This isn't a book I knew existed before I found this in the charity section of my local Tesco. It's Ishiguro's fourth novel and it's a doorstop of a book.
Despite the cover being boring, it's also weirdly appropriate for the book despite the book not being boring. It's such a strange choice of picture but has a feel to it that matches the tone of the book.
Our first person narrator- Ryder, an internationally renowned pianist- arrives in an unnamed city to give a performance at a gala concert in three day's time. He has a hectic schedule ahead of him, according to one of the organisers who greets him. The concert is apparently the last hope the city has to pull itself out of an unnamed crisis and only Ryder can save them. If only he could remember what the schedule is, or could avoid his personal life and extraordinary talent for procrastination getting in the way.
This is one of the strangest things I've read for several years - and if you're reading this, you can look back and see I read some pretty strange books.
Ishiguro manages to give the book the feel of an ever shifting dream. Locations are malleable. Trying to make a mental map of this city is nigh on impossible as long car journeys into the surrounding countryside apparently finish in the centre of the city in a location he visited earlier. His stream of consciousness frequently dips into the lives of the surrounding characters and we're given details he has no way of ever knowing. Despite his unfamiliarity with the town, we are introduced to some of the most important people in his life living there and waiting for him to come home.
A phrase I've heard used to describe this book is Kafka-esque, and I have to agree. This is a book you take on faith. don't go picking plot holes, they're clearly intentional, put there to increase the sense of unreality and confusion. We know that Clint Eastwood and Yul Brynner did not star in 2001 A Space Odyssey and can assume Ishiguro knows it too.
This is weirdness on an epic yet intimate scale. It's funny and sad and dark and silly and serious. Allegiances between characters are important yet irrelevant. Will Brodsky reunite with the love of his life? Will Ryder ever find time to practice his recital piece?
if you're the type of person who thinks Stephen King goes on a bit, this probably isn't the book for you. Characters speak in three page long monologues with no paragraph breaks. Much of the book feels like a character in a game getting stuck on the side quests, and then side quests from the side quests and never quite returning to the main thrust of the original journey.
I had no idea what to expect when I started reading this, and I got exactly what I expected.
I loved it. It's a book to savour. I'm sure I will reread this one at some point.
No comments:
Post a Comment