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miles's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
A novel that certainly caused a lot of confusion for me. It reads like you are dreaming in the sense that the places are malleable, the distances make no sense, time seems to expand in order to have way too many things happen in way too little time, the way people interact with or talk about Ryder right in front of him sometimes is unrealistic and ridiculous, Ryder seems to know things and have insight into past experiences about other people that he shouldn't be able know/have, like he is the omniscient narrator and the other people are his invented characters. Ryder's whole character in general is very confusing as he seems to be suffering from some sort of memory loss that is never explained or really explored - he is seemingly but a visitor to a city he has never been to before and yet it is the city in which his, presumably, wife, son, and father-in-law live. And yet he meets his father-in-law as if for the first time and at first also has no recollection of his wife and son upon first meeting them. Gradually, Ryder seems to recall things about them and their flat, but it feels like you're constantly making a grab for some memories that are just out of reach. Basically, the novel has dream logic - the kind of 'logic' that makes perfect sense while you are dreaming, but once you wake up you realise just how absurd everything was.
Despite not really enjoying whatever was going on in the novel as it was frankly a bit too confusing and nonsensical to me, the writing was still very much effective considering I got really invested and simply had to know how the novel was going to finish and how Ryder's performance was going to go. I also felt increasingly stressed out and anxious about the continuous interruptions to Ryder's plans and schedule, which at least proves that Ishiguro's writing is certainly immersive and the characters would not let me go until I had finished the book.
That being said, I don't think I'll ever revisit the novel, but I don't regret reading it as it was certainly a hell of a ride.
Despite not really enjoying whatever was going on in the novel as it was frankly a bit too confusing and nonsensical to me, the writing was still very much effective considering I got really invested and simply had to know how the novel was going to finish and how Ryder's performance was going to go. I also felt increasingly stressed out and anxious about the continuous interruptions to Ryder's plans and schedule, which at least proves that Ishiguro's writing is certainly immersive and the characters would not let me go until I had finished the book.
That being said, I don't think I'll ever revisit the novel, but I don't regret reading it as it was certainly a hell of a ride.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Bullying, Car accident, and Alcoholism
sherbertwells's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Upon arriving in an anonymous Central European city, a famous pianist finds himself embroiled in a mess of critical disputes, bourgeois functions and failing marriages. I am unsure whether this book seeks to destroy the soul on purpose or if I am merely too young to understand it, but either way it is utterly unlovable.
“Is it any wonder at all that in this little town of yours, you have all these problems, this crisis as some of you choose to term it? That so many of you are so miserable and frustrated? Does it puzzle anyone...look at the way you treat each other” (271)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Death of parent, Animal death, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Minor: Death, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Emotional abuse
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