• A Pale View of Hills

  • By: Kazuo Ishiguro
  • Narrated by: Roe Kendall
  • Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (222 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
A Pale View of Hills  By  cover art

A Pale View of Hills

By: Kazuo Ishiguro
Narrated by: Roe Kendall
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.75

Buy for $15.75

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The story of Etsuko, a Japanese woman now living alone in England, dwelling on the recent suicide of her daughter. In a story where past and present confuse, she relives scenes of Japan's devastation in the wake of World War II.

©1982 Kazuo Ishiguro (P)1999 Random House Audio

What listeners say about A Pale View of Hills

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    80
  • 4 Stars
    81
  • 3 Stars
    44
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    87
  • 4 Stars
    61
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    69
  • 4 Stars
    68
  • 3 Stars
    38
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    7

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narration vs performance

I am only part way through listening to this novel--and I have to say that I find the narrator's performance of the voices of the difference characters extremely distracting to the point of being annoying, and I may have to resort to reading the book. The voice is OK when the narration is in the first person, but the voices she uses for the father and for Sachiko are overdone. I have had this experience to a certain extent in other audio books, in fact by calling the narration a "performance" it implies that the listener wants an audio performance as if it were a play, rather than having someone simply read the words. I like to be able to form my own interpretation of the characters based on the words of the author, and narrations like this one make that very hard to do.

Perhaps audio version of books could be differentiated between having them "read" and having them "performed."

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Delicate prose - intense book

Any additional comments?

This is not the type of book that can generate a juicy recommendation.

The prose in this book is very delicate, never mentioning the tragedie in Nagasaki directly.
The protagonist in this story (who is also the narrator) doesn't relate to her own experience directly, but only as a listener to her family at the time, and by watching a close friends attempt to move to 'America'.
Layer by Layer, it creats an intense picture.
The author (through this story) carefully tells a story about the old Japanese way, which trigered a lot of emotions in me. (as a non Japenese reader) and another emotional stroy about parental choices.

The narrator did a very good job.


Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Moments of shocking possibilities in tedious read

I wanted to love this early novel of our latest winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. I can see that the writing is extraordinary. The various interpretations seem brilliant. Unfortunately, however, I struggled with boredom during long sequences, particularly those having to do with Agata-San. It's possible that the unpleasant voice used by the narrator for this one character was a factor. Otherwise, I thought her performance was excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

It's not suitable for an audiobook

I often listen to audiobooks for a little before bed and I actually couldn't quite made sense of this book. Only after I checked out some literature reviews that I realized the meaning and the depth of the story. I think it would be a book I'll find time to read on the paper. Also the performance per se feels somehow awkward.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A somber yet gripping tale

I will read or listen to everything Kazuo Ishiguro has put out. His understanding of the human condition is so uplifting and crushing all at once. Poetry weaved and spanned over such a enjoyable time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting

Very interesting story. Author seems to be playing with Japanese ghost story genre. Unlike western literature where the story lines are usually linear, this story line is circular.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Rich Tapestry....

Ishiguro delicately weaves a story with present tense narrative and flashbacks, bringing the grief of a suicide alongside the ravages of WWII. A great addition to Japanese literature.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great book

A wonderful book that I found to be developmental and maturative for a young man coming of rage such as myself. I found this book to be worthwhile and highly relatable. I further highly recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Hmmmm

Very engaging novel. Etsuko is an unreliable narrator but she’s interesting. I read this for a book challenge; published the year you were born (1982). The plot was strange and didn’t flow well, the ending was strange for sure.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Confusing storyline

Much detail but plot too obscure..confusing ending...I enjoy subtlety but this is overly opaque

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!