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 IshiguroRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the inevitability of separation in relationships despite deep love.
In this poignant expression, the author uses the metaphor of a river to illustrate how strong currents can represent the forces that pull people apart, even when there is a deep bond. The imagery of two people struggling to hold onto each other amidst the powerful flow highlights the themes of love, struggle, and the acceptance of life's impermanence, suggesting that sometimes love is not enough to keep people together as circumstances change.
Themes
LoveSeparationRelationshipsImpermanenceLetting Go
In practice
Example use cases
A heartfelt speech at a wedding that acknowledges the complexity of lasting love.
More from Kazuo Ishiguro
All quotes →You need to remember that. If you’re to have decent lives, you have to know who you are and what lies ahead of you, every one of you.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
What I'm not sure about, is if our lives have been so different from the lives of the people we save. We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
If you were a boy and a girl and you were in love with each other, really, properly in love, and if you could show it, then the people who run Hailsham, they sorted it out for you. They sorted it out so you could have a few years together before you began your donations.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
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.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
Screenplays I didn't really care about, journalism, travel books, getting my writer friends to write about their dreams or something. I just determined to write the books I had to write.
Kazuo IshiguroRead
Similar quotes
A desire for social connection is fundamentally hardwired into our psychology, and so being deprived of it has devastating mental and physical consequences. Yet we live in a society which has become ever more fragmented and atomised.
Owen JonesRead
Intention is very important in sound, in listening. When I married my wife, I promised her I would listen to her every day as if for the first time. Now that's something I fall short of on a daily basis.
Julian TreasureRead
With each reunion (we) had to learn each other all over again. There was always that nervous moment at the airport when I would stand there waiting for him to arrive, wondering, Will I still know him? Will he still know me?
Elizabeth GilbertRead
Cruel is the strife of brothers.
AristotleRead
Laila has moved on. Because in the end she knows that’s all she can do. That and hope.
Khaled HosseiniRead
The act of forgiveness takes place in our own mind. It really has nothing to do with the other person.
Louise HayRead