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akakinnie's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Misogyny
crumbs's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Misogyny, and Death
remainsofabook's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a book that makes you work for it. It was really tedious for me in the beginning and doesn't help that I was in a reading slump. At around the halfway mark, the story starts to pick up and I think it makes a great historical fiction about Post-WWII Japan through the eyes of a retired painter, Masuji Ono. An Artist of the Floating World is Ishiguro's 2nd novel and after this, he published The Remains of the Day. AAotFW is very similar to The Remains of the Day but have different outcomes. Dignity and honour are of utmost importance to the protagonists. As such, in AAotFW, Ono might seem like an arrogant and unreliable narrator. The unreliability and memory narrative really shine in this book. It is very fragmented and non-linear, just like our actual memories, but it flows smoothly. I love how the book is open-ended and there can be multiple interpretations of the meaning of the story, Ono's character and the side characters, like his daughters.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide and Misogyny
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