Reviewed by Cal
The author of this book is Kazuo Ishiguro, who also wrote Remains of the Day, which I have not read. It is an unusual book that, frequently, I considered not finishing because it frustrated me by never fulfilling my wishes for what would happen next. Everything seemed so much like what I myself might dream about being lost and not finding my way to wherever I was trying to get. But the story wasn't about a dream. I constantly waited for something nice to happen to the book's main character, a world famous pianist, but one dire happening was soon followed by another. Also, some of the characters would go on and on for pages telling things in great detail that didn't seem to add much to the story except to lengthen it. Still, I was curious enough about what would happen next that I continued reading and finished the book. As I supposed, the book's ending was not satisfying to me.
Even though I didn't enjoy the book and can't recommend it to others, I can imagine that certain readers might find it very much to their liking. Certainly, the authors who wrote blurbs for the back cover were high in their praise of the book. For example, Ann Beattie wrote, "A perfect novel. I couldn't put it down."
