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The Buried Giant QUOTES

The Buried Giant QUOTES

1 " Where once we fought for land and God, we now fought to avenge fallen comrades, themselves slaughtered in vengeance. Where could it end? Babes growing to men knowing only days of war. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

2 " The stranger thought it might be God himself had forgotten much from our pasts, events far distant, events of the same day. And if a thing is not in God’s mind, then what chance of it remaining in those of mortal men? "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

3 " This country awakens so many memories, though each seems like some restless sparrow I know will flee any moment into the breeze. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

4 " When it was too late for rescue, it was still early enough for revenge. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

5 " Our life together's like a tale with a happy end, no matter what turns it took in the way. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

6 " How can old wounds heal while maggots linger so richly? "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

7 " Then he took the sword in both hands and raised it—and Gawain’s posture took on an unmistakable grandeur. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

8 " Abiding love that has endured the years—that we see only rarely. When we do, we’re only too glad to ferry the couple together. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

9 " Boatman," she says. "There's a tale I once heard, perhaps as a small child. Of an island full of gentle woods and streams, yet also a place of strange qualities. Many cross to it, yet for each who dwells there, it's as if he walks the island alone... "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

10 " Oletetaan, että Querig todella kuolee ja sumu alkaa hälvetä. Oletetaan että muistot palaavat, ja muistat myös ne kerrat jolloin olen tuottanut sinulle pettymyksen. Tai muistat pahat teot, joita olen ehkä joskus tehnyt, ja joiden takia olet minua katsoessasi nähnyt miehen jota et tunne. Lupaa minulle yksia asia. Lupaa, ettet unohda, mitä tunnet tällä hetkellä sydämessäsi minua kohtaan. Sillä mitä iloa sumusta nousevilla muistoilla on, jos ne vain ajavat meidät erilleen? Lupaatko sen, prinsessa? Lupaa, että säilytät sydämessäsi aina sen, mitä nyt tunnet minua kohtaan, riippumatta siitä mitä näet sitten, kun sumu on poissa. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

11 " But then again I wonder if what we feel in our hearts today isn't like these raindrops still falling on us from the soaked leaves above, even though the sky itself long stopped raining. I'm wondering if without our memories, there's nothing for it but for our love to fade and die. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

12 " Yet are you so certain, good mistress, you wish to be free of this mist? Is it not better some things remain hidden from our minds?"
"It may be for some, father, but not for us. Axl and I wish to have again the happy moments we shared together. To be robbed of them is as if a thief came in the night and took what's most precious from us."
"Yet the mist covers all memories, the bad as well as the good. Isn't that so, mistress?"
"We'll have the bad ones come back too, even if they make us weep or shake with anger. For isn't it the life we've shared? "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

13 " But God will know the slow tread of an old couple’s love for each other, and understand how black shadows make part of its whole. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

14 " Who knows what will come when quick-tongued men make ancient grievances rhyme with fresh desire for land and conquest? "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

15 " How is it possible to hate so deeply for deeds not yet done? "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

16 " Are you still there, Axl?”
“Still here, princess. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

17 " A couple may claim to be bonded by love, but we boatmen may see instead resentment, anger, even hatred. Or a great barrenness. Sometimes a fear of loneliness and nothing more. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

18 " What use is a god with boundless mercy, sir? You mock me as a pagan, yet the gods of my ancestors pronounce clearly their ways and punish severely when we break their laws. Your Christian god of mercy gives men licence to pursue their greed, their lust for land and blood, knowing a few prayers and a little penance will bring forgiveness and blessing. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

19 " The giant, once well buried, now stirs. When soon he rises, as surely he will, the friendly bonds between us will prove as knots young girls make with the stems of small flowers. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant

20 " The danger isn't the river's speed, friend, but its slowness. "

― Kazuo Ishiguro , The Buried Giant