Poll

Hmmm, another tough one for me. I still haven't finished Correction (I know! BTBA duties are taking all of my reading time)

The Remains of the Day has meant a lot to me for years, but I have a feeling Correction could give it a good run for its money when I get it under my belt.

Okay: The Remains of the Day.

No contest as far as I am concerned!

Hugh wrote: "No contest as far as I am concerned!"

Correct but you seem to have pressed the wrong button and accidentally voted for Remains of the Day.

As oddly do several other people.

RoTD is just, in Ishiguro's own (slightly paraphrased!) words a re-tread of his first two novels transposed from Japan to the UK as a) he was fed up with comparisons to Japanese writers b) Merchant Ivory pay well for film rights. Well that is roughly what he said.

Whereas Correction, as well as his other very fine novel Concrete :-), is bile on a stick. What more could one want from a noveltwo novels.

I vote bile on a stick.

Now hold on just a minute!

Paul is saying that The Remains of the Day is a retread, and yet! . . . when talking about the Bernhard book he names Concrete instead of Correction! Are they indistinguishable, Paul?! Aha!

Trevor wrote: "Now hold on just a minute!

Paul is saying that The Remains of the Day is a retread,
and yet!
. . . when talking about the Bernhard book he names Concrete instead of Correction! Are they indist..."

Hmmm - crafty edit of previous post called for....!

:-)

I feel this one slipping away from me - which I am not too sad about as Ishiguro is on my list of "complete" authors where I have and will read everything they have written / will write, alongside Bernhard.

Although interested if people generally think this is his best book. Unconsoled for me and I preferred Artist of the Floating World to the British rewrite.

The Unconsoled is by far his best book. This one should really be no match for Bernhard...

With The Unconsoled Ishiguro actually feels like a more experimental European author. With TRotD he feels very much like a distant observer of the likes of Forster and Trevor.

I must admit that it is a long time since I read The Unconsoled. I was expecting to enjoy it, but I found it very hard work, verging on the incomprehensible at times, and possibly a little derivative of Kafka. The Remains of the Day is simpler but much more focused, and much more enjoyable to read...

I can't believe bile on a stick has not won over more voters. Bernhard really is bile on a stick, but in the best possible way.

I feel about TROFD the way I feel about the Atwood: I've read it twice, I very much enjoyed it, I think it's a fine piece of work, but come on--Bernhard is in a whole other league.

Nicole wrote: "I can't believe bile on a stick has not won over more voters. Bernhard really is bile on a stick, but in the best possible way.

I feel about TROFD the way I feel about the Atwood: I've read it tw..."

100% agree!

Thirded

Come on folks!

The earliest two eras have an epic Russian man-British woman battle in the final.

The modern era has two greats of non Anglo-Saxon translated fiction.

And then we are going to let 40 years of post WW2 fiction be represented by two establishment British writers with books which, while excellent, don't really break new ground.

Do the decent thing and vote bile on a stick!

It's looking too late for Correction to further upset the group, though The Remains of the Day is a 13 seed that has managed to make it to its bracket's final! Good job, Stevens! Hopefully this makes up for losing out on, well, other aspects of life.

I blame the MBI distracting translated fiction fans! Think we should attribute 10 absent votes to Correction.

Indeed I do wonder whether the MBI will overshadow the rest of the tournament - for me Wharton has dropped 13 places down by TBR pile although I am trying to squeeze in To The Lighthouse before MBI duties.

This has 23 votes, which is about what each match has been getting, so you're just wrong there!

Though I do wish I were in a position to finish Correction to see if I can stand by my decision to vote for Remains. Ah well!

Trevor wrote: "This has 23 votes, which is about what each match has been getting, so you're just wrong there!

Though I do wish I were in a position to finish Correction to see if I can stand by my decision to v..."

Yes but all of the Goodringers and Beautiful/Brilliant Friends I had lined up have defected to the MBI.

Spoiler alert - you can't stand by your decision. Make it 15-8 and it might start to get interesting.

Looking bad for the the great man. As he has said:

“Reading is still the most bearable of all forms of disgust.”