Kazuo Ishiguro: Nocturnes. Five Stories of Music and Nightfall
Many writers are either musicians themselves or music plays an important part in their works. Kazuo Ishiguro, who was awarded the Nobel prize in literature 2017, is one of them. He dreamed about becoming a musician when he was young, and he occasionally writes lyrics for singers. “Read with your ears“, says a journalist about one of his books, which felt to her like “a seat at a concert.”
We all long for concert seats at the moment. While waiting, we can still read about music. Reading Ishiguro’s Nocturnes felt like a remedy for me in these difficult times. In his story collection, we follow street musicians, cellists and singer songwriters, whose lives and (unhappy) relationships are interwoven with music. Tragic, sometimes funny, and always a bit melancholy. Stories with open endings – and a lot of blues. Excellent.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Nocturnes. Five Stories of Music and Nightfall.
Faber & Faber, London 2010
ISBN13 9780571245000
