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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Very dream-like, bit hard to keep up at the beginning but overall a very splendid read.
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Went into this completely blind, and after little confusion about a long rambling speech made by a elderly hotel porter to the protagonist, it became clear that the main character is in a dream. He can travel miles, and enter a building, and be in a eariler location. Things change about him, an example being when he's asked to speak to the porters semi estranged daughter, and her young son, and during the meeting with these strangers, he morphs into being in a strained longterm relationship with her, struggling to connect with his de facto stepson.
With a tight schedule he can't quite remember, he attempted to get to appointments, while the people he meets ask things of him, often to carry out favours and tasks to solve their raw hidden personal pain caused by events and decisions buried deep in their past. As this growing list prevents him carrying out his already agreed errands, the strain grows.
While utterly compelling, I found this a physically difficult listen (I tackled this on audible) as accompanying Ryder on his epic anxiety dream brings all too much to mind the dreams caused by the catalogue of problems and overwork in the community sector during the stresses of the pandemic. There where times I had to switch to a pulpy easy read, and even considered abandoning the novel, as there were moments I felt my chest tightening.
I've skimmed Wikipedia, and seen this is a novel that sharply divided opinions, but for what it's worth, I thought it a work of genius.
With a tight schedule he can't quite remember, he attempted to get to appointments, while the people he meets ask things of him, often to carry out favours and tasks to solve their raw hidden personal pain caused by events and decisions buried deep in their past. As this growing list prevents him carrying out his already agreed errands, the strain grows.
While utterly compelling, I found this a physically difficult listen (I tackled this on audible) as accompanying Ryder on his epic anxiety dream brings all too much to mind the dreams caused by the catalogue of problems and overwork in the community sector during the stresses of the pandemic. There where times I had to switch to a pulpy easy read, and even considered abandoning the novel, as there were moments I felt my chest tightening.
I've skimmed Wikipedia, and seen this is a novel that sharply divided opinions, but for what it's worth, I thought it a work of genius.
For as confusing as the plot was, "The Unconsoled" wasn't a bad read. I'd be curious to talk about this at a book club, because either I 1) missed the point or 2) there maybe isn't a point. I wondered if some of the underlying themes (parent-child relationships, life seemingly out of control, haunting reminders of the past, etc.) were issues Ishiguro himself struggled with as an artist? I don't know.
I did spend the first 100 or so pages (which I think take place during one afternoon/evening) so disoriented. I kept thinking (throughout the book, actually) "what time is it?! They've been up all night!" The action had a dreamlike quality. I often have dreams where there's something I have to get done and I just can't seem to arrive, much like Ryder (I guess that's a spoiler?). Interesting read.
I did spend the first 100 or so pages (which I think take place during one afternoon/evening) so disoriented. I kept thinking (throughout the book, actually) "what time is it?! They've been up all night!" The action had a dreamlike quality. I often have dreams where there's something I have to get done and I just can't seem to arrive, much like Ryder (I guess that's a spoiler?). Interesting read.
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
What an absolute joy of a novel. Masterfully written and entirely intriguing, though I understand why it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
It is the kind of novel that you have to trust and just follow along - much like you would a dream. This is, in fact, the stylistic structure the novel purposefully follows and perhaps the sense of confusion it creates within many a reader is on its own a testament to its success. But in short, if you are the kind of person who wondered at the end of "Inception" whether it was all real or just Cobb's imagination, rather than focus on the thematic resolution and conclusion of the narrative, you would not enjoy this.
Personally, this was my favourite aspect of the novel and what made it an exceptional reading experience for me. It took some time getting used to but once I understood where it was purposeful, it was something I could trust would take me where I needed to be.
It is fascinating to me how excellently Ishiguro achieves the precise sense of confusion yet absolute resolution in confidence in one's dreams in literary form. From the way it makes perfect sense for Ryder to have once seen his schedule and to have completely missed it in the next paragraph, to the way he cannot help himself from reacting and acting a certain why, out of nowhere, to the confidence with which he goes from a room that was at the other end of town straight back into the hotel without question (he once even remarks it was just "one of those buildings"), to the humour in the absurdity of it all. In my mind, it also played strongly on several cultural references - Escher's work, a perhaps less lyrical Borges, and the structure of Dante's "Inferno" (almost every Canto ending with Dante passing out due to the untenable horror of Hell compared to Ryder's falling asleep at the end of each section), in particular come to mind.
And like any dream, it is our (Ryder's) subconscious trying to put our (Ryder's) life into order and unburden the mind from the matters that torture us (Ryder) during our waking hours. In that sense, the novel can be read Ryder encountering different versions of himself from different periods of his life (I believe this is something that Ishiguro himself has suggested; it comes off clearly in my opinion and it is the way I feel I understood it for the majority of my reading time). It is an exploration of what has been and what could have been.
