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 IshiguroI felt slightly superior to student politics, for instance. I had no reason to think this, but I thought of myself as slightly more seasoned. I became quite cynical talking to my student friends.
Kazuo IshiguroMemories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly. But I donโt go along with that. The memories I value most, I donโt ever see them fading.
Kazuo IshiguroNow when I look back to the Guildford of that time it seems far more exotic to me than Nagasaki.
Kazuo IshiguroBecause maybe, in a way, we didn't leave it behind nearly as much as we might once have thought. Because somewhere underneath, a part of us stayed like that: fearful of the world around us, and no matter how much we despised ourselves for it--unable quite to let each other go.
Kazuo IshiguroโฆItโs hard to appreciate the beauty of a world when one doubts its very validityโฆ.But Iโve long since lost all such doubts, Ono,โ he continued. โWhen 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 Iโve wasted my time.
Kazuo Ishiguro