Reviews

Bei Anbruch der Nacht by Kazuo Ishiguro

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fionacummings64's review against another edition

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reflective medium-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

3.25

tnorthcu's review against another edition

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1.0

Maybe it's because I just finished reading Paris Trout, which had such a rich narrative tone, but I found this book to be quite lacking. I actually quit reading in the middle of it, which I never do, because the writing was missing something, depth maybe.... I really enjoyed "Never Let Me Go" & "Remains of the Day" but I just couldn't get into this one... I tried.

trin's review against another edition

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2.0

I love Ishiguro’s [b:The Remains of the Day|28921|The Remains of the Day|Kazuo Ishiguro|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5114803QD2L._SL75_.jpg|3333111] intensely, but I found this collection of five thematically interrelated short stories disappointing. They’re not badly written or anything, but they’re very plain and unexciting. They don’t build to anything, either each alone or all together. “Okay,” one thinks upon finishing, and then moves along, unaffected. Whereas I still mentally return to the beautiful, perfectly controlled narration of The Remains of the Day all the time.

I perhaps have a new criteria for books, since I read so much, and that’s to ask: would it matter to me at all if I had skipped this one and read something else instead? In the case of Nocturnes, not really. I mean, I’d still rather have read this than one of the execrable books that made an impact by being appallingly awful, but that’s damning with faint praise, isn’t it?