Who Would Like This Book:
If you enjoy subtle, enigmatic storytelling and beautiful, restrained prose, "A Pale View of Hills" might be your cup of tea. Ishiguro’s debut is a haunting exploration of memory, trauma, and the complexities of family relationships, set between post-war Japan and 1980s England. Fans of unreliable narrators and stories that are more about mood, feeling, and the gaps between what’s said and unsaid will find this deeply rewarding. If you appreciate books that leave you mulling things over - and invite you to interpret the true narrative yourself - this is a fascinating, emotionally resonant read.
Who May Not Like This Book:
If you prefer straightforward, clear-cut storytelling with all loose ends tied up, this book may frustrate you. The narrative is elliptical and indirect; major events are only hinted at, characters can feel distant, and much is left unresolved. The pacing is quiet and slow, and the absence of a strong plot or direct answers may leave some readers feeling lost or dissatisfied. Those looking for action, dramatic twists, or concrete explanations may find it too ambiguous or emotionally reserved.
About:
A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro is a novel that delves into the life of Etsuko, a Japanese woman living in England, reflecting on her past in Nagasaki after the war. The story unfolds through Etsuko's memories, particularly focusing on a summer in Nagasaki and her friendship with Sachiko and her daughter Mariko. The narrative shifts between past and present, exploring themes of memory, trauma, and the impact of war on individuals and families. Ishiguro's writing style is described as enigmatic, slow-moving yet evocative, capturing the subtleties and indirectness often associated with Japanese culture.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Triggers include suicide, mental health issues, and themes of trauma and grief.
From The Publisher:
From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and author of the Booker Prize-winning novel The Remains of the Day
Here is the story of Etsuko, a Japanese woman now living alone in England, dwelling on the recent suicide of her daughter. In a novel where past and present confuse, she relives scenes of Japan's devastation in the wake of World War II.
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2 comment(s)
“The Shadow” is a short fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen in which a man and his shadow trade places; for a while, the arrangement is convenient, but when the man asks to trade back, the Shadow derides him and locks him in prison. The Shadow then states to his fiancee,
I have been through the most dreadful experience that could happen to anyone," said the shadow. "Just imagine! Of course a poor shadow's head can't stand very much. But imagine! My shadow has gone mad. He takes himself for a man, and - imagine it! he takes me for his shadow.”
Such are Sachiko and Etsuko. On the blurred lines of memory, I will say little more, except that I find the ‘pop reading’ that
they are the same woman
slightly dissatisfying; it is far more likely in my mind that
Etsuko is projecting her darker moments onto her ‘friend,’ creating out of Sachiko a shadow of herself rather than a true remembrance of the woman
.
Shadows are retrospective creatures: they point away from light, and hang behind the objects that cast them. The whole novel is obsessed with shadows and looking forward: why look back, Etsuko and Sachiko and Fujiwara seem to imply, when all that’s there is rubble, a shadow of what once was? Much better to look forward. But to what? Each woman has her own answer: England/America/the nebulous Future.
The men in the novel have a similar tension: do they look back towards the imperial ‘samurai spirit’ of the nation, or do they look forwards towards an ambiguous ‘progress’ made of foreign ideals?Shigeo Matsuda is right that ideas drive war as much as tanks and guns, that the imperialistic streak in Japanese sentiment directly contributed to WWII; Ogata is right that liberty is often confused with being a libertine.
“Discipline, loyalty, such things held Japan together once. That may sound fanciful, but it’s true. People were bound by a sense of duty. Towards one’s family, towards superiors, towards the country. But now instead there’s all this talk of democracy. You hear it whenever people want to be selfish, whenever they want to forget obligations,” Ogata says, lamenting the disunity of the household, husbands and wives voting for different candidates. And he’s correct, of course. Democracy can be co-opted by hedonism.
Yes, a progressive society often loses sight of the honor and tradition that made it possible. Yes, a traditionalist society must think critically about what and why aspects should be conserved.
Both Matsuda and Ogata are right in diagnosing the problem.
Both men are wrong in their solutions.
This is why I could never give my heart to Yukio Mishima’s “Runaway Horses,” even though it, too, brilliantly diagnoses problems in society and is a well-written literary gem; Mishima’s proposed solution, however, is in my mind misguided at best. To be clear, Ishiguro does not give a spectacular answer either: his first novel is already filled with the restraint and emotional repression that will coalesce into his magnum opus “The Remains of the Day,” and he is more concerned with musing than pontificating. Yet Ishiguro’s questions feel honest and soul-searching, whereas Mishima’s held bitter undercurrents.
Perhaps the greatest question ever asked was, “What is truth?” The second-greatest was “how now shall we live?” Etsuko had thought she had the answer; the novel is spent convincing herself that she didn’t.
Tricksy book... if you get to the end and don't yell, "But if you'd tell me just a bit more?!?!" then you didn't get it.
What can you read after
A Pale View of Hills?
About the Author:
KAZUO ISHIGURO was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1954 and moved to Britain at the age of five. His eight previous works of fiction have earned him many honors around the world, including the Nobel Prize in Literature and the…
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