I finished this the other day - has anyone else read it? If this is in the wrong place please say. It is my own review and has been posted elsewhere
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
Beautifully written, subtle and enigmatic I thoroughly enjoyed this 1986 Whitbread winner by Kazuo Ishiguro. Set in immediate post war Japan it recreates the strict formality of Japanese life from a time before the war trying to come to terms with the upheaval of Japan after the surrender. It's main character, an Artist is a man from a past many in Japan would like to forget , its wartime past. It concerns his attempts to find a suitable match for his daughter in the very strict atmosphere of arranged marriages in a culture that is bound with honour and tradition.
The descriptions of traditional Japanese culture, the cities, family life and his artistic environment make this a joy to read. Gentle and flowing the narrative flows easily in a way I have not found in other novels, this was actually relaxing to read like sitting in one of the formal Japanese gardens with the carp pool featured!!. This doesn't contain heavy passages about the war nor is it bogged down with history - this gives it accessibility that welcomes the reader. The very subtle plot is so delicate yet so full of intriguing twists as the main character Masuji Ono comes to terms, during his retirement, with his past. He was a renowned painter with a great reputation in Japanese art circles, but his retirement and the marriage plans of his daughter force him to re-evaluate his past and the pre war militarism of Japan ending in the disastrous humiliation of defeat.
His attempts to understand the American influences on his young grandson make for some beautiful passages as culture and generations clash. The reminiscences he has of the pre war city in which he lives with its culture and the pleasure district in which he spent so much time in the past lay the foundations for a beautiful yet poignant experience. Truth, honesty and facing of reality are the outcomes in this novel and the journey to find them make this one of the best books I've read for a long time. I thoroughly recommend this to everyone.
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
Beautifully written, subtle and enigmatic I thoroughly enjoyed this 1986 Whitbread winner by Kazuo Ishiguro. Set in immediate post war Japan it recreates the strict formality of Japanese life from a time before the war trying to come to terms with the upheaval of Japan after the surrender. It's main character, an Artist is a man from a past many in Japan would like to forget , its wartime past. It concerns his attempts to find a suitable match for his daughter in the very strict atmosphere of arranged marriages in a culture that is bound with honour and tradition.
The descriptions of traditional Japanese culture, the cities, family life and his artistic environment make this a joy to read. Gentle and flowing the narrative flows easily in a way I have not found in other novels, this was actually relaxing to read like sitting in one of the formal Japanese gardens with the carp pool featured!!. This doesn't contain heavy passages about the war nor is it bogged down with history - this gives it accessibility that welcomes the reader. The very subtle plot is so delicate yet so full of intriguing twists as the main character Masuji Ono comes to terms, during his retirement, with his past. He was a renowned painter with a great reputation in Japanese art circles, but his retirement and the marriage plans of his daughter force him to re-evaluate his past and the pre war militarism of Japan ending in the disastrous humiliation of defeat.
His attempts to understand the American influences on his young grandson make for some beautiful passages as culture and generations clash. The reminiscences he has of the pre war city in which he lives with its culture and the pleasure district in which he spent so much time in the past lay the foundations for a beautiful yet poignant experience. Truth, honesty and facing of reality are the outcomes in this novel and the journey to find them make this one of the best books I've read for a long time. I thoroughly recommend this to everyone.
