Welcome to Litsy!

A strange book, that pulls at the heart strings. More Ishiguro for me. ❤️💔

A strange dream like book , I‘m loving it. There‘s a familiarity about it. Ishiguro seems to get to the heart of it , of feelings , memories. There‘s a poignancy to every situation … situations abruptly changing all the time. I‘m also having laugh out loud moments , I love his humour, I‘m unconsolable 😂 I can see though , this wouldn‘t be everyone‘s cup of tea. I‘m surprised it‘s mine. I wasn‘t a fan of Klara. But this one 👌🏻

I avoided this, worried it was "difficult". I should've known Ishiguro's expert writing would carry me through this deeply surreal story. A pianist has been engaged by a small town as the headliner of an extraordinary evening. His performance is to rejuvenate the stagnant town. But nothing goes to plan-every person he meets has a favor to ask and creates a digression (and anxiety in the teacher) in this detailed narration of dream-logic events.

The people in this unnamed town are odd. I‘m waiting for some sort of hint as to what‘s going on. There‘s nearly 20 hours of total listening. I‘m not sure I can manage this. #AuthorAMonth

I‘m all for a book that keeps the reader guessing, eventually revealing what‘s been going on. But, according to other reviewers (who I deeply appreciate), there‘s never a reveal here. It‘s just super weird, with the MC not even knowing what‘s going on but somehow going along with it. Not for me, though I gave it a good try (dnf at 20%).

…you see, for Rosa, nothing else in life would be more important than to be married to someone in the position I was in. Perhaps that makes her sound a little shallow…In her own way, in the way that she knew, she loved me deeply…It‘s just that in Rosa‘s case, well, the way she is, she‘s able to love me only under certain circumstances. That doesn‘t make her love for me any less real.

You know how some very long books feel delightfully deep and you don‘t even care how long they are cause you could live in that world forever, and some just feel… long? This was long. I liked parts of it and the writing style as always was lovely but I was never not thinking about why it was 600 pages or how long there was to go.

I‘m not really sure how to review this one because I‘m not really sure I know what happened, or what it is about. It was definitely stressful, with strong imposter syndrome vibes, coloured with the overwhelming sense that no one was really seeing each other. I think I liked it though. Maybe I‘ll review this properly later. Or maybe not.

Picked this up at a local used bookstore (the book, not the gourd), since I love Ishiguro. There's plenty good to say about The Unconsoled; I have never read a book that so accurately captures a dream-like state. Not the wild, surrealist take on dreams, but that subtle sense that something is off - you're always late for something, inexplicable obstacles keep getting in your way, etc. But like a dream, I'm not sure it adds up much in the end.

#BiblioMAYnia #MusicalInstrumentOnTheCover

A book still unread my shelves.

Thanks for the tag, @JaclynW!

1. Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin from Lord of the Rings
2. Hard to answer, but I'm halfway through my first Alain de Botton and I'm sure I'll be reading more of what he's written
3. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was so weird and basically incomprehensible, I don't even know how I got through it.

I tag @Tove_Reads if you haven't done it yet.

#Wondrouswednesday
@Eggs

On one hand, the story is meandering almost to the point of being boring, with long, pointless and absurd conversations. On the other, it‘s humorous, affecting, and so rewarding to read. It‘s like a surreal, winding dream to follow Ryder around this town for three days. He has no idea what‘s going on, and neither did I, but my goodness did I have fun getting there (nowhere).

I don‘t think anyone writes like Ishiguro.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#1001books

People of Litsy, readers, and fellow Ishiguro fans, I‘m 21% done with this book, and I have a question:

Can anyone tell me what in the actual €%#* is happening here?

As near as I can tell, our odd narrator has no clue what‘s going on, and is bouncing from one absurd conversation to another weird interaction. Am I doing this wrong?

I mean, it‘s entertaining, but I kind of hope Simon Vance starts giving me helpful annotations or something. 🤪

I loved this book but felt like at times a wall of text was washing over me. At other times I was swept into the story and anxious about the schedule of events.

I have yet to read this but look forward to, when my mood strikes. Ishiguro is known to write memorable stories that stays with you long after you‘ve finished the book (Never Let Me Go did that to me). The blurb says the story is about a renowned pianist, arriving in a Central European city he cannot seem to identify, for a concert he cannot remember agreeing to give, who later come to realise he is facing the most crucial performance of his life.

I think I would recognize all Ishiguro books by the strange events, characters, and narration style common to all his books that I've read. I enjoyed this one and its very subtle situational oddities. I don't know what grand message to draw from the book, but found that it unfolded steadily through a simple story like a slow-blossoming flower.

I just couldn't make sense of this book. 💔

I'm sure this is true, it's confusing af. At the moment I'm not sure if I can finish it, but I'll keep trying because it was a present from my brother (and he usually gives me really good ones)

A book about wasting time, opportunity and going nowhere... I really felt it was going nowhere and that is was a waste of time. Maybe in abandoning it I also lost out on an opportunity to grasp it, but I was just too bored...

My bookish presents this year 😊

Another beautiful cover!

Possible reads for the 24 hour readathon. Any of these you wish to either recommend or advise against?

Day 8 #spookyoctober
A few #blackandwhite book spines from my shelf.

I had been looking forward to reading this book, because I love Ishiguro's other works, like The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. However, I could not completely be drawn into the dreamy, weird story of musician Ryder, who is hurrying from location to location and from conversation to conversation for 553 pages. Great characters, that's for sure, but not my number 1 Ishiguro. #1001books

What a trippy book. Or should I say dreamy? Dreamlike? It's a book about celebrity, and how it takes on a life of its own, separate from the human being attached to it. But not in any way I could have imagined. It's worth the trip.

#photoadaynov16 One book stands out on my shelf for #headlesscovers theme today! @RealLifeReading

This is one of my favorite books. It doesn't feel like you are reading a book; it feels like you are in a dream. I'm planning to re-read it on my upcoming vacation. It's thick (500+ pages) and could be the only book you take on a trip. You will love it or hate it. It's unlike anything else.