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The Unconsoled
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
26 posts | 39 read | 27 to read
From the universally acclaimed author of The Remains of the Day comes a mesmerizing novel of completely unexpected mood and matter--a seamless, fictional universe, both wholly unrecognizable and familiar. When the public, day-to-day reality of a renowned pianist takes on a life of its own, he finds himself traversing landscapes that are by turns eerie, comical, and strangely malleable. From the Hardcover edition.
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review
CatLass007
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Bailedbailed

I started this book for November‘s #AuthorAMonth. Maybe at another time of year or if I were in a different frame of mind I‘d be able to finish it. It‘s all a little too surreal for me. Going to see 2001: A Space Odyssey starring Clint Eastwood and Yul Brynner??! I listened for over two hours and I just can‘t. I understand that the author is going to try to make us think about something in a different way, but I don‘t feel like it.

CatLass007 It has the same feel, in a way, as Waiting for Godot, only much, much longer. 12mo
Soubhiville He can be surreal and his books aren‘t for everyone. I‘ve had mixed reactions to his writing. Good job for trying. 🙂 12mo
CatLass007 @Soubhiville Thanks for the encouragement. 12mo
11 likes3 comments
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CatLass007
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro

The people in this unnamed town are odd. I‘m waiting for some sort of hint as to what‘s going on. There‘s nearly 20 hours of total listening. I‘m not sure I can manage this. #AuthorAMonth

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Hooked_on_books
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Bailedbailed

I‘m all for a book that keeps the reader guessing, eventually revealing what‘s been going on. But, according to other reviewers (who I deeply appreciate), there‘s never a reveal here. It‘s just super weird, with the MC not even knowing what‘s going on but somehow going along with it. Not for me, though I gave it a good try (dnf at 20%).

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kitapkurdu
Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro

…you see, for Rosa, nothing else in life would be more important than to be married to someone in the position I was in. Perhaps that makes her sound a little shallow…In her own way, in the way that she knew, she loved me deeply…It‘s just that in Rosa‘s case, well, the way she is, she‘s able to love me only under certain circumstances. That doesn‘t make her love for me any less real.

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review
Emilymdxn
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Mehso-so

You know how some very long books feel delightfully deep and you don‘t even care how long they are cause you could live in that world forever, and some just feel… long? This was long. I liked parts of it and the writing style as always was lovely but I was never not thinking about why it was 600 pages or how long there was to go.

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ClairesReads
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Pickpick

I‘m not really sure how to review this one because I‘m not really sure I know what happened, or what it is about. It was definitely stressful, with strong imposter syndrome vibes, coloured with the overwhelming sense that no one was really seeing each other. I think I liked it though. Maybe I‘ll review this properly later. Or maybe not.

35 likes1 stack add
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The_Penniless_Author
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Picked this up at a local used bookstore (the book, not the gourd), since I love Ishiguro. There's plenty good to say about The Unconsoled; I have never read a book that so accurately captures a dream-like state. Not the wild, surrealist take on dreams, but that subtle sense that something is off - you're always late for something, inexplicable obstacles keep getting in your way, etc. But like a dream, I'm not sure it adds up much in the end.

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erzascarletbookgasm
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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#BiblioMAYnia #MusicalInstrumentOnTheCover

A book still unread my shelves.

Cathythoughts Looks good ✨& lovely cover 4y
OriginalCyn620 👍🏻📚🎹 4y
ulyssesartmiller Yesss Ishiguro! The man is a master of describing how it feels to disappear into cultural cracks. 4y
The_Penniless_Author I'm still unsure how to feel about this book. Formalistically, it's truly daring. I plowed through the first half of it, driven by it's uncannily accurate rendering of dream logic. It's an unsettling book, in the very best way. But at some point things started to drag, and by the end I felt strangely empty. Theres no questioning the quality of the writing (it is Ishiguro, after all), and one can't help but admire the ambition, but I'm ambivalent. 4y
erzascarletbookgasm @The_Penniless_Author thanks for the insight. 👍 4y
63 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Thanks for the tag, @JaclynW!

1. Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin from Lord of the Rings
2. Hard to answer, but I'm halfway through my first Alain de Botton and I'm sure I'll be reading more of what he's written
3. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was so weird and basically incomprehensible, I don't even know how I got through it.

I tag @Tove_Reads if you haven't done it yet.

#Wondrouswednesday
@Eggs

JaclynW Oh! Good friends choice! 🤗 5y
Eggs I‘ve only read one Ishiguro 5y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Eggs if you ever want to read more, this one is beautiful 5y
Eggs Ok thanks for the recommendation! 5y
41 likes4 comments
review
sprainedbrain
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Pickpick

On one hand, the story is meandering almost to the point of being boring, with long, pointless and absurd conversations. On the other, it‘s humorous, affecting, and so rewarding to read. It‘s like a surreal, winding dream to follow Ryder around this town for three days. He has no idea what‘s going on, and neither did I, but my goodness did I have fun getting there (nowhere).

I don‘t think anyone writes like Ishiguro.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#1001books

Suet624 Great review. 5y
BarbaraBB Great review. Happy you ended up enjoying it! 5y
105 likes2 comments
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sprainedbrain
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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People of Litsy, readers, and fellow Ishiguro fans, I‘m 21% done with this book, and I have a question:

Can anyone tell me what in the actual €%#* is happening here?

