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This just wasn‘t for me. The whole time I was waiting for the meaning to become clear but ultimately this felt quite reflective and up for interpretation. I kept wanting the threads to come together in some way but they never did. #AuthorAMonth

I chose to go back to Ishiguro‘s debut for this month‘s #authoramonth. This book left me with more questions than answers about the narrator‘s life as we are given glimpses of her past in Japan and her present day life in England but piecing together her story through what she‘s hates and doesn‘t make this quick read all the more substantial.

#TBRTarot. A book with five words in the title

I‘ve long wanted to read Ishiguro‘s back catalogue. This was his debut novel. Enigmatic and haunting. A Japanese woman looks back on her life and the choices she made shortly after WWII in Nagasaki. There‘s a lot of room for interpretation here, a lot which is left unexplained. Interesting to see some “typical” Ishiguro themes have been since the beginning.

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

@PuddleJumper I didn't think I'll finish reading A Pale View of Hills this month so I added it to the December list and it just happened to be my #RollDecember no.1 pick. But I really liked it so I finished it earlier than I thought. Yay! 😁

Otherwise, not a very “productive“ month: no #BookSpinBingo, no #BookSpin, none of the #Roll100 November picks. Luckily I finished my #DoubleSpin: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.

@TheAromaOfBooks

Pros
➡️ It‘s a quick read
➡️ It makes you think afterwards
Cons
➡️ It‘s not very engaging

All in all it‘s worth the time, in my opinion, but don‘t be upset if you don‘t get to it.

Ishiguro is often quite hit and miss for me, but I really liked this one! I didn‘t realise it was his first novel til I was a fair way through and I was impressed. I loved the subtlety and how poignant the unspoken emotions were. I can see how this aspect of his writing developed into the remains of the day, and I also liked how slippery the time periods were.

Etsuko is an unreliable narrator but she‘s interesting. I read this for a book challenge; published the year you were born (1982). The plot was strange and didn‘t flow well, the ending was strange for sure. Book #76 in 2021

I felt a particular closeness when reading this book. A closeness in a literal sense. As if I was transported into the lives of the characters for a few hours. I was particularly drawn to Etsuko‘s recounting of the past, both the Mariko and Ogata storylines. Ogata‘s for the clash between past and present, and Mariko‘s for its unsettling nature.

I could say more but instead I‘ll just say, It‘s a beautiful start to a Nobel Prize winning career.

It's always fascinating to revisit the first novel of a writer with a long, distinguished career. All of Ishiguro's hallmarks were here from the beginning - the individuals and society at large that have suffered a great trauma, the lies and dissociation needed to recontextualize that trauma and move forward with life, etc. Though he would do it better in later books, this was extremely impressive for a debut.

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

1. A Pale View of Hills, by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. Where I Come From, by Rick Bragg (not technically "about" a mom, but contains essays that include his mother and growing up)
3. Irene Reilly from A Confederacy of Dunces, Lady Jessica from Dune

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Niki, the name we finally gave my younger daughter, is not an abbreviation; it was a compromise I reached with her father.

Tagging anyone who's interested! 👋

Introspective.

I don‘t know what to make of this novel.

Ishiguro‘s style is deceptively elusive but straight forward which can easily confuse the reader.

The story centres around a pregnant woman living in post-war Japan, and it focuses on her life and how she came to be in England in the present day.

The twist at the end not only confused me but left me wondering what point there was to this story? I enjoyed it whilst it lasted though 🌸

A Pale View of Hills is an impressive debut novel which has lingered with me. Here, in this novel of voids, what is unsaid and hiding in the periphery is Almost always more important than what is said. Ishiguro walks a fine line in terms of obscure endings and suggestive narrative threads. The success is in how much this novel makes you think, particularly about the parallels in the story and what they mean.

This was a quirky book for the most part but then, right at the end, there was a weird twist that completely threw me and my perception of the whole book changed. (And it was only one change from first person singular to first person plural)

It made me do some research to try to figure it out, and I read an interview with Ishiguro where he said even he thought it was a bit confusing!

It‘s still a pick though, as it certainly made me think. 🤔

Finished this last night and am tempted to pick it up and read it all over again. What the hell is up with this book?! Why hasn‘t anyone told me how weird/crazy/confusing/intense this book is? It‘s short too at only 183 pages. A must read!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This one really made me think... I liked it, though!

First book read for #24B4Monday!

It doesn‘t matter how old someone is, it‘s what they‘ve experienced that counts. People can get to be a hundred and not experience a thing.

