In this article we will review A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Book Plot
In his highly acclaimed debut, A Pale View of Hills, Kazuo Ishiguro tells the story of Etsuko, a Japanese woman now living alone in England, dwelling on the recent suicide of her daughter. Retreating into the past, she finds herself reliving one particular hot summer in Nagasaki, when she and her friends struggled to rebuild their lives after the war. But then as she recalls her strange friendship with Sachiko – a wealthy woman reduced to vagrancy – the memories take on a disturbing cast.
A Pale View of Hills Rating : 3,78
Also book has 192 pages
A Pale View of Hills Review
This novel is beautifully written and requires careful and patient reading. The story revolves around the lives of three pairs of mothers and daughters, with the first two pairs living in Nagasaki during the American Occupation of Japan in April 1952. Etsuko, who is pregnant and narrates the story, lives with her husband Jiro in a modern building near the river, while Sachiko and her daughter Mariko reside in a traditional Japanese cottage closer to the river. The third pair of mother and daughter are in England around 1980, consisting of an older Etsuko and her daughter Niki from her second marriage. Etsuko’s other daughter Keiko, fathered by Jiro, has recently committed suicide, and her second husband has also passed away. Etsuko’s experiences, including surviving the bombing of Nagasaki, have left her emotionally scarred, making her an unreliable narrator. The author’s writing style in this novel, his first, is elliptical and mature, setting the tone for his later works. The ending of the novel is particularly impactful, leaving a lasting impression on the reader. Highly recommended for its brilliance.
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