As near as I can tell, our odd narrator has no clue what‘s going on, and is bouncing from one absurd conversation to another weird interaction. Am I doing this wrong?

I mean, it‘s entertaining, but I kind of hope Simon Vance starts giving me helpful annotations or something. 🤪

SW-T It‘s been a bit, but I think it was about unreliable memories and what we keep, what‘s distorted, and what‘s what we choose to create. Skimmed a lot so I might be wrong.... Usually like his stuff, but this one was hard to pursue. 5y
Redwritinghood I DNF‘d this one. It was insane. 5y
BarbaraBB I don‘t remember well... is it the one set in a hotel? 5y
sprainedbrain @BarbaraBB yes, in and around the hotel. 5y
BarbaraBB That one was weird indeed. But the fact that I still can imagine those rooms and the city around it, means that it is another memorable Ishiguro for me (but I am a fan 😉) 5y
89 likes5 comments
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JenDR
Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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I loved this book but felt like at times a wall of text was washing over me. At other times I was swept into the story and anxious about the schedule of events.

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erzascarletbookgasm
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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I have yet to read this but look forward to, when my mood strikes. Ishiguro is known to write memorable stories that stays with you long after you‘ve finished the book (Never Let Me Go did that to me). The blurb says the story is about a renowned pianist, arriving in a Central European city he cannot seem to identify, for a concert he cannot remember agreeing to give, who later come to realise he is facing the most crucial performance of his life.

BarbaraBB One of my favorite writers. I loved Never Let Me Go too and especially 6y
BarbaraBB Also - great cover. This book is a bit weird. 6y
See All 7 Comments
TrishB I‘ve yet to tackle any of these books! 6y
Kalalalatja Loved Never Let Me Go! 👌 6y
Cinfhen Have you read this one @KarenUK I‘m sort of intrigued 6y
KarenUK @Cinfhen No I haven‘t but I‘m intrigued too! 6y
83 likes3 stack adds7 comments
review
Kempii
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Pickpick

I think I would recognize all Ishiguro books by the strange events, characters, and narration style common to all his books that I've read. I enjoyed this one and its very subtle situational oddities. I don't know what grand message to draw from the book, but found that it unfolded steadily through a simple story like a slow-blossoming flower.

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starlight97
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
Bailedbailed

I just couldn't make sense of this book. 💔

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starlight97
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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I'm sure this is true, it's confusing af. At the moment I'm not sure if I can finish it, but I'll keep trying because it was a present from my brother (and he usually gives me really good ones)

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AnieHart
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Bailedbailed

A book about wasting time, opportunity and going nowhere... I really felt it was going nowhere and that is was a waste of time. Maybe in abandoning it I also lost out on an opportunity to grasp it, but I was just too bored...

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starlight97
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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My bookish presents this year 😊

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bobregina
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Another beautiful cover!

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Gnoe
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Possible reads for the 24 hour readathon. Any of these you wish to either recommend or advise against?

Elsje Lord of the flies is ge-wel-dig! Yo Man ben ik (uiteraard) heel nieuwsgierig naar. De andere boeken ken ik niet :-) 7y
Elsje O ja, ik zie ook The unconsoled liggen. Pfff, moeilijk boek. Wel intrigerend! 7y
Gnoe Thx @Elsje! Lekker geslapen? Bedacht me later dat ik in de war ben met Kazuo's When We Were Orphans.. Hoe vond je die? Dat is toch ook een beetje spooky? 7y
Elsje Goede vraag, alleen niet voor mij. Want die Ishiguro las ik (nog) niet... 7y
2 likes4 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Day 8 #spookyoctober
A few #blackandwhite book spines from my shelf.

Tanisha_A I have seen the movies - The Reader, and Revolutionary Road. Good watch. I am sure the books must be even better. 7y
Cathythoughts Yes saw movie Revolutionary rd. & I read the book too ( sometimes I forget what books I've read)Heavy going & also very good. 7y
SilversReviews I never knew Du Maurier wrote THE BIRDS. ENJOY all of your books. 7y
90 likes3 comments
review
BarbaraBB
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Pickpick

I had been looking forward to reading this book, because I love Ishiguro's other works, like The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. However, I could not completely be drawn into the dreamy, weird story of musician Ryder, who is hurrying from location to location and from conversation to conversation for 553 pages. Great characters, that's for sure, but not my number 1 Ishiguro. #1001books

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ReaderJody
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
Pickpick

What a trippy book. Or should I say dreamy? Dreamlike? It's a book about celebrity, and how it takes on a life of its own, separate from the human being attached to it. But not in any way I could have imagined. It's worth the trip.

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erzascarletbookgasm
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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#photoadaynov16 One book stands out on my shelf for #headlesscovers theme today! @RealLifeReading

RealLifeReading Love this picture! And that pretty bird (pipe?) (edited) 8y
erzascarletbookgasm @RealLifeReading Thanks! That's a whistle made of clay; a handicraft from the aboriginals of Borneo :) 8y
Faibka Lovely! 8y
43 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Cpokrzywa
The Unconsoled | Kazuo Ishiguro
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Pickpick

This is one of my favorite books. It doesn't feel like you are reading a book; it feels like you are in a dream. I'm planning to re-read it on my upcoming vacation. It's thick (500+ pages) and could be the only book you take on a trip. You will love it or hate it. It's unlike anything else.