You Should Read A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

[@lilo19951995]

this book really touched me because i couldn't stop thinking about how etsuko's self expression was oppressed. even in her adulthood alongside her daughter, her voice is so small and agreeable and unwilling to fight for herself. it's a very sad book, but i see a lot of beauty in how she waves and smiles at her living daughter as she leaves at the end of the book. she's been able to find a unique peace that's only understandable to her, i believe

[@oliversmith4207]

Thanks so much for your comment. I really like this perspective; that's definitely something I'll look out for more when I come to rereading this book

[@benwinstanleymusic]

This was a really nice discussion, thanks a lot. I just finished reading the book tonight and was left quite confused with the ending though I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Your point that the characters never speak directly was very interesting to me, and seems more evident now that I think about it. I think I probably should have been more skeptical about Etsuko's narration as I was reading, it seems that this unreliable narration through her memories was quite a key theme. Brilliant video, thanks very much!

[@oliversmith4207]

Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video and, more importantly, the book!

[@monica_has116lentilsand2cats]

i‘m currently reading through KI‘s backlist and just finished „a pale view of the hills“. my first thoughts were that it‘d left me wanting, unimpressed, even bored. on the other hand, it is still rattling around in my brain and i want to know more about why etsuko left, whether sachiko did go to the us, what drove keiko to end her life, why niki is idling her time away, whether jiro is still alive, whatever happened to mariko etc. etc. etc. in other words i connected with the characters and didn‘t want to let them go. listening to you talk about the book i realized that all the „empty“ dialogue was a marker for all the things the characters couldn‘t/wouldn‘t say, yet in spite of it we learn/feel their despair, frustration, fear, anger. though it still isn‘t amongst my top 3 KI novels, your discussion helped me overcome my initial reaction to it and see it for what it truly is: a remarkable debut of a great author. so - thank you! looking forward to more book discussions, now that i‘m subscribed. happy reading! monica (currently reading from a tiny village in austria) 📚🐾

[@oliversmith4207]

Thank you for the kind words. I'm very glad and humbled that my silly internet video could help you appreciate this novel a bit more. What are your favourites from Ishiguro?

[@monica_has116lentilsand2cats]

@@oliversmith4207 hi oliver! oh, but it really did! it helped me get past my… impatience/frustration with the lack of plot and understand the ellipses in the characters‘ conversations as a way to say or rather convey things without actually talking about them. things began to make sense, thoughts started percolating. my absolut favorite is „never let me go“. it‘s one of the most poetic but devastating books i’ve ever read. followed by „remains of the day“ and „the buried giant“ (though to a lesser extent). „an artist of the floating world“ will be my next KI read. how about you? have you read any other of KI‘s works? in case you have not yet seen any: there are a number of interviews on youtube where he discusses his body of work. really interesting. happy reading! servus from tiny-town austria, monica

[@thettproject4534]

You didn't understand the book at all, read it again. If you think about every sentence you won't be able to get bored, trust me. The book is brilliant, Ishiguro doesn't have a nobel price for his looks.

[@monica_has116lentilsand2cats]

@@thettproject4534 you might want to rethink how you address people in the comments section.

[@clouddreamer954]

Just finish reading. I was so confused about this story, thanks for clearing that up

[@feierying8069]

Thanks for coming up with this video. I like your comments very much. English is not my first language. But I can echo a lot from the points your brought up - very insightful and make the narrative in Ishiguro's book perceptible!!

[@oliversmith4207]

Thanks for watching and for the comment! Glad you enjoyed the video

[@Noorihime]

Alright, you convinced me to buy it! Will let you know my thoughts when I’ve read it. Also I love the transition in tone there ;)

[@theonlyslagathor]

I'm so glad there's a random person telling me what books I should like. I guess I'm going to go buy the book now.... But also, it sounds like Remembering Aizu is a similar story, but takes places around WW1 instead of after WW2. It's more of a memoir though and talks about the author's life during the Bakumatsu period, being relocated to northern Japan (Hokkaido I think?), his family's struggle with their new lives and their pasts as a samurai family, and then his own experiences in Tokyo and eventually joining the military.

[@oliversmith4207]

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I'd like to hear what you make of it. Thanks for the rec, I'll check it out.

[@pratyushpadhee636]

It's all about her trauma

[@rubelbadsha2301]

I would like to read this novel. It would be better if you share the pdf of this book.