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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book feels like a dream. Everything goes wrong, you (the main character) make all the wrong choices and things keep happening while you watch, powerless, both bystander and protagonist, while things slowly but constantly spin out of control. All the characters are annoying, the situations are annoying, the protagonist is annoying and you just keep asking why and where and how things went wrong and wasn't there a better way to do things than this nonsense?????
I don't know if I liked it but I couldn't put it down regardless which is saying something.
I don't know if I liked it but I couldn't put it down regardless which is saying something.
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very Kafkaesque and frustrating at times. Probably the first time I felt Ishiguro being malicious.
Simply brilliant.
Simply brilliant.
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Review of “The Unconsoled”
By: Kazuo Ishiguro
Our protagonist, Ryder, was a pianist performing in a European city, but when he got there, he was bombarded with various requests and demands from the people he met. As he experienced the few days before the concert, he would become distracted and forgetful to the detriment of himself and to his wife Sophie and young son Boris.
Ryder was a frustrating but also sympathetic main character and at times it was disorienting being in his mind. It felt as if he was going through the motions, also, he was polite to a fault. When people would made demands of him, he to tried to tell them he was on a tight schedule, but they would ignore him. He would give in once they made him feel guilty. Eventually he would lose his temper and snap, startling the person he was talking to.
His relationship with his wife Sophie and young son, Boris was strained, and he would lose patience with them. Sophie would often bring up how his career was preventing him from being part of their lives. He was oblivious to what she meant. This showed how he didn’t listen or communicate with her. When he and Boris were alone together, the interaction was awkward, especially when Boris behaved like a child. Sophie had to remind Ryder how to talk with his son. Sophie even pretended one time that a random book Ryder had perused in a store was actually meant as a surprise gift for Boris.
Two characters that Ryder encountered were Stephen Hoffman, a young pianist, and Christoff Brodsky, a washed up conductor, were mirrors to Ryder. Stephen Hoffman was eager to become a great pianist and prove himself to his parents, like Ryder, who was eager to make sure his parents had been there to watch him play. I got the impression that Ryder’s parents never cared about his piano playing. Brodsky was a version of what Ryder could be. Brodsky was a drunk, who couldn’t let go of his past, and he wanted to prove he was still great. If Ryder continued on his path of obsessing over his career, he could end up like Brodsky.
I did not like Stephen’s father, the hotel manager, the elder Hoffman. He was pushy about his demands for Ryder, and he didn’t feel genuine when he claimed to be understanding that Ryder had a busy schedule and would persist in asking him to do things. Ryder had to yell to get the man to listen. Hoffman secretly took his wife’s albums that documented Ryder’s career and asked him took look at, but so many people wanted Ryder’s attention that he hadn’t been able to get to it. Hoffman accused Ryder of not caring about his request to do this favor for him. His wife didn’t like that he took her albums without permission. Once, he made his son, Stephen, feel that he wasn’t a good enough pianist. He also got Ryder involved in a newspaper article that involved a monument to man in this city’s past, who created controversy. By the end, I pitied Hoffman’s character, but still didn’t like him. On the other hand, I liked Sophie’s father Gustav, the hotel porter. He was kind, supportive, and cared about his job. He had pride for his profession and the request he had for Ryder was for him to say something in his speech at the concert about hotel porters, because the profession was dying out.
The writing had an immersive quality, and I could picture the various settings in the story, such as the hotel where Ryder had stayed. At the same time, the dream like narrative was confusing. There were times when Ryder was in place but would end up being at someone’s house but find a door that lead straight back to the hotel. Other times, he would be traveling with someone like Mr. Hoffman, who was talk endlessly, and it would be a meandering pace. It was difficult to get used to, but I didn’t hate either.
This was a fascinating story into the experience of man overwhelmed by his fame and as he tried to get through another performance. The story was worth reading and encouraged me to think about life.
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