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Quote by Kōbō Abe

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““Could having a face be such an important requirement? Was being seen the cost of the right to see?””

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“People like me who lack something are liable to become spiteful critics.”

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“What we mean when we say "terrible conditions" is conditions which we are aware of as being terrible.”

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“He wanted to believe that his own lack of movement had stopped all movement in the world, the way a hibernating frog abolishes winter.”

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“One could not do without repetition in life, like the beating of the heart, but it was also true that the beating of the…

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“It is manifestly pregnant and has a bulging white belly heavy with its load of kittens.”

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Many people ask why a writer commits suicide. But I think that people who ask don't know the vanity and the nothingness of writing.…

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Defeat begins with the fear that one has lost.

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“Being free always involves being lonely.”

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“Everyone has his own philosophy that doesn't hold good for anybody else.”

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“It would seem that marsupials are poor imitations of full-fledged mammals. Their inadequacy gives them a certain appeal; we’re touched by it.”

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Explore all 67 Kōbō Abe quotes