Top 151 quotes by Kazuo Ishiguro

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There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.
Kazuo Ishiguro

FaceBook post by Kazuo Ishiguro from Mar 05, 2013 Source

I keep thinking about this river somewhere, with the water moving really fast. And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it's just too much. The current's too strong. They've got to let go, drift apart. That's how it is with us. It's a shame, Kath, because we've loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can't stay together forever.
Kazuo Ishiguro

FaceBook post by Kazuo Ishiguro from Jul 22, 2012 Source

Love , Strong , Letting Go

I'm interested in memory because it's a filter through which we see our lives, and because it's foggy and obscure, the opportunities for self-deception are there. In the end, as a writer, I'm more interested in what people tell themselves happened rather than what actually happened.
Kazuo Ishiguro

"In the Land of Memory" by Adam Dunn, edition.cnn.com. October 27, 2000. Source

Self , Memories , Opportunity

Memories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly. But I don’t go along with that. The memories I value most, I don’t ever see them fading.
Kazuo Ishiguro

FaceBook post by Kazuo Ishiguro from Apr 30, 2014 Source

Memories , Fading , Never Let Me Go

Many of our deepest motives come, not from an adult logic of how things work in the world, but out of something that is frozen from childhood.
Kazuo Ishiguro

Childhood , Adults , Frozen

You have to accept that sometimes that's how things happen in this world. People's opinions, their feelings, they go one way, then the other. It just so happens you grew up at a certain point in this process.
Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro (2009). “Never Let Me Go”, p.243, Faber & Faber

People , World , Feelings

What is the point of worrying oneself too much about what one could or could not have done to control the course one's life took? Surely it is enough that the likes of you and I at least try to make our small contribution count for something true and worthy. And if some of us are prepared to sacrifice much in life in order to pursue such aspirations, surely that in itself, whatever the outcome, cause for pride and contentment.
Kazuo Ishiguro

FaceBook post by Kazuo Ishiguro from Jun 24, 2013 Source

Order , Sacrifice , Pride

Our family arrived in England in 1960. At that time I thought the war was ancient history. But if I think of 15 years ago from now, thats 1990, and that seems like yesterday to me.
Kazuo Ishiguro

"'For me, England is a mythical place'". Interview With Tim Adams, www.theguardian.com. February 19, 2005. Source

Years , Thinking , War

Love isn't about when you first meet. It's about the many, many years you spend together, when you're trying to keep that flame burning.
Kazuo Ishiguro

Years , Love Is , Flames

She always wanted to believe in things.
Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro (2017). “Never Let Me Go: With GCSE and A Level study guide”, p.196, Faber & Faber

Believe , Wanted , Never Let Me Go

Memory, I realize, can be an unreliable thing; often it is heavily coloured by the circumstances in which one remembers.
Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro (1982). “A Pale View of Hills”, Thorndike Press

Remember , Memories , Realizing

…It’s hard to appreciate the beauty of a world when one doubts its very validity….But I’ve long since lost all such doubts, Ono,’ he continued. ‘When I am an old man, when I look back over my life and see I have devoted it to the task of capturing the unique beauty of that world, I believe I will be well satisfied. And no man will make me believe I’ve wasted my time.
Kazuo Ishiguro

FaceBook post by Kazuo Ishiguro from Mar 24, 2012 Source

Men , Believe , Unique

As a writer, I'm more interested in what people tell themselves happened rather than what actually happened.
Kazuo Ishiguro

FaceBook post by Kazuo Ishiguro from Aug 07, 2014 Source

People , Literature , Self Deception

It was like when you make a move in chess and just as you take your finger off the piece, you see the mistake you've made, and there's this panic because you don't know yet the scale of disaster you've left yourself open to.
Kazuo Ishiguro

FaceBook post by Kazuo Ishiguro from Aug 31, 2014 Source

Mistake , Life , Moving