“Aomame's family - as far as Ushikawa could see it, that is - were narrow-minded in their thinking, narrow-minded in the way they lived. They were people who had no doubt whatsoever that the more narrow-minded they became, the closer they got to heaven.”

“They were people who had no doubt whatsoever that the more narrow-minded they became, the closer they got to heaven.”

“Constipation was one of the things she hated most in the world, on par with despicable men who commit domestic violence and narrow-minded religious fundamentalists.”

“It was a narrow world, a world that was standing still. But the narrower it became, the more it betook of stillness, the more this world that enveloped me seemed to overflow with things and people that could only be called strange. They had been there all the while, it seemed, waiting in the shadows for me to stop moving. And every time the wind-up bird came to my yard to wind its spring, the world descendedmore deeply into chaos.”

“It was a simple meal, but ideal for preventing constipation. Constipation was one of the things she hated most in the world, on par with despicable men who commit domestic violence and narrow-minded religious fundamentalists.”

“But intolerant,narrow minds with no imagination are like parasites that transform the host,change form,and continue to thrive. They're a lost cause, and I don't want anyone like that coming in here.”

“Narrow minds devoid ofimagination. Intolerance, theories cut off from reality, empty terminology, usurpedideals, inflexible systems. Those are the things that really frighten me. What I absolutelyfear and loathe. Of course it's important to know what's right and what's wrong.Individual errors in judgment can usually be corrected. As long as you have the courageto admit mistakes, things can be turned around. But intolerant, narrow minds with noimagination are like parasites that transform the host, change form, and continue tothrive. They're a lost cause”