Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro has been a bit of a 'hit and miss' author for me - I absolutely loved The Remains of The Day but his latest book, Nocturnes really did nothing for me.

I know Jackie and Simon have both recently read and reviewed Never Let Me Go and I was interested in their reviews of this one but I am also really keen to see the movie when it comes out and I hate reading a book after I've seen the movie version which is the main reason I picked this book up now.

Never Let Me Go sets its premise but stating that it is about "a group of students growing up in a darkly skewed version of contemporary England". One of the students, Kathy H is relating her story and that of the students she grew up with at the age of 31 - coming to a turning point in her life as she prepares to move from the role of a carer, a role that she has held for the past 11 years. Terms such as "carer" take on a slightly different meaning in the world Ishiguro has created in this novel - there are other common place words and terms that become known in different ways throughout the book - this has the slightly unsettling effect of making you feel safe and comfortable with the world you are being led through - up until a point - then you realise that things are a little more concrete in the world in which Kathy H is telling us about.

I had a really hard time connecting with this book and the way in which it was being narrated. I realise this is probably the whole point given the setting, tone and purpose of the book but I couldn't relate to Kathy and the way in which she was telling her story. She was constantly going back to events in the past in a way which made me feel as though she wasn't present in the here and now - it all felt very forced. I did keep engaged enough to read this book quite quickly but I think part of that was me wanting to get to a stage where I felt something was happening now rather than in the past. That did eventually happen and the last section of the book was by far the best for me.

This book is definitely a "thinker" - I liked the fact that it has made me reflect on many social issues that are present and relevant for us in our society and communities today - I just didn't really enjoy or get much reading pleasure from the way the story was told which is a big part of reading for me.

Nocturnes - Kazuo Ishiguro

I was so excited about the release of Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro. I only really discovered this author last year when I read a couple of his books - The Remains of The Day being an absolute favourite. Even the thought of his new book being a collection of short stories didn't put me off - thanks to Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri which I read last year I am definitely now on board with this genre.

But I have to say - I was pretty disappointed with this book. I'm not sure if I'm just a dense reader (and that truly could be it) but I just did not get these stories at all. I felt they were quite childish and the story lines ridiculous in many places (can anyone please tell me what is the point of the "dog" storyline in the second story of the collection - "Come Rain or Come Shine"??).

All of the stories are written around a theme of music - I am wondering if this is why I might not have connected with the book? I certainly enjoy and appreciate music but I am definitely no musician. I have always thought that this did not have to be an impediment to enjoying and appreciating a book - I like to read books about topics and areas that I know nothing or little about. For some reason this was not the case with this book.

The last story - Cellists - did redeem the collection a little for me. I could actually see some motivation behind the character's actions and I felt the character's themselves had some depth and realism to them.

As I said before - Maybe I am missing the whole point - if I am, can somebody please fill me in? I so wanted to enjoy (and even love) this book.