If you are under the impression you have already perfected yourself, you will never rise to the heights you are no doubt capable of. Kazuo Ishiguro More Quotes by Kazuo Ishiguro More Quotes From Kazuo Ishiguro Now naturally, like many of us, I have a reluctance to change too much of the old ways. Kazuo Ishiguro reluctance too-much way When a man induces his wife to turn suspicious thoughts against her own father, then that is surely cause enough for resentment. Kazuo Ishiguro wife men father People aren't quite sure what it means when a book is a Booker Prize winner. They're not quite sure what is being recommended, what literary values it stands for, because every year it stands for something different. Kazuo Ishiguro mean book years The fantasy never got beyond that—I didn’t let it—and though the tears rolled down my face, I wasn’t sobbing or out of control. I just waited a bit, then turned back to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be. Kazuo Ishiguro car tears faces So why not become a mongrel? It's healthy Kazuo Ishiguro why-not healthy Now when I look back to the Guildford of that time it seems far more exotic to me than Nagasaki. Kazuo Ishiguro exotic literature looks I think the judging process is full of integrity, compared to some other prizes around the world. The fact that they change the panel of judges every year keeps it from becoming corrupt. I think it's very difficult if you've got judges for life; obviously relationships are cultivated between judges and authors, and publishing houses. Kazuo Ishiguro change integrity thinking One need hardly dwell on the catastrophic possibility of uttering a bantering remark only to discover it wholly inappropriate Kazuo Ishiguro possibility inappropriate needs To see the best before I have properly begun would be somewhat premature. Kazuo Ishiguro premature would-be The world is crawling with authors touring now. They're like performance artists. Kazuo Ishiguro artist literature world What do you think dignity's all about?' The directness of the inquiry did, I admit, take me rather by surprise. 'It's rather a hard thing to explain in a few words, sir,' I said. 'But I suspect it comes down to not removing one's clothing in public. Kazuo Ishiguro inquiry few-words thinking What I wished more than anything was that the thing hadn't happened at all, and I thought that by not mentioning it I'd be doing everyone else a favor. Kazuo Ishiguro happened favors Maybe all of us at Hailsam had little secrets like that -- little private nooks created out of thin air where we could go off alone without fears and longing. Kazuo Ishiguro secret air littles And if these incidents now seem full of significance and all of a piece, it's probably because I'm looking at them in the light of what came later. Kazuo Ishiguro incidents pieces light She might be a great person, but life's so much bigger than just loving someone. Kazuo Ishiguro loving-someone bigger might What he wanted was not just to hear about Hailsham, but to remember Hailsham, just like it had been his own childhood. He knew he was close to completing and so that's what he was doing: getting me to describe things to him, so they'd really sink in, so that maybe during those sleepless nights, with the drugs and the paint and the exhaustion, the line would blur between what were my memories and what were his. Kazuo Ishiguro childhood night memories It didn't hurt, did it? When I hit you?" "Sure. Fractured skull. Concussion, the lot..." "But seriously, Kath. No hard feelings, right? I'm awfully sorry. I honestly am. Kazuo Ishiguro skulls hurt sorry I half closed my eyes and imagined this was the spot where everything I'd ever lost since my childhood had washed up, and I was now standing here in front of it, and if I waited long enough, a tiny figure would appear on the horizon across the field and gradually get larger until I'd see it was Tommy, and he'd wave, and maybe even call. Kazuo Ishiguro childhood eye long We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all. Kazuo Ishiguro never-let-me-go soul art I quizzed him a lot on this point and i suspect the truth was that it was like a lot of things at that age: you don't have any clear reason, you just do it. You do it because you think it might get a laugh, or because you want to see if it'll cause a stir. And when you're asked to explain afterwards, it doesn't seem to make any sense. Kazuo Ishiguro age laughing thinking
