I want my words to survive translation.

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.

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

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.

I find Japanese books quite baffling when I read them in translation. It's only with Haruki Murakami that I find Japanse fiction that I can understand and relate to. He's a very international writer.

We all live inside bodies that will deteriorate. But when you look at human beings, they're capable of very decent things: love, loyalty. When time is running out, they don't care about possessions or status. They want to put things right if they've done wrong.

Indeed — why should I not admit it? — in that moment, my heart was breaking.