615 reviews for:

The Unconsoled

Kazuo Ishiguro

3.54 AVERAGE


3.5- every character in this book was exhausting but I was certainly engaged.
challenging mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
slow-paced

I have loved the other books I've read by Ishiguro, but this one just didn't do it for me. I didn't finish it. It was a bit like having jet-lag trying to figure this out, and in fact, I did have jet-lag when I was reading it so maybe that was part of the problem. I just kept waiting for the pieces to come together, but after 300+ pages when I still felt like I was stumbling through half asleep, I decided to let it go.
challenging slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Reading this book gave me anxiety and extremely weird dreams. It's absolutely a surrealist masterpiece and unlike anything I've ever read, but finishing it was very difficult! 

A fascinating dreamscape, like reading an Escher print

This is an impressively written book, but I can't recommend it due to its length and the frustration it will cause. Instead, go for "The Remains of the Day" by the same author.

4 ⭐️

Si potrebbe dire che esiste una letteratura onirica che parla di sogni e un’altra che parla di cosa succede durante il sogno e, soprattutto, quando ti svegli. O pensi di esserti svegliato.
Ishiguro ha deciso di fonderle tutte e tre.

Trasmette perfettamente quella sensazione- che è quasi un fastidio- di continua dimenticanza, di tiepida sfuggevolezza.

In questo mondo incrinato i personaggi del romanzo sono incapaci di attingere alla memoria, di diminuire la discrepanza tra inconsistenza e realtà per mancanze di cause ed effetto.

Il punto di vista centrale è assente, inghiottito in un oblio anonimo.

È normale sentirsi spaesati (lo stesso protagonista naufraga tra case e strade sconosciute e senza nome), ancora più strepitoso rendersi conto del secondo elemento, ben più importante: l’intimità dell’intreccio è spaventosamente familiare.

Come ha detto lo stesso Ishiguro:
«Yeah, I wouldn’t take it to the beach.».
challenging mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Maddeningly slow - nothing ever happens! However, the expectation of something happening is always just around round the corner. It sticks in your head. I hated it so much, I liked it.