Literary Greats Always Cheat at Golf

Friday, May 02, 2008

The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro

This book was an interesting read, but not what I would call a fun read. I picked it up from a friend's shelf with no idea what the book was about or how to go about reading it. Around page 200 I cracked and looked it up on the internet to see if someone could tell me what was going on. I wish I'd done so sooner.

The way to read the book is to decide early on that you're not going to struggle with it, that you're just going to relax and give in to it and let the rules of this literary world just dawn on you as you go.

The book has a dreamlike quality where times, places, and character aren't fixed, even the character the book's main character, who seems to be half character, and half unacknowledged intermittently omniscient narrator.

I'm glad I read it, I suppose, but I've preferred other Ishiguro.