8 November - The birthday of my favourite author, Kazuo Ishiguro - a Nobel Prize winner and a Sir!
Here is My Darling - re-imagined by AI:
I wanted to dedicate this very special day to an admittedly biased ranking of Ishiguro's books from extremely good to pure genius (for his worst is still much better than others' best).
But first - a few words about him:
My Darling, Mr. Ishiguro, was born in Nagasaki - in Japan - in 1954 and moved to England with his parents at the age of five. Here is an interview with a pretty young (and sexy!) Ishiguro talking about all this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tat-5V41hTs&t=7s
(I must say that he looks VERY unimpressed by the (objectively also quite annoying) interviewer...something quite funny to watch, though Ishiguro's dismay is pretty apparent, - and quite understandable, if you ask me...) He grew up in a Japanese household but in the UK, and therefore in the British school system - which resulted in a very British man adopting a somewhat Japanese lens in his literature. (This is, at least, my take on his writer identity - but identity is a complex thing, so I might indeed be very wrong).
OK. First things first. Let me list those books of his that I haven't yet read:
His newest novel - Klara and the Sun (published in 2021)
The book that is considered to be his weakest, The Buried Giant (originally published in 2015)
When We Were Orphans (originally published in 2000)
Crooner - A short story I know the existence of but that has nevertheless been staying oddly unclear in my mind...
Come Rain or Come Shine - a short story collection (originally published in 2019)
Quite a few books, you might say. Yet, I'm in no rush to shorten the list, because he hasn't written tonnes of books and, unfortunately, he isn't getting younger either.
I based my ranking on my intuition (and therefore, feelings) and I know that, objectively, I'd need to create an intellectual list... but I simply just won't... I don't want to be objective, that's the tea. With Ishiguro, at least. And because he's such a genius and everything he writes hits at least the level of extremely good, I think it's fine.
Also! I'll leave a link to each one of the books I'm ranking - I tried to find independent bookstores. Haha. Let's support small places. ❤️
Alright. Here we go:
#6 - The Unconsoled
Originally published in 1995
Ryder, a worldwide known (basically star-) pianist arrives in an unnamed Middle European town to give a concert - and ends up making an absolute mess. This book is around 500 pages (my edition was 530! pages long) and it gets very frustrating very quickly. Some would say it's kafkaesque (but what is kafkaesque - you might ask). There's an amazing video on kafkaesque made by Ted-ed - much recommended: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkPR4Rcf4ww
In my interpretation, kafkaesque = inescapable bureaucratic madness or simply said: nightmares.
I don't agree with calling The Unconsoled kafkaesque. Although Ryder's few days in that unnamed town are quite like an inescapable dream (lacking logic: places that he has to travel to happen to be next to each other in the next moment, characters are foreign to him but turn out to be old friends, family members, etc...), they don't have a lot to do with mundaneness and bureaucracy.
Ryder is supposed to be a musical genius (and quite possibly is one), but he happens to be a painfully, PAINFULLY, ordinary human being - and also a faaar too complacent one. Ishiguro annoys the reader through Ryder very acutely and completely intentedly. Ishiguro, You Charming Bastard! The only reason this book ended up in the last spot of my ranking is because the maddening-annoying labyrinth quality Ishiguro builds through his also maddening 530 pages could've been shown in no more than 300 pages - while still making a crystal clear point. But, God is this a very good book after all. Still, I don't want to read it again, haha. I HATED Ryder. Ewww. Nope.
Find the book here: https://booksupstairs.ie/product/the-unconsoled/
#5 - Nocturnes
Originally published in 2009
I read this short story collection a looong time ago. All stories (five, as I remember) are about musicians (no surprise, Ishiguro, originally, wanted to be a musician). There's much humour going on here, and much absurdity too, I found it very British. At the time of reading it, I had no idea who Ishiguro was, I just wanted to read something in English and found Nocturnes (a pretty small book) on one of the shelves in Szabó Ervin Library, in Budapest. And God am I happy to have found Him. The rest is history. And love. Nocturnes is a tiny but lovely little entry into the Ishiguro-universe.
Find the book here: https://goldenharebooks.com/products/9780571245000?_pos=1&_sid=5ef97fdf2&_ss=r
#4 - A Pale View of Hills
Originally published in 1982
This one is also a pretty short book, but this time a novel, not a short story collection. As I remember it was Ishiguro's first novel, and goodness, why is he such a genius? Etsuko - the protagonist - lost her daughter to suicide, and although the whys and hows are pretty unclear, Ishiguro is not after such answers. He dives into Etsuko's soul and mind. I was surprised by how invested this book made me, and deeply touched, without getting me to bowl my eyes out. Ishiguro made me understand a fuller scale of my feelings; all the sorrow living beyond crying...
Find the book here: https://buchperthel.buchkatalog.de/a-pale-view-of-hills-9780571258253
#3 - An Artist of the Floating World
Originally published in 1986
Masuji Ono is an artist in post-World War II Japan. As he recalls his career, it turns out that he made a few very questionable choices - although that's not how he interprets them. This is a flawless novel that I greatly enjoyed but which still couldn't beat the top two books.
Find the book here: https://www.shakes.cz/book/202492
#2 - Never Let Me Go
Originally publised in 2005
Never Let Me Go is probably Ishiguro's best-known book - the one that was also turned into a widely-known movie adaptation. This is also the book that would be very easy to spoil for readers (something I don't intend to do), so all I can say is that it's about British teenagers living in a boarding school, surrounded by some ever-present suspense. This is also Ishiguro's only book that made me VERY upset at the end, and not completely due to its genius. It is an extremely important book, but Ishiguro's choice of closure - at least concerning the dynamics of the characters - made me dissatisfied. I've talked to many people and no one agreed, so I must be wrong, haha. But I cannot help it, I would've chosen a different ending for the relationships among the characters. Ah also: Never Let Me Go is the one that allegedly got him the Nobel Prize (even though the Nobel Prize for Literature isn't awarded for a specific work but rather a career - as understand it).
Find the book here: https://www.borribooks.com/libriautori/ISHIGURO-KAZUO/NEVER-LET-ME-GO/978057125809
#1 - The Remains of the Day
originally published in 1989
Stevens is a butler serving at Darlington Hall - due to his long career, he gets to see very different eras of the same place while also experiencing the dusk of his occupation. But most importantly, just as in the case of Masuji Ono and even Ryder (the former from An Artist of the Floating World the latter from The Unconsoled) the novel also unveils some quite remorseful points of his life.
Find the book here: https://bestsellers.hu/hu/konyv/eccd95eb-6966-4040-a62e-5cb0da3f97ff
Conclusion:
Although I loved The Remains of the Day by far the most, I must say that I do think that it is indeed his best book - objectively speaking too. Yes, Never Let Me Go is more shocking, but shocking doesn't equal better.
After reading a few of his books, some points and themes have emerged: memories (mostly being unreliable and unclear), unfulfilled or sidetracked lives (and characters still oblivious), and ordinary people doing ordinary things while supposedly extraordinary people are also doing ordinary things - a few of Ishiguro's greatest theme-loves.
Plot twist: artists, geniuses, and key figures of society might be insufferably 'basic' after all. (I HATE YOU RYDER!).
Is Ishiguro questioning his own - supposed - role and career? Or personality?
Well. I might never know. Unless You call me, Dear Mr. Ishiguro.
But anyway, what can I say? Ishiguro's brain is the prettiest of all, and that's just it.
Happy Birthday You Darling! Haha.
Hugs from the Fearless Frock.:)
Comments