Five Soulful Stories from Kazuo Ishiguro’s Nocturnes

Kazuo Ishiguro’s Nocturnes is a collection of short stories with the subtitle ‘Five Stories of Music and Nightfall’.

Kazuo, a Japanese-British novelist, snagged the Booker Prize in ’89 and the Nobel Prize in Literature in ’17. His Booker-winning piece, ‘The Remains of the Day’, is well-known, but personally, I was captivated by ‘Never Let Me Go’ first. I even favor it over ‘The Remains of the Day’. 🎬

Kazuo’s novels typically tackle themes seriously, demanding your full attention and leaving a lingering impact. Approaching Nocturnes with that mindset, I found it pleasantly surprising. While it maintains the seriousness of life, it adds wit and a lively pace, making it impossible to put down mid-episode. (His novels are often heavy and require breaks) 📚

All five short stories are fantastic, but I’d especially recommend ‘Come Rain or Come Shine’ and ‘Nocturne’. ‘Come Rain or Come Shine’ had me laughing out loud—an experience I hadn’t had since reading Bill Bryson’s ‘A Walk in the Woods’. The detailed descriptions make it feel like watching a drama unfold. The dialogue scenes, which build variations of unusual situations, are delightful. No amateur could pull off such skillful writing! 🎭

‘Before you’re fully healed, if you play the saxophone even a day too soon, your skin will fall off in pieces all around the room!’ she exclaimed, as if it were my witty joke, ‘Stop it, that’s too much!’ 😂

The book isn’t thick, making it a perfect light read for those in need of a brief escape. I highly recommend ‘Nocturnes’. 🌟