So I bought this book awhile back not only because I love #Japanese literature but also mostly because one of the characters had the same name as my grandmother, Sachiko.

What‘s the most random reason you‘ve ever bought a book?

Generally not a big fan of lit. fic., but I do love Ishiguro‘s work. This is very layered, with a potentially unreliable narrator. Etsuko survives the Nagasaki bombing as a young girl and marries the son of the family who took her in. After a child, they divorce and she marries an Englishman. They move to England with her daughter. During a visit from her English daughter after the deaths of her husband and first daughter, she looks back. 4/5⭐️

We were split on how to interpret this very strange novel. It almost had too many levels. Search “1001 Books Podcast” to hear it #1001books #bookpodcast #applepodcasts #googleplay #soundcloud

Yeah, this author and his writing style/storytelling are not for me. I find myself bored out of my mind with his books. I gave him a legitimate shot, but he‘s simply not my cup o‘chai.

With this book specifically, it was too slow and uninteresting, while doing nothing to make me invested in the characters or what was unfolding.

Great news for fans of Ishiguro.

Kazuo Ishiguro lived in Nagasaki until the age of 5, when his family moved to the UK.

❤️🇯🇵❤️🇬🇧❤️🇯🇵❤️🇬🇧❤️🇯🇵❤️🇬🇧❤️

Wow!! What did I just read??? Such a mind bend and you don't even realise it! Genius writing! I just want to talk about this book for days! Amazing plot! Amazing characters! I'm already wearing my running shoes to run to the bookstore to get more of his books!😂 Japanese authors are simply AMAZING!!!!!

This is my #TBR for May! I'm really hoping I can finish all of them! A Pale View of Hills and Don't Wake Up are book club reads! Strange the Dreamer is for a monthly buddy read and The Ninth Life of Louis Drax is my #FreakyFriday read( Yes I'll be completing all the leftover #FreakyFriday books in the next few months)! Other books are from my #TBR . Currently reading the tagged book and Naoko( Both are amazing so far)!!! Happy reading Littens❤❤

“...as with a wound on one‘s own body, it becomes possible to develop an intimacy with the most disturbing of things.”

I‘m gonna be one of the people that just flat out admits that I didn‘t get it. The story feels to me as fragile, melancholy and quiet. It sets a tone that feels very frail and should be read carefully. And while I try to find meaning, I just can‘t. But I can recognize the beauty in it still, and I wish I could see the story that other people clearly have seen before me. It almost feels like a challenge since the story is so subtle, and I failed...

There is a lot going on in this book. I think I may need to reread it at some point. It‘s a complex story set in modern day United States and based on the recollections of a Japanese woman who lived in Nagasaki during WWII.

I received this awhile back and forgot to post it. I was really hoping for England and/or Japan...and I got Japan! I cannot tell you how happy this makes me!

I can‘t wait to read this book...my grandmother‘s name was also Sachiko 😊.

#passportlitsy #laterlitsy #heritage #japan

Jumping into this today. Super excited!

I know I read Remains of the Day, but I don‘t seem to own a copy. It may, however be time to reread this. Congratulations to Ishiguro! 📚🎉📚🎉

Just broke the quarter mark for the #24in48 Readathon!

After her daughter kills herself, Etsuko, a Japanese woman living in England, relives memories of a summer spent in Nagasaki after the war. Her relationship with Sachiko, a former wealthy woman in a relationship with an American soldier, is oddly distant...until it begins to seem that it is a way for Etsuko now to explain her own actions in the past.

So, here's a random #shelfie--a couple levels of my big desk filled with (a) recently acquired books, (b) books I intended to read in 2015 (c) miscellaneous items, (d) my major work reference book, The Chicago Manual of Style, and (e) most of my Leonard Cohen cds. #riotgrams

Belated December 2016 wrap up! I was hoping to read more than I did, but not too bad.

Wow. A short debut novel that is quiet and powerful. I love Kazuo Ishiguro's writing. He's definitely one of my favorite authors. I've read 4 other books by him and I'm always astounded by how subtle and inventive he is.

So much depends
on the Home Depot bucket
crusted with mud
beside the coddled chickens.
#notreally #sometimesIsitonit

Campsite reading

Finished late last night and immediately googled the ending. In an interview Ishiguro admits to an overly perplexing ending which causes readers to have a different discussion than he intended. Going backwards to read his earlier works based on my admiration for his later works. Thoroughly enjoyed his mastery of language and depiction of complex emotions.