In its reaction to Kazuo Ishiguro being awarded this year’s Nobel prize for literature, The Guardian writes: The author is a worthy recipient of the Nobel prize for continually finding his voice – and discarding it for a new one.
Photo source: Ben Stansall/The Guardian/AFP/Getty Images
I have written reviews of two of Ishiguro’s books. On The Remains of the Day, I wrote:
It is those very words, used by the butler to reflect on his life and his work and to perform his duties to their utmost despite the extreme circumstances that assail him, that both convey the intimate fabric of the world at that time, and reveal by omission that which is steadfastly left unstated by Stevens, the underlying emotions that animate the staff and visitors in this stately hub of English society. (…)
Writing about The Buried Giant, I said:
By a cunning use of repetition and returns to the past, Ishiguro, weaves a mist around the reader who, at the slightest moment of inattention, loses track of where she is and flounders in an undivided sea of impressions. It is in those moments, cut loose from time, that a panic seizes the reader leaving her grasping for familiar landmarks. (…)
The Guardian | The Guardian view on Kazuo Ishiguro: self-restrained force
Secret Paths – Thoughts on Books | The Remains of the Day (a review)
Secret Paths – Thoughts on Books | The Buried Giant (a review)
Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day, Faber & Faber, 2010
Kazuo Ishiguro, The Buried Giant, Faber & Faber, London, 2015