Reviews tagging 'Child death'

A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

20 reviews

amelialikesmatcha's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ishiguro reached into my brain and rearranged the structure with this writing, he literally changed my brain chemistry after reading this one. very complicated characters and works backwards into the past off a post-war Japan with little genuine or non-narcissistic detail from the main character. perception of motherhood, cultural assimilation, and overall ability to connect to a reader without revealing any true emotion is impressive - worth the read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, and Child abuse

ryster's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

It’s one of those books where you feel that the writer will become great, but just isn’t there yet. A good read, but lackluster.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Suicide

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

Just eerie vibes the whole time but I would expect nothing less from this man

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicide, Animal death, Child death, Murder, War, Colonisation, and Genocide

caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A Pale View of Hills is Kazuo Ishiguro’s debut novel. It starts out as a very simple story about a middle-aged woman reminiscing about the past. Sometimes those memories are clear as day, sometimes they are quite hazy. And sometimes the dreamy memories feel more like nightmares. This was a very slow read. The language is stilted. It reads like just like the narrator, someone who grew up speaking another language and still translates into English in her mind. There are flashes of the brilliant writer Ishiguro will become, but in the end, it was a boring read. The character development could have been better and some of the side stories should have been either fleshed out or deleted altogether. The one positive thing I can say is that the ending of the story blew me away. 

I’m still glad I read this. I will continue to read Ishiguro’s novels in the order they were published. Next up, An Artist of the Floating World. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Child death

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: War

ajdotcom's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book reminded me of a David Lynch movie, in that I felt that there was some great thematic narrative just beyond my reach, but I didn't quite understand it. Ishiguro's minimalist style leaves room for reader inference, and the entire book, especially the parts set in Japan, have an overwhelming sense of foreboding. This contrasts with the parts set in England, where Etsuko is looking back at tragedy rather than feeling it coming. This book is complex, and I think it is about many different things- family, grief, cultural and generational differences, pre- and post-war Japan. I wouldn't recommend it if you need to "understand" a story or reach a satisfying ending (or really any ending at all)- I'd say this is written in a way that allows you to drift with the ominous flow of the storytelling. I was entirely wrapped up in it and the tone, moreso than the plot, will stay with me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Grief, and Suicide

Minor: Murder

A major plot point is the recent suicide of the narrating character's daughter; the circumstances of this are discussed, but there is not a play-by-play description.

There are mentions of child murders at two points, the first with no explicit detail and the second with one graphic detail mentioned almost in passing. These sections make up a total of probably four sentences.

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, Misogyny, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Suicide, and Animal death

Minor: War, Violence, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

katysimpson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The writing in this book is just incredible. Although it requires some patience due to the repetitiveness of the characters dialogue, the pace of the narrative is so cleverly crafted. One of those books that will leave you thinking for a long time afterwards.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Child abuse, Child death, Abandonment, and Suicide

Minor: War

enbyemu's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book has so many layers and I LOVE it. A surprisingly eery read. I saw one reviewer say it was a ghost story but the narrator/protagonist didn't know it and I thought that was a perfect description.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death and Child death

Minor: Suicide

sadiaa's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It's easy to read but like most Japanese novels, nothing really happens.  The pov changes throughout the book to the past when estuko was pregnant and had spent the summer with Mariko and her mother, to the present when estuko is dealing with the suicide of her daughter kieko.

Mariko is kieko, it's just brushed over with no explanation

. It's a shame that the ghost woman storyline was not explored more, whilst we find out who the woman was, there's no resolution. Ultimately the book ends with us feeling sorry for estuko as the book ends with her being left alone.
Despite this I enjoyed the book and will be reading more from Ishiguro.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Domestic abuse, and Death

Moderate: Child death

Minor: War

megsthomas's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Suicide