Quotessence
Home / Authors / Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro Quotes

Novelist

Filter quotes by topic

AllThinkingIfsPeopleNever Let Me GoWorldLiteratureMightYearsKnowsWayBookWritingTryingDignityEnoughLoveWantLet Me GoLooksMemories

Famous Kazuo Ishiguro Quotes

“The reason I wouldn't dare to write a Western is simply because that seems to be so much a part of American culture. Maybe if I want to write a Western enough I should try to overcome that fear, but I'll certainly feel like I'm trespassing. I feel that that is so much a part of American foundation myth, it's part of the myth of America, the American vision of what America is, which people have glorified and then challenged and then vilified.”

PeopleWritingTryingReasonEnoughCultureVisionOvercomingWesternDareMythAmerican Culture
Author:Kazuo Ishiguro
Create image

“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.”

IfsTryingDoneEnoughOrderCoursesCausesWorryToo MuchSacrificePridePreparedOneselfWorthyLikesPursueOutcomesAspirationContributionContentmentStart The Day
Author:Kazuo Ishiguro
Create image

“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.”

PeopleThinkingLoveTryingTwoEndsHardTogetherMovingStrongWaterForeverToo MuchOur LivesLetting GoRiversShameCurrentsHolding OnLet Me GoTogether ForeverNever Let Me Go
Author:Kazuo Ishiguro
Create image

“Perhaps there are those who are able to go about their lives unfettered by such concerns. But for those like us, our fate is to face the world as orphans, chasing through long years the shadows of vanished parents. There is nothing for it but to try and see through our missions to the end, as best we can, for until we do so, we will be permitted no calm.”

WorldTryingYearsLongEndsAbleFacesParentFateShadowConcernCalmMissionsTranquilityChasingOrphan
Book:When We Were Orphans
Create image

“A man who aspires to rise above the mediocre, to be something more than the ordinary, surely deserves admiration, even if he fails and loses a fortune on account of his ambitions (...) if one has failed only where others have not had the courage or will to try, there is consolation - indeed, deep satisfaction - to be gained from his observation when looking back over one's life. #Page no.134”

IfsMenTryingLosesFailingAmbitionPagesOrdinaryDeserveAccountsFortuneSatisfactionObservationAdmirationLooking BackAspireMediocreConsolationRise Above
Author:Kazuo Ishiguro
Create image

“For a great many people, the evening is the most enjoyable part of the day. Perhaps, then, there is something to his advice that I should cease looking back so much, that I should adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of my day. After all, what can we ever gain in forever looking back and blaming ourselves if our lives have not turned out quite as we might have wished?”

PeopleIfsShouldTryingMightForeverOur LivesAdviceGainsBlameRemainsCeaseEveningGreat MenLooking BackOutlookPositive OutlookEnjoyable
Book:The Remains of the Day
Create image