I read both of these books about a year ago and havent been able to get either out of my mind since. For whatever reason they both have just really stayed with me and I was thinking about why that is. Even though these books have wildly different plots and worlds, both of them broke my heart for similar reasons.
Ishiguro has a way of creating a world where the characters live which is normal to them but we the reader cant fully understand. In Never Let Me Go, they live in the dystopian world and are fully aware that they’re going to be used for spare parts essentially and die. But the main characters never try to break away or are overcome with grief about their lot in life. I just kept waiting for one of them to steal a car and just leave or fight back against the system in some way but thats not the reality of the book. Thats me putting myself in the scenario. The main characters (for the most part) seem perfectly content to march to their deaths because thats the world they understand and the way they always expected their life to go.
In the same vein, The Remains of the Day is about a butler that is so engrossed in his job that he cant see anything else going on around him. He’s so focused on the silverware being clean that he never stops to think about the nazi’s in the house or the coworker who might be in love with him. So many times in the book I just wanted to shake him and say “LOOK AROUND! THERE IS SO MUCH MORE THAT YOU’RE MISSING!!” but the character is perfectly content and happy living in his isolated world. The life that Ishiguro creates for the butler is perfect for him and he is very happy living within it.
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I really loved both books and just needed somewhere to put these thoughts down. I think Ishiguro might be my favorite writer
by jeffythunders
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Kazuo Ishiguro is really taking over this sub recently