KAZUO ISHIGURO

Never Let Me Go - fragments
 

"I was talking to one of my donors a few days ago who was complaining about how memories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly. But I don’t go along with that. The memories I value most, I don’t see them ever fading. I lost Ruth, then I lost Tommy, but I won’t lose my memories of them.
I suppose I lost Hailsham too. You still hear stories about some ex-Hailsham student trying to find it, or rather the place where it used to be. And the odd rumour will go round sometimes about what Hailsham’s become these days—a hotel, a school, a ruin. Myself, for all the driving I do, I’ve never tried to find it. I’m not really interested in seeing it, whatever way it is now.
…
But as I say, I don’t go searching for it, and anyway, by the end of the year, I won’t be driving around like this any more. So the chances are I won’t ever come across it now, and on reflection, I’m glad that’s the way it’ll be. It’s like with my memories of Tommy and of Ruth. Once I’m able to have a quieter life, in whichever centre they send me to, I’ll have Hailsham with me, safely in my head, and that’ll be something no one can take away.”


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Silvia Bratu

Kazuo Ishiguro
 

„Zilele trecute discutam cu unul dintre donatorii pe care-i am in grija; se plangea de faptul ca amintirile – chiar si cele mai pretioase – se estompeaza surprinzator de repede. Mie, insa, nu mi se pare c-ar fi asa. Amintirile la care tin cel mai mult, pentru mine nu palesc niciodata. Am pierdut-o pe Ruth si l-am pierdut apoi pe Tommy, dar voi pastra amintirea vremurilor petrecute impreuna.
Cred ca am pierdut si locul numit Hailsham. Inca mai circula povesti despre cine stie ce fost student la Hailsham care incearca sa regaseasca acest loc – sau mai degraba locul unde se afla candva. Si mai circula, din cand in cand, cate un zvon ciudat despre ceea ce Hailsham a devenit in zilele noastre – hotel, scoala, o ruina. Eu una, cu toate drumurile pe care le fac incolo si-ncoace, n-am incercat niciodata sa-l gasesc. A-l revedea nu prezinta un interes deosebit pentru mine, indiferent ce-ar fi acum.
…
Asa cum spuneam, insa, nu sunt in cautarea lui cu tot dinadinsul si – oricum – pana la sfarsitul anului se va termina cu atatea drumuri. Exista, asadar, mari sanse sa nu dau nicicand de el; si daca ma gandesc bine, ma bucur ca va fi asa. E la fel ca si cu amintirile despre Ruth si Tommy. Odata ce voi putea sa duc o viata mai linistita, indiferent in care dintre centre ma vor trimite, voi purta Hailsham in amintire – o amintire pe care nimeni nu mi-o va putea lua vreodata.”