Let’s reread Kazuo Ishiguro.
The first Ishiguro novel I ever read was The Remains of the Day. It was subtle and shattering, two adjectives I’ve found myself using regularly to describe his work. (Full disclosure: I hated The Buried Giant.)
Fiction readers tend to have huge backlogs, but to celebrate Ishiguro’s Nobel Prize, why don’t we toss Never Let Me Go on top of the stack? It’s subtle, shattering, and short. Then let us know why you love (or don’t love) Kazuo Ishiguro’s work, and who was your bet for the prize. (Mine was Ursula K. LeGuin.)
Next: Less by Andrew Sean Greer.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
November 7th, 2017 at 08:15
Still waiting for Haruki Murakami to get his Nobel Prize
November 7th, 2017 at 10:14
I borrowed a friend’s copy of Remains and haven’t started it yet. A Pale View of the Hills is the only Ishiguro I have read. It too was subtle and short, the shattering part was very disorienting for the reader, and that was what i remembered from the book haha.
I was/am still rooting for Cormac McCarthy. Blood Meridian and The Crossing are brilliant.
November 7th, 2017 at 18:43
Nakakalungkot yung pelikula ng “Never Let Me Go.” Suntok sa puso.
November 7th, 2017 at 19:21
Count me in!
I read it years ago on a trip to Palawan and have always remembered it as that novel that stole my attention from that nice beach trip. I gave away my first edition copy to a former colleague and it shatters me to this day.
I was happy with his win even though I’ve only read this one novel by him. It would have been nice to see Margaret Atwood win the prize but I feel like she’s going to get it pretty soon.
November 8th, 2017 at 00:58
I love Ishiguro’s work because of the fluid way he writes about loss, regret, and memory. I first read Never Let Me Go followed by The Remains of the Day. Then I bought all his books then I got sidetracked by other things. I’m currently reading The Buried Giant.
I didn’t have a bet for this year’s Nobel Prize because I was massively annoyed by Bob Dylan’s win. Ishiguro’s win made me forgive the committee lol. In previous years, I’ve rooted for Joyce Carol Oates despite not having seriously read her (just some of her short stories and tweets). Or any African writer (South Africa not counted).
November 8th, 2017 at 07:19
Currently on chapter three :-)
November 9th, 2017 at 23:46
philip roth deserves it. interesting articles already written on roth and the only remaining lit award not on his mantle.
have read never let me go also, prompted after seeing it topping almost all the best-of/top10 list on the year it was published. the controlled restraint is really one of a kind. it’s like the narrative is eager to explode on the last half of the book, but still eventually very controlled until the end. brilliant novel. when i shared the plot though to an officemate, she said that that was already used in a michael bay film. could ishiguro have been inspired by that scarlett johannson flick? :-)
November 10th, 2017 at 10:44
turmukoy: Never Let Me Go has a similar premise to The Island–spare parts–but Ishiguro and Bay might as well be from different species.
Never Let Me Go also has thematic links to the Blade Runner movies. I read somewhere that Ishiguro is a science-fiction fan.
Here’s some excellent advice from the author.
http://lithub.com/kazuo-ishiguro-write-what-you-know-is-the-stupidest-thing-ive-ever-heard/
I think the Nobel Committee is torturing Philip Roth.
November 10th, 2017 at 13:26
I read all of Ishiguro’s works (at least during that time) because of this book. This and Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore are two of my most loved books.
I love it so much kasi tahimik lang siya tapos dahan dahan yung pagsuntok sayo papunta sa huli. Grabe lang.
I also think that the movie version of this was amazing. Yung car scene ni Garfield = YES. Shet.
November 11th, 2017 at 11:27
This will be my first reread. I bet that each mundane memory will be bittersweet, knowing what is to come for them at the end.