Kazuo Ishiguro gives a press conference after being announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

The transcript discusses the speaker's literary influences, including Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Kafka, and Proust. The speaker admires these authors for their unique contributions to literature. Charlotte Bronte is noted for her significant influence on the speaker's writing style, while Kafka opened new possibilities in fictional worlds. Proust's narrative techniques, particularly his use of memory and non-linear storytelling, provided the speaker with artistic freedom.

Which authors were mentioned as comparisons to the speaker's writing style?

• Ernest Hemingway, J.K. Rowling, and Agatha Christie

• Jane Austen, Marcel Proust, and Kafka

• George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, and Leo Tolstoy

• Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and F. Scott Fitzgerald

Which Victorian British writer does the speaker feel has influenced them the most?

• Charles Dickens

• Charlotte Bronte

• Thomas Hardy

• George Eliot

What did the speaker realize upon rereading 'Jane Eyre'?

• They had borrowed many passages from it

• It was not as influential as they thought

• It was their least favorite novel

• They had never read it before

How did Kafka influence the speaker's writing?

• By opening possibilities for different fictional worlds

• By encouraging a focus on historical accuracy

• By promoting the use of humor in storytelling

• By emphasizing the importance of dialogue

What storytelling technique did the speaker learn from Proust?

• Using a strict chronological order

• Focusing on action-driven plots

• Telling stories through memories and thought associations

• Avoiding character development