Regardless, "The Unconsoled" is the kind of the novel of which any reader could find their own interpretation should they only allow it to speak, trust and listen.
It is the kind of novel that you have to trust and just follow along - much like you would a dream. This is, in fact, the stylistic structure the novel purposefully follows and perhaps the sense of confusion it creates within many a reader is on its own a testament to its success. But in short, if you are the kind of person who wondered at the end of "Inception" whether it was all real or just Cobb's imagination, rather than focus on the thematic resolution and conclusion of the narrative, you would not enjoy this.
Personally, this was my favourite aspect of the novel and what made it an exceptional reading experience for me. It took some time getting used to but once I understood where it was purposeful, it was something I could trust would take me where I needed to be.
It is fascinating to me how excellently Ishiguro achieves the precise sense of confusion yet absolute resolution in confidence in one's dreams in literary form. From the way it makes perfect sense for Ryder to have once seen his schedule and to have completely missed it in the next paragraph, to the way he cannot help himself from reacting and acting a certain why, out of nowhere, to the confidence with which he goes from a room that was at the other end of town straight back into the hotel without question (he once even remarks it was just "one of those buildings"), to the humour in the absurdity of it all. In my mind, it also played strongly on several cultural references - Escher's work, a perhaps less lyrical Borges, and the structure of Dante's "Inferno" (almost every Canto ending with Dante passing out due to the untenable horror of Hell compared to Ryder's falling asleep at the end of each section), in particular come to mind.
And like any dream, it is our (Ryder's) subconscious trying to put our (Ryder's) life into order and unburden the mind from the matters that torture us (Ryder) during our waking hours. In that sense, the novel can be read Ryder encountering different versions of himself from different periods of his life (I believe this is something that Ishiguro himself has suggested; it comes off clearly in my opinion and it is the way I feel I understood it for the majority of my reading time). It is an exploration of what has been and what could have been.
Regardless, "The Unconsoled" is the kind of the novel of which any reader could find their own interpretation should they only allow it to speak, trust and listen.
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Audiobook performed by Simon Vance
From the book jacket: It is the story of a man named Ryder. He is a pianist of international renown who has arrived in a European city he cannot identify to give a concert he cannot remember agreeing to give. In the days before the concert, he is led in and out of the lives of seeming strangers, but his fleeting recollections of them and of his purpose among them are invariably overwhelmed by their inexplicable knowledge and expectations of him.
My reactions
Ishiguro is a brilliant writer, but this was a really challenging work. It is the stuff of dreams, or perhaps nightmares. People come and go, and Ryder (not to mention the reader) is left trying to puzzle out what is happening. He sets off with one purpose and gets waylaid time and again. As an example, one evening he goes to a movie, only to be introduced to a group of men who are playing cards and having loud arguments about local politics. Or he goes to a fancy dinner in his dressing gown and slippers. Or he’s in the middle of town and then driving for a long time into the countryside where he parks in a field, then enters a gallery which, he later discovers, is actually attached to his hotel (which is in the middle of town).
I was kept constantly off balance by these strange sequences. And really never did wrap my mind around whatever Ishiguro was trying to say. I appreciated the work more than I enjoyed it. And I’m not sure I would recommend it to most people I know.
I listened to a good portion of this on audio, narrated by the marvelous Simon Vance. But I think this is a book that is best tackled in text format, and I read about 30 percent of it rather than listen.
From the book jacket: It is the story of a man named Ryder. He is a pianist of international renown who has arrived in a European city he cannot identify to give a concert he cannot remember agreeing to give. In the days before the concert, he is led in and out of the lives of seeming strangers, but his fleeting recollections of them and of his purpose among them are invariably overwhelmed by their inexplicable knowledge and expectations of him.
My reactions
Ishiguro is a brilliant writer, but this was a really challenging work. It is the stuff of dreams, or perhaps nightmares. People come and go, and Ryder (not to mention the reader) is left trying to puzzle out what is happening. He sets off with one purpose and gets waylaid time and again. As an example, one evening he goes to a movie, only to be introduced to a group of men who are playing cards and having loud arguments about local politics. Or he goes to a fancy dinner in his dressing gown and slippers. Or he’s in the middle of town and then driving for a long time into the countryside where he parks in a field, then enters a gallery which, he later discovers, is actually attached to his hotel (which is in the middle of town).
I was kept constantly off balance by these strange sequences. And really never did wrap my mind around whatever Ishiguro was trying to say. I appreciated the work more than I enjoyed it. And I’m not sure I would recommend it to most people I know.
I listened to a good portion of this on audio, narrated by the marvelous Simon Vance. But I think this is a book that is best tackled in text format, and I read about 30 percent of it rather than listen.