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Kazuo Ishiguro

I read " remains of the day" last year and enjoyed it, though I wouldn't count it as one of my favourites. I just started " when we were orphans". It is true that it is a bit strange. Doesn't really seem to be getting anywhere, but I definitely like his writing.
 
I read The Remains of the Day a few months and enjoyed it very much! Ishiguro imbued Stevens with a lot of humanity and idiosyncracies; he's such a naive, repressed, pitiful man, incapable of understanding what was going on around him in the mansion, and concoting romantic fantasies from letters.

Mr. Kazuo Ishiguro seems like a worthy investment of my time. I'll eventually read An Artist of the Floating World and A Pale View of Hills, which seem to be his other two most interesting books.
 
Heteronym said:
Ishiguro imbued Stevens with a lot of humanity and idiosyncracies; he's such a naive, repressed, pitiful man, incapable of understanding what was going on around him in the mansion, and concoting romantic fantasies from letters.
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Hmm, very interesting comment, Heteronym. Considering Stevens' and Miss Kenton's long history of pleasant teas and, for them, conversations that were intimate on a scale of sorts, and
her more passionate behavior towards him as the book closes
I'm wondering if he was concocting anything or rather, refusing to recognize
the truth of his feelings for Miss Kenton
??


Edit: Sorry for the months long time lag in finding this thread.:eek:
 
Flor said:
Hmm, very interesting comment, Heteronym. Considering Stevens' and Miss Kenton's long history of pleasant teas and, for them, conversations that were intimate on a scale of sorts, and
her more passionate behavior towards him as the book closes
I'm wondering if he was concocting anything or rather, refusing to recognize
the truth of his feelings for Miss Kenton
??


Edit: Sorry for the months long time lag in finding this thread.:eek:
Click to expand...
I always shared your point of view, Flor, until reading Heteronym's post, and another review commenting on the unreliability as Stevens as a narrator. Perhaps the conversations were intimate only to Stevens? It is possible that he, being so proper in thoughts and manner, read more into it than she ever did?
 
MonkeyCatcher said:
I always shared your point of view, Flor, until reading Heteronym's post, and another review commenting on the unreliability as Stevens as a narrator. Perhaps the conversations were intimate only to Stevens? It is possible that he, being so proper in thoughts and manner, read more into it than she ever did?
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MC you've made a great point, one I never considered until now. And I suppose it is possible, faulty as he is, that Ishiguro could have written Stevens in such a manner as to entirely occlude what was really going on between Miss Kenton and himself. But I don't believe that Ishiguro did this,
..my recollection is that Miss Kenton almost declares her love for Stevens as they are waiting at the bus stop
. If that is the case, maybe Stevens, in that one instance, comes closer to an actual living of his life than at any other point in the novel.
and he falters, his flawless diction stumbles and he splits the infinitive as he confides that his heart is broken
. Am I remembering this incorrectly? Criminey one of my favorites demanding to be reexperienced! I read this during a somewhat emotional time and may have fogged it up.
 
ions said:
Remains of the Day was on my TBR list until I read the borathon Never Let Me Go. I'm not sure I'll bother with Remains now. Oddly enough I griped about spoiler tags above when spending five minutes with Never Let Me Go told me exactly where it was going anyway.
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Ions, I hope you haven't made your mind up about Remains of the Day yet. I absolutely adored Remains of the Day and having recently read Never Let Me Go, there is no doubt in my mind that RotD is superior. I found Never Let Me Go quite disappointing. Unlike you, I kept reading, right to the end, hoping things would get better, but they never did.
 
Ell said:
Ions, I hope you haven't made your mind up about Remains of the Day yet.
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Ions, indecision towards Remains of the Day??? I feel faint! Please read this and I promise you will not be disappointed. It is not Perfume. Ell is right that it is superior to Never Let Me Go.
 
I am currently reading Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day. I would have finished this extraordinary novel earlier but sadly other obligations have forced me to draw away from my pleasure reading.

So far I am blown away by the mastery of this Japanese-British author. He is very talented in his craft; and after being exposed to his gift for words (storytelling), I am going to include his other works in my reading plans. Terrific writer!

aimages.amazon.com_images_P_0679731725.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
 
Ishiguro song writer

If any of you are interrested in jazz,Kazuo Ishiguro wrote some lyrics for a woman named Stacey Kent.Very much in the soft jazz trend,like Norah Jones,Diana Krall,....a curiousity no more.
 
Interestingly, one of the non-Ishiguro song titles on the album is called Never Let Me Go, the title of Ishiguro's sixth novel.
 
Yes, I think his writing is beautiful, quiet and intelligent. I read everything he publishes and I've never been disappointed.
 
Thanks to a three hour delay in Glasgow airport (as the usual small flurry of snow caused the usual amount of chaos round Heathrow) I managed to finish When we were Orphans in one sitting.

The book tells the story of the life of Christopher Banks as he comes of age and sets out on the path to becoming England's greatest detective. A detective story this is not however for although we are given hints, and even visit the crime scenes, from some of his cases the true mystery for Banks is the disappearance of his parents many years ago.

The prose is wonderful and Ishiguro has shown his trademark knack for developing a complex and difficult to dissect central character. The mission he sets for himself is clearly different from the expectations of his peers who look to him to solve a much greater evil than that of his missing parents. Nostalgia collides brutaly with reality in the inevitable climax.

Another fantastic read from Ishiguro. This is the third one of his that I have read and I intend to make inroads to some of the rest as soon as my reading list lets me.
 
I am placing The Remains of the Day at number two of my favorites books ever read: Capote's In Cold Blood is king at number one. Ishiguro is a master.
 
I think it is a close tie between, Remains of the Day, and, Never Let Me Go, being my favorite by him. I loved both of them and have read both multiple times. I liked, When We Were Orphans, too but it didn't catch me the way the other two did. I look forward to reading his other books :)
 
I have only read The Remains of the Day so far, a beautiful book that says so much on so few pages.
 
Remains of the Day is one of my favorite books I've ever read. I don't think I've read anything so delicately or finely written.
 
I have read three books by Ishiguro: Remains of The Day, Never Let me Go and An Artist of the Floating World. Ishiguro's work is beautiful in its subtleties. I would definitely recommend these books to anyone. They are not difficult to read and yet are full of complexities at the same time. I hope to read more of his books soon. Which would people recommend?
 
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