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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I didn’t get on with Nocturnes. I went in hoping for a quiet, introspective collection about music, memory, maybe some late-night emotional resonance—but what I got felt emotionally flat and, frankly, forgettable. None of the characters stood out to me. They all seemed to operate on the same emotional frequency—vague, slightly melancholic, but never really fleshed out. I found myself wondering why they felt shame or regret, but the book never let me in enough to understand them.
The musical theme sounded promising in theory, but in the end it felt mostly decorative. The saxophonist in one story could’ve just as easily been a painter or a struggling novelist—it wouldn’t have changed anything. I think Ishiguro intended music to act as a kind of metaphor or connective tissue, but for me it didn’t land.
His writing is as polished as ever, and there’s no denying the craft—but there’s nothing here that stuck with me. No real atmosphere, no emotional pull. I finished one story, moved onto the next, and kept waiting for a moment of insight or poignancy that never came. As soon as I closed the book, it slipped from my mind entirely
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
An experimental set of short stories delving into the human psyche— the familiar language of Ishiguro.Love the use of unreliable narration, though the length of the story impairs the formation of three-dimensional characters occasionally. 3/5
Recommend reading Kazuo Ishiguro's novels without doubt.
Recommend reading Kazuo Ishiguro's novels without doubt.
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Ishiguro’s writing was really atmospheric and immersive, bringing the reader into the settings of the five stories. When I saw the book being described as a collection of stories of “Music and Nightfall”, I thought Ishiguro was just enhancing the book’s title, but the stories truly reproduced a feeling of a rainy night, like a YouTube video of a song playing in the background with rain sounds. After reading the first story, Crooner, and learning about the singer Tony Gardner’s willingness to sacrifice everything to retain fame, I had to sit for a few moments to let the catharsis take place. I was that affected. The stories were a study of the relationships we have just as much as they were a study of the importance music can have for an individual, and I enjoyed reading them very much as feeling like I was in another time. I also loved how linked the stories were, I thought it was a thoughtful touch how settings and characters were connected through the stories.
reflective
sad
fast-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 sterren, hoewel ik eigenlijk alle verhalen wel leuk vond vond ik het net iets teveel van hetzelfde (natuurlijk de bedoeling omdat het allemaal 1 thema had) maar daardoor merkte ik dat ik het redelijk snel wilde uitlezen. toch wel echt een leuke read, mijn favoriet was het derde verhaal (malvern hills) en come rain or come shine blijft iconic, die had ik al eens eerder gelezen.
had het boek vorige week bij mn ouders laten liggen en direct na het uitlezen viel ik in slaap op de bank dus ben niet helemaal helder maarja grappige verhaaltjes, niet mijn favoriete ishiguro, maar goeie tijd gehad!
had het boek vorige week bij mn ouders laten liggen en direct na het uitlezen viel ik in slaap op de bank dus ben niet helemaal helder maarja grappige verhaaltjes, niet mijn favoriete ishiguro, maar goeie tijd gehad!