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A review by elfabllax
All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami
4.0
quotes:
“Why does the night have to be so beautiful? As I walk through the night, I remember what Mitsutsuka said to me. “Because at night, only half the world remains.”
“When I start to feel emotional about something, I can't tell if I'm actually feeling that way. What if it's just something somebody wrote in a book? Or maybe a line or a performance from some movie... Either way, I get this feeling like I'm quoting somebody else's work.”
“Memory's funny, isn't it? We remember some things out of nowhere, but so much of what happens, we never think about again.”
“As I passed below the haloes of the green and red traffic signals, I was taken by this strange view of the evening, the city streets full of people— people waiting, the people they were waiting for, people out to eat together, people going somewhere together, people heading home together. I allowed my thoughts to settle on the brightness filling their hearts and lungs, squinting as I walked along and counted all the players of this game I would never play.”
"I guess I trust that feeling, whatever makes me like them. Though I don't know if it's really about like or love - I've never given much thought to love ... But what ultimately lasts is something that can't simply change or disappear at any moment ... It's trust."
"No one can make it through this world on their own, that's not what life's about,' and I know that, obviously. I get that, but that's precisely what makes it so important to do things on your own when you can."
“I’d been on my own for ages, and I was convinced that there was no way I could be any more alone, but now I’d finally realized how alone I truly was. Despite the crowds of people, and all the different places, and a limitless supply of sounds and colors packed together, there was nothing here that I could reach out and touch.”
"I mean, that feeling like none of this is mine, like it's just something I picked up somewhere, sometimes I start to think that maybe even that's something ripped off. I'm a real lost cause, I know..... When it comes to love, the only weapon that we've got is our emotions, right? So what can you do when your foundation's all messed up? If that's the state you're in, there's no way you can ever get serious with anybody."
“Why does the night have to be so beautiful? As I walk through the night, I remember what Mitsutsuka said to me. “Because at night, only half the world remains.”
“When I start to feel emotional about something, I can't tell if I'm actually feeling that way. What if it's just something somebody wrote in a book? Or maybe a line or a performance from some movie... Either way, I get this feeling like I'm quoting somebody else's work.”
“Memory's funny, isn't it? We remember some things out of nowhere, but so much of what happens, we never think about again.”
“As I passed below the haloes of the green and red traffic signals, I was taken by this strange view of the evening, the city streets full of people— people waiting, the people they were waiting for, people out to eat together, people going somewhere together, people heading home together. I allowed my thoughts to settle on the brightness filling their hearts and lungs, squinting as I walked along and counted all the players of this game I would never play.”
"I guess I trust that feeling, whatever makes me like them. Though I don't know if it's really about like or love - I've never given much thought to love ... But what ultimately lasts is something that can't simply change or disappear at any moment ... It's trust."
"No one can make it through this world on their own, that's not what life's about,' and I know that, obviously. I get that, but that's precisely what makes it so important to do things on your own when you can."
“I’d been on my own for ages, and I was convinced that there was no way I could be any more alone, but now I’d finally realized how alone I truly was. Despite the crowds of people, and all the different places, and a limitless supply of sounds and colors packed together, there was nothing here that I could reach out and touch.”
"I mean, that feeling like none of this is mine, like it's just something I picked up somewhere, sometimes I start to think that maybe even that's something ripped off. I'm a real lost cause, I know..... When it comes to love, the only weapon that we've got is our emotions, right? So what can you do when your foundation's all messed up? If that's the state you're in, there's no way you can ever get serious with anybody."