Kobo Abe Quotes

Defeat begins with the fear that one has lost.

Without the threat of punishment, there is no joy in flight.

Mankind, which has always been a part of nature, has reached a point where it is too much for nature to accommodate.

Green makes me think of silence, or maybe it's loneliness. I get the feeling of a terribly distant star.

It's a dangerous dog that doesn't bark.

Work seemed something fundamental for man, something which enabled him to endure the aimless flight of time.

The minute you begin to have doubts, the floor under your feet starts to shake.

The most frightening thing in the world is to discover the abnormal in that which is closest to us.

Time cannot be spurred on like a horse.

Yet there seemed to be some truth in the law of probability, according to which the chance of success is directly proportionate to the number of repetitions.

Perhaps the act of writing is necessary when nothing happens.

A plausible rumor / Seems a lot more believable / Than the truth itself.

When I was young, I could bounce back from things like a brand-new rubber ball.

Things have value Because somebody buys them, Because somebody pays money; If you can find a buyer, Even a lie is worth a thousand yen.

Year after year students tumble along like the waters of a river. They flow away, and only the teacher is left behind, like some deeply buried rock at the bottom of the current.

The thorn of death falls from heaven, and its myriad forms leave us no room to move.

Some people, when they're called before the police, like nothing better than to spill everything, fact and fiction alike, hoping to create a good impression.