To Love and Hate an Author

In my journey to read the 1001 books you should read before you die, I decided to try and knock out all the books by one particular author. Because I enjoyed his work Never Let Me Go ... I decided it would be Kazuo Ishiguro. I decided to read the books in random order, not chronologically, and I think the random order served me well ... because if I had read them in the order he wrote them I think I would have been even more frustrated than I ended up being.

So, the first book I selected was An Artist in the Floating World. Perhaps it was because the book was too heavy for a beach read (and I had brought it on vacation with me) I found it to take forever to muddle through. Well it was written beautifully, the story just didn't work for me. Hearing about the war and how it affected Japan, just hit me wrong. But, perhaps it was also at the same time as all the recent tragedy. Maybe the story was too raw for me considering the current state of affairs. It just didn't resonate with me as the first piece I had read a while ago.

Next, I enjoyed his work Remains of the Day. Granted, I have never seen the movie, but because I knew it starred Anthony Hopkins, I completely pictured him as the main character. I loved this book. It embodies everything about old British charm that makes me wish I had been born a century ago on the English countryside. It was a splendid story about the relationship between staff and their boss and unrequited love. Even when you don't recognize you are in love. It was like a delightful afternoon tea.

Finally, I read his debut novel, A Pale View of Hills. It was a haunting story about a woman just after the war and a friendship she had long ago. It also touched on her relationship with her daughter. I found the story captivating and while the perspective of Japan after the ware was similar as Artist, I found this take much more palatable. Perhaps, it was because it was a women's perspective, or because I related to her as a mother. Whatever the reason, it was a fast and pleasant read.

The last book I read was The Unconsoled. Never has a book frustrated me more. I wanted to yell and scream ad Ishiguro, "What the hell are you having me read?!" The twists and turns of this book are splendidly brilliant, because I think he wants you to relate with the main character who is just as confused and angry as the reader. It's an amazing piece of work, because I have never had so much uncontrolled emotion toward a book. I was so mad. I kept reading the book, hoping at the end I would get the clarity I was so desperately seeking, only to be bitterly disappointed and frustrated. It is truly a book that I loved and hated. And at the end, questioned my own readiness for the book. Perhaps I was not sophisticated or intelligent enough to "get it" in the end and that was why I was left so disappointed.

To end my marathon on all things Ishiguro, I decided to watch the movie based on his book Never Let Me Go. It is a recent movie with hot, young British actors. It didn't stray too much from the book (of course, many elements were cut due to time constraints) but I think it did the book justice at the most basic level. It however, frustrated the heck out of D. He found the subject matter so dark and disturbing. It made me realize, that maybe that is Ishiguro's goal. To make you think, and ponder, and get frustrated ... for that is the work of an artist ... to make you feel.