Quote

I want my words to survive translation.

Kazuo Ishiguro

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Kazuo Ishiguro
Age: 70
Born: 1954
Born: November 8
Author
Lyricist
Novelist
Science Fiction Writer
Screenwriter
Songwriter
Writer
Ishiguro Kazuo
Sir Kazuo Ishiguro
Translation
Translations
Survive
Words

More quotes by Kazuo Ishiguro

Image
Even at the time, I realised this couldn't be right, that this interpretation didn't fit with the rest of the lyrics. But that wasn't an issue with me. The song was about what I said, and I used to listen to it again and again, on my own, whenever I got the chance.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
The Booker triumph of Graham Swift's moving, effortlessly profound Last Orders is a vindication of the quiet, much-misunderstood path this fine writer chose to take after the brilliance of Waterland more than ten years ago.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
I think it's quite difficult to understand what kind of life a writer leads. They might be millionaires, or they might be starving people.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
I was a little concerned that a lot of people thought I wrote Merchant Ivory movies. I also thought if I was ever going to write something strange and difficult, that was the time.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
But then, I suppose, when with the benefit of hindsight one begins to search one's past for such 'turning points', one is apt to start seeing them everywhere.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
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
Image
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
Image
I couldn't speak Japanese very well, passport regulations were changing, I felt British and my future was in Britain. And it would also make me eligible for literary awards. But I still think I'm regarded as one of their own in Japan.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
I work very regular hours, roughly 9 to 5:30. I think I have it much easier than a lot of parents. I just sit at home, I have a very flexible timetable, and I'm very fortunate in that I don't have money problems. I have lunch with my wife at home. I don't have to commute, so I have much more time with my family.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
It was like being given a maths problem when your brain's exhausted, and you know there's some far-off solution, but you can't work up the energy even to give it a go. Something in me just gave up.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
People were incredibly kind to our family and went out of their way to help.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
She might be a great person, but life's so much bigger than just loving someone.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
There was a time you saw me once, one afternoon, in the dormitories. There was no one else around, and I was playing this tape, this music. I was sort of dancing with my eyes closed and you saw me.' '...yes, I remember that occasion. I still think about it from time to time.' 'That's funny, so do I.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
I like novelists who can create other interesting worlds.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
Poor creatures. What did we do to you? With all our schemes and plans?
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
I like the fact that by mimicking the way memory works, a writer can actually write in a fluid way - one solid scene doesn't have to fall on another solid scene, you can just have a fragment that then dovetails into another one that took place 30 years apart from it.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Image
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
Image
If I'm alone at home, I get increasingly restless, bothered by the idea that I'm missing some crucial encounter out there somewhere. But if I'm left by myself in someone else's place, I often find myself a nice sense of peace engulfing me. I love sinking into an unfamiliar sofa with whatever book happens to be lying nearby.
Kazuo Ishiguro