Quotes from Banana Yoshimoto

Until Eriko's death my relationship with Yuichi had been laughing and carefree, but under the surface it had been growing more and more complicated. The times of great happiness and great sorrow were too intense; it was impossible to reconcile them with the routine of daily life.

Maybe I'd started thinking again about Y?ko and what she was like, the translucent silhouette of a petal fluttering down to the ground against the glare of the sun—a petal from a flower named gentleness.

Why is it we have so little choice? We live like the lowliest worms. Always defeated - defeated we make dinner, we eat, we sleep. Everyone we love is dying. Still, to cease living is unacceptable. Tonight, again, I felt the darkness hindering my breathing. In my heavy, depressed sleep, I battled each demon in turn.

Non ci rendevamo neanche conto che il semplice pensare l'uno all'altra, il semplice accorgersi del rumore di una finestra che si apre, era l'inizio di un amore.

There's someone I might be getting closer to, that's all. But it's not quite coming together yet. I think I'm not ready, either," I said. "Have you got ED?" she said. "Um, no, for a number of different reasons," I said, "but it might be something similar.

Good tea is eloquent enough, it turns out, to change a person's mind. Nakajima

I couldn't take my eyes off him. I think I heard a spirit call my name.

Voglio assolutamente continuare a sentire che un giorno morirò. Altrimenti non mi accorgo che vivo. Per questo è così la mia vita.

Non si diventa volgari per colpa dell'alcol: si diventa volgari perché lo si è già.

Omologarsi equivale a perdere di vista se stessi.

Thanks so much for seeing, the first time you met us, that even though we're like ghosts, the two of us, even though we're not supposed to exist, we are alive." I

I felt like I'd discovered the source of his peculiarly translucent darkness, the air of loneliness and heaviness that hung around him wherever he went.

no matter how old people get, they tend to change in certain ways depending on how people treat them—they change their colors.

Dù sao trong ?o v?ng c?a má»—i ng??i, ? má»™t nÆ¡i nào Ä'ó không th? vá»›i tá»›i, có má»™t hình dung lung linh mà ai cÅ©ng thá»±c sá»± thèm mu?n, lá»›n hÆ¡n c? ni?m hy v?ng, m?nh hÆ¡n c? ánh sáng, có tên là H?nh Phúc". (Amrita - Banana Yoshimoto)

I realized that from now on, my mom's life and mine would have to be completely, unmistakably different. Nothing about us was the same: the times we lived in, the ways we regarded the world, the things we valued.

8I ricordi veramente belli continuano a vivere e a splendere per sempre, pulsando dolorosamente assieme al tempo che passa.

This was precisely what made him so nice. He was even considerate to ghosts.

Alla fine dell'estate chi è stato l'ultimo ad uscire dal mare? L'ultimo è tornato a casa senza chiudere il coperchio del mare. E da allora per tutto questo tempo il mare è rimasto scoperchiato.

Yo creo que se reían de puro alborozo, por la felicidad que sentían de hallarse el uno frente al otro.

When was it I realized that, on this truly dark and solitary path we all walk, the only way we can light is our own? Although I was raised with love, I was always lonely.

For the first time, I saw the difference we made by being there for people over the years, in the background of their lives.

Suddenly, to see that the world was so large, the cosmos so black. The unbounded fascination of it, the unbounded loneliness... For the first time, these days, I was touching it with these hands, these eyes. I've been looking at the world half-blind, I thought.

E' un po' come quando si costruisce una casa: si cerca il terreno, si assume un progettista e c'è persino chi vuole scegliere in prima persona tutto il materiale di cui saranno fatti i muri. Io però non sono una persona di questo tipo, preferisco che le cose mi capitino quasi per caso, quindi cerco di farmele andare bene e intanto imparo a conoscerle.

The space that cannot be filled, no matter how cheerfully a child and an old person are living together—the deathly silence that, panting in a corner of the room, pushes its way in like a shudder. I felt it very early, although no one told me about it.