The Unconsoled

De: Kazuo Ishiguro

Narrado por: Simon Vance

Ryder, a renowned pianist, arrives in a Central European city he cannot identify for a concert he cannot remember agreeing to give. But then as he traverses a landscape by turns eerie and comical - and always strangely malleable, as a dream might be - he comes steadily to realise he is facing the most crucial performance of his life.

Ishiguro's extraordinary study of a man whose life has accelerated beyond his control was met on publication by consternation, vilification - and the highest praise.

©2018 Faber & Faber (P)2018 Faber & Faber

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The Unconsoled is a masterpiece...it is above all a book devoted to the human heart, and as such Ishiguro's greatest gift to us yet." (The Times)

"A work of great interest and originality.... Ishiguro has mapped out an aesthetic territory that is all his own...frankly fantastic [and] fiercer and funnier than before." (The New Yorker)

"He is an original and remarkable genius….The Unconsoled is the most original and remarkable book he has so far produced." (New York Times Book Review)

Exploring the inexplicable

Told largely in the first person, this book is an account of a visit to a provincial European city by a man who may (or may not) be a celebrated pianist about to perforn a recital as part of an important civic occasion.

The influence of Kafka is a constant presence in this long novel about exploring an inexplicable terrain of emotional life and temporal dislocation. Although it is punctuated by flashes of clever absurdist humour, for the most part, Ishiguro's own view of his work remains opaque. Readers must make their own maps and seek their own destinations.

A superb reading enhances an unusual book that rewards close engagement.

Very strange story

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as Ishiguro’s other books. It is quite strange like a dream or rather a nightmare and rather mesmerising to listen to. I didn’t finish it. I might go back to it one day or perhaps one night if I’m having trouble sleeping!

There is a comprehensive review of it in The Guardian and this quote is from that review:
“ The Unconsoled can seem frustrating, drawn out and possibly even ridiculous. It is tiring to struggle through a narrative where every moment in the present seems to create its own new past, and the future never quite arrives, where for every step you take forward, you have to take three back and a detour around the corner, too. Where if you try to come back around the same corner, you’ll end up in a completely different place.”