Book Review: The Unconsoled

Reviewed By: Jennifer Jordan

The Unconsoled     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Kazuo Ishiguro
Class/Genre:   Fiction
1997, Vintage Books, Fiction - 535 pages

Mr. Ishiguro is best known for his third book "Remains of the Day" which was declared "one of the best books of the year." by The New York Times Book Review. With all the praise heaped upon him for this novel, Mr. Ishiguro decided to write something "rougher". What he created is a stunning, Kafkaesque world that weaves the real and the surreal within the loom of human weakness and frustration.

Charles Ryder is a traveling musician of great repute and great need. The core thread in this tightly tapestry is his human frailty; his selfish need for validation, his neglect of his wife and son. He has traveled to an unnamed European city where he is expected to give the performance of a lifetime. The trouble is, Ryder can't remember traveling to this city or even agreeing to play there. Everything in this city, everyone in this city, rides on his performance at this concert. It is dearly hoped that aesthetic aptitude will be equated with progression and Ryder is the key. While in this city, our protagonist is somehow known, intimately, by both strangers and acquaintances alike. While you're reading, what would be incomprehensible for Ryder and reader alike, become what is real and believable. It seems this is what the world would be if one were to live in a purely subconscious manner.

This book is long, yet a quick read with the right mindset. Within the context of that mind set, the reader must be willing to put aside the inclination to solve the puzzle, in order to absorb and enjoy this deep and striking treasure.

Jennifer Jordan

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jennifer Jordan