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Update 16 Dec 2015: I am upping this to 5 stars. Why? Because it has been a group read in a couple of my groups in the last year, giving me lots of time to think and discuss. And I can still remember the story, and I think about it. Just a really really excellent and original book.
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Wow! 4.5 stars. I don't know that I would give this 5--it weakened a bit in the last 50 pages--but at the same time I think maybe I need to read it again? Or maybe the issue is my lack of knowledge of English his ...more
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Wow! 4.5 stars. I don't know that I would give this 5--it weakened a bit in the last 50 pages--but at the same time I think maybe I need to read it again? Or maybe the issue is my lack of knowledge of English his ...more
I finished this book a few days ago and I have been digesting it slowly. The more I think of it, the more I like it, and the more I admire the writing of Kazuo Ishiguro. However….
Under the disguise of a fantasy book, what we have is a more nuanced parable on life, forgetfulness, forgiveness and relationships. Like a fairy-tale, magical elements as ogres, dragons, and knights are the foreground of the story telling, while much deeper philosophical questions are subtly layered in the background.
Ca ...more
Under the disguise of a fantasy book, what we have is a more nuanced parable on life, forgetfulness, forgiveness and relationships. Like a fairy-tale, magical elements as ogres, dragons, and knights are the foreground of the story telling, while much deeper philosophical questions are subtly layered in the background.
Ca ...more
This is the fourth novel that I have read by Ishiguro and it has elements of fantasy and allegory but what he is driving at is beyond me. It has mythical figures: ogres and pixies, even a dragon and a quest, but by the end I was somewhat baffled as to the point of it all. It was well written and carefully paced, but the characters never really come to life and I found that I didn't care whether they fulfilled their destiny. Nonetheless I did finish it and wonder what is next for this inscrutable
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Once again as always there is one big idea at the heart of any book by Ishiguro. In this case, it is memories and how we are slave to them. The choice of setting is interesting. Arthurian England was a time of honour and chivalry. The memory of past wrongs, the duty to avenge and honour to those we serve were paramount. Onto such a land a mist, arising from a dreaded she-dragon, wipes out memories, some painful but also some which, unknown to us, might save us from our worst selves.
In such a tim ...more
In such a tim ...more
Even the characters don't seem to know what is going on in the book, and they just wanted to power through to the end to get it over with. I felt the same.
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Feb 25, 2015
Laurel Bradshaw
marked it as to-read
Feb 25, 2015
Heather
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Mar 04, 2015
Lisa Thomas
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Mar 04, 2015
Kai Coates
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Mar 07, 2015
Diane
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Mar 18, 2015
Tricia
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Mar 19, 2015
Temple Dog
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Mar 30, 2015
Elizabeth
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Dec 18, 2015
Celeste
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May 31, 2016
Amy
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Feb 19, 2018
Cheryl
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Jul 11, 2022
Mark
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