city turn to when they felt the need to reckon with “balance"? Maybe the moon? That seemed like the obvious choice. But then the moon was so small and far away, and something about it felt sort of lonely, and it didn’t seem like it would really help . . .”

EmotionLonelinessBalanceOceanEmotionsLesson
Book:Goodbye Tsugumi
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“Don’t you think that seeing such a beautiful moon influences what one cooks? But not in the sense of ‘moon-viewing udon for instance.” The elevator stopped with a little jerk. When he said that, my heart faltered for an instant. He spoke as if he knew my very soul. As we walked to the door, I asked, “In what sense then? In a more profound way?” “Yes, yes. In a more human sense, you know?” “I agree. That’s absolutely true,” I said without hesitation. If they asked a hundred people on a quiz show, a hundred voices would reverberate as one: “Yes! Yes! It’s true!”

LoveSoulFoodMoonCooking
Book:Kitchen
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“I was frightened of so many things, in my vanity, that ultimately i couldn't protect myself any other way. Try not to be like that, okay? Be sure to keep your tummy warm, try to relax, both your heart and your body, try not to get flustered. Live like a flower. You have that right. It's something you can achieve, for sure, in your lifetime. And it's enough.”

LifeHumanityFearHuman NatureFlowerLifestyleComplexityDelicacyWay Of Life
Book:The Lake
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“Until only recently, the light that bathed the now-empty apartment had contained the smells of our life there. The kitchen window. The smiling faces of friends, the fresh greenery of the university campus as a backdrop to Sotaro's profile, my grandmother's voice on the phone when i called her late at night, my warm bed on cold mornings, the sound of my grandmother's slippers in the hallway, the color of the curtains...the tatami mat...the clock on the wall. All of it. Everything that was no longer there.”

LossLonelinessLongingBanana
Book:Kitchen
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“Wenn ich mir so ansehe, wie du dich laufend veränderst, muss ich immer wieder feststellen, wie sehr der Mensch einem Gefäß ähnelt, wirklich. Ein Gefäß, dessen Inhalt jederzeit veränderlich, austauschbar ist. So ist auch der Mensch in der Lage, ein anderer zu werden. Das Prinzip ist gleich: Du gehst deinen Weg, und die Fügungen des Schicksals sorgen zwar dafür, dass du immer wieder Neues hineintust, aber ganz unten , auf dem Boden unter diesem sich ständig wandelnden Inhalt, bleibt das Gefäß letztlich doch dasselbe, da lieft die "Sakumi", die du immer bleiben wirst, das, was man vielleicht "Seele" nennen könnte, und nur das allein ändern sich erstaunlicherweise nicht, es bleibt immer da , nimm alles auf, versucht sich zu freuen. Wenn ich daran denke, dass das immer dasein wird, bis du stirbst, bin ich so gerührt, irgendwie so schmerzlich berührt, dass ich nicht mehr ein noch aus weiß!”

LifeHumansChangeDestiny
Author:Banana Yoshimoto
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“We all believe we can choose our own path from among the many alternatives. But perhaps it’s more accurate to say that we make the choice unconsciously. I think I did – but now I knew it because now I was able to put it into words. But I don’t mean this in the fatalistic sense; we’re constantly making choices. With the breaths we take every day, with the expression in our eyes, with the daily actions we do over and over, we decide as though by instinct. And so some of us will inevitably find ourselves rolling around in a puddle on some roof in a strange place with a takeout katsudon in the middle of winter, looking up at the night sky, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.”

LifeChoicesKatsudon
Book:Kitchen
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“Don’t you find that it … hurts, not letting even half of your emotions out? I see you’ve overcome your hatred for your parents with that easygoing love you were born with. And in the process you started thinking about things, and you ended up taking on this docile personality - but aren’t you really more spirited and free, more spoiled, and extremely into sex?”

PersonalityEmotionsParents And ChildrenDocileFree SpiritedEasygoing
Book:The Lake
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“We've been very lonely, but we had it easy. Because death is so heavy - we, too young to know about it, couldn't handle it. After this you and I may end up seeing nothing but suffering, difficulty and ugliness, but if only you'll agree to it, I want for us to go on to more difficult places, happier places, what ever comes, together. I want you to make the decision after you're completely better, so take your time thinking about it. In the mean time, though, don't disappear on me.”

LoveDeathHealingLonelinessClosureBonding
Book:Kitchen
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“Happiness descends on you suddenly, regardless of circumstance, and so indifferently that it seems cruel. It doesn't care where you are, or who you're with. You don't see it coming. You can't make it happen. It might arrive with your next breath, or you might never get to experience it no matter how long you wait. Like the movement of waves, or shifts in the weather, the miracle lies in wait for everyone.”

Happiness
Book:Dead-End Memories: Stories
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“Listen kiddo, by the time you grow up you'll have collected a whole lot of this 'dirt of life' stuff, right, you won't know where it's coming from but it'll pile up, and clothes and pearls won't look as beautiful to you as they do now -- that's for sure. The problem is that dirt, see? You can't ever settle down in one place, you've got to live like you're always, always staring way off into the distance.”

InspirationalJapanese LiteratureContemporary Literature
Book:Asleep
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