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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very Kafkaesque and frustrating at times. Probably the first time I felt Ishiguro being malicious.
Simply brilliant.
Simply brilliant.
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Review of “The Unconsoled”
By: Kazuo Ishiguro
Our protagonist, Ryder, was a pianist performing in a European city, but when he got there, he was bombarded with various requests and demands from the people he met. As he experienced the few days before the concert, he would become distracted and forgetful to the detriment of himself and to his wife Sophie and young son Boris.
Ryder was a frustrating but also sympathetic main character and at times it was disorienting being in his mind. It felt as if he was going through the motions, also, he was polite to a fault. When people would made demands of him, he to tried to tell them he was on a tight schedule, but they would ignore him. He would give in once they made him feel guilty. Eventually he would lose his temper and snap, startling the person he was talking to.
His relationship with his wife Sophie and young son, Boris was strained, and he would lose patience with them. Sophie would often bring up how his career was preventing him from being part of their lives. He was oblivious to what she meant. This showed how he didn’t listen or communicate with her. When he and Boris were alone together, the interaction was awkward, especially when Boris behaved like a child. Sophie had to remind Ryder how to talk with his son. Sophie even pretended one time that a random book Ryder had perused in a store was actually meant as a surprise gift for Boris.
Two characters that Ryder encountered were Stephen Hoffman, a young pianist, and Christoff Brodsky, a washed up conductor, were mirrors to Ryder. Stephen Hoffman was eager to become a great pianist and prove himself to his parents, like Ryder, who was eager to make sure his parents had been there to watch him play. I got the impression that Ryder’s parents never cared about his piano playing. Brodsky was a version of what Ryder could be. Brodsky was a drunk, who couldn’t let go of his past, and he wanted to prove he was still great. If Ryder continued on his path of obsessing over his career, he could end up like Brodsky.
I did not like Stephen’s father, the hotel manager, the elder Hoffman. He was pushy about his demands for Ryder, and he didn’t feel genuine when he claimed to be understanding that Ryder had a busy schedule and would persist in asking him to do things. Ryder had to yell to get the man to listen. Hoffman secretly took his wife’s albums that documented Ryder’s career and asked him took look at, but so many people wanted Ryder’s attention that he hadn’t been able to get to it. Hoffman accused Ryder of not caring about his request to do this favor for him. His wife didn’t like that he took her albums without permission. Once, he made his son, Stephen, feel that he wasn’t a good enough pianist. He also got Ryder involved in a newspaper article that involved a monument to man in this city’s past, who created controversy. By the end, I pitied Hoffman’s character, but still didn’t like him. On the other hand, I liked Sophie’s father Gustav, the hotel porter. He was kind, supportive, and cared about his job. He had pride for his profession and the request he had for Ryder was for him to say something in his speech at the concert about hotel porters, because the profession was dying out.
The writing had an immersive quality, and I could picture the various settings in the story, such as the hotel where Ryder had stayed. At the same time, the dream like narrative was confusing. There were times when Ryder was in place but would end up being at someone’s house but find a door that lead straight back to the hotel. Other times, he would be traveling with someone like Mr. Hoffman, who was talk endlessly, and it would be a meandering pace. It was difficult to get used to, but I didn’t hate either.
This was a fascinating story into the experience of man overwhelmed by his fame and as he tried to get through another performance. The story was worth reading and encouraged me to think about life.
·
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
challenging
The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro is one of the strangest books I have ever read. This is my first Ishiguro novel, and I read it because I am a classical pianist and I wanted to read a story about someone within my field. The story follows a famous concert pianist named Mr. Ryder, who has just arrived in a small Central European town where he is set to perform an upcoming recital. Upon his arrival, Mr. Ryder is unable to remember his itinerary or his recital program. From here, the novel follows his bizarre interactions with quirky town locals leading up to his performance.
While reading the book, I was disappointed to discover that the story isn’t really about music. Music operates more as a vessel for Ishiguro to explore his themes. I will be honest and say that I am not exactly sure what this book is trying to say. This is likely the type of novel that must be read several times, and by peeling back its many layers during that process, a deeper understanding of the text can be uncovered.
With that said, I am not much of a re-reader. My personal takeaways, from what will probably be my only read-through, are that the novel seems focussed on communication and familial relationships. Many characters in the novel struggle to communicate effectively, and many characters have complicated relationships with their family, be it their spouse, their children, or their parents. The most extreme example of this is through a character named Gustav, who maintains a relationship with his daughter; however, the two intentionally never speak to each other — they interact but do not share words.
There is another character — who happens to be my favorite — named Stephan. Stephan is a young man, currently in his twenties, who was a promising pianist in his childhood; however, he spent two years not practicing and not taking the instrument seriously. After those two years, once he decided to resume his dedication to the piano, he found that his technique and playing were deeply impacted, and any dream he had of becoming a successful pianist had been squandered. This revelation comes much to the severe disappointment of his parents. In many ways, it appears this ruined his parents' lives, at least to some extent.
Aspects like this in the novel are darkly humorous. It feels as if Ishiguro is parodying the idea of child prodigies and classical music’s ageist favoritism of young artists, while also commenting on parent-child relationships and the unfair expectations that parents can place upon their children. I was certainly never a budding child prodigy, but I related to Stephan’s struggles. He is truly the only character I was able to relate to in the novel; furthermore, he is probably the most normal and grounded character out of the whole oddball cast.
“I never believed I was just this…nobody. Maybe with my head, yes, I accepted what they said. But in my heart, no, I never believed it. Not for a minute, in all these years. I could always hear it, I could always hear the music.” (p. 363)
The Unconsoled is notable for how it uses dream logic in a compelling manner. For example, characters will travel long distances only to end up near where their journey began. Another example is that Mr. Ryder sometimes inherently understands character backstories and motivations, even though it would be impossible for him to know such information. It’s just like how in a dream we might understand something to be true within a given scenario. This all could become messy and confusing if it weren’t for the fact that the general plot beats of the story are relatively easy to follow.
This dreaminess creates several memorable scenes, like when Mr. Ryder stumbles upon a funeral, only for the mourners to shift their attention away from the deceased onto himself. The mourners crowd around Mr. Ryder, and through the dream logic, he understands that the crowd resents and despises him. It’s a slightly nightmarish scene that would fit well in a David Lynch film.
With that said, the dreaminess also works to the detriment of the novel. The strange character interactions become repetitive over the 535-page span of the story. Furthermore, the dreaminess can make climactic events feel inconsequential, thus lessening their emotional impact. Even the stressful fact that Mr. Ryder does not know what he is supposed to perform is severely downplayed. I have had many nightmares of that exact scenario — I’m sure all classical musicians can relate — and I wish the novel would have leaned more into those elements of the story.
Overall, I wish the novel was more straightforward. I hate to wish for a creator to be more direct with their art, but I did not get what I wanted out of this book. I likely set myself up for failure by thinking this was going to focus on piano more, unaware that this is an offbeat and lesser-loved novel by its famed author. Later down the line, I’m unsure if I will remember much of the story itself, but I will certainly remember the unique experience of reading it.
The Unconsoled is a cold, emotionally detached, and strange novel. I don’t think I like it, but I definitely respect it.
“‘The point I’m making is that everything will be fine tonight.’”
“‘It’s all very well for you to say that. You’re just like all the others. You just take it for granted. You think all I have to do is turn up and everything else will just follow…”
(p. 445)