Finally watching this since i just finished. Loved it! Really amazing prose and now that I've read five of his novels I'm getting a better sense of the themes Ishiguro repeats (memory, generational resentments) than if i had just read one... Also finding fascinating Ishiguro's use of the first person (i think Buried Giant is the first time he moved away from that) and the reasons he makes the choice of this perspective. I still think Remains of the Day is still his best (haven't read The Unconsoled or When We Were Orphans though) but have been so engaged by this one and The Pale View of Hills.
Not read this one of Ishiguro's but have had this one on my radar for a while. Barely ever see anyone talk about Artist of the Floating World, so thanks for the ace review!
Thanks for this excellent review of a superb novel. Your 'warning' about the subtlety is wise. I thought this book was incredibly thought-provoking and so I think the way it moves along slowly is the perfect pace. Otherwise it would not work. It gave me more time to think of the themes (which you have expertly described) as I was reading it.
Thanks for this review! I loved the book. Having read "Never let me go" in the past and, being younger, I couldn't appreciate Ishiguro's essence and I guess this one shows his style perfectly well. He knows how to engage the readership. I can in someway relate it to Atonement by McEwan, if you guys liked that one you'll like An artist of the floating world too.
I have known about Ishiguro for a while now, and while I haven't read Never Let Me Go, I had definitely seen the movie and did not expect what I read in the Artist. I have owned Remains of the Day for a while now but somehow haven't read it. I accidentally picked up the Artist and was instantly immersed. I really enjoyed the nostalgic recollections as I often experience them myself having changed hometowns / countries multiple times, and feeling that nostalgia every time I return and the towns look different, the people having changed. Having grown up in a very conservative 3rd world country I found a massive cultural difference moving to a liberal 1st world country. I can really relate to Misuji Ono as I feel my previous conservative views were normal at the time but now seem outdated and wrong. I look with nostalgia and fondness at my younger years but then realise how I would've been held back as a female in my home country. I can also really relate to the misogynistic comments made by Ono to his grandson as this is the type of talk I grew up hearing and thinking that it was normal. Obviously the context is different but for someone who faced stark cultural shock and the need to adapt but never quite fitting in, I can really sympathise with post war Misuji.
Hey Rick, I’ve just finished An Artist of the Floating World and quite enjoyed it. Could you please recommend some other books written by Ishiguro, as this is the only novel of his I’ve read :)
My problem with An Artist of the Floating World is that I came to it after Remains of the Day. I found the books overwhelming similar. I saw Artist as the sketch of a novel that he wrote better next time around.
I'm so excited to see this book get some love! Great review & thoughts! I also adored it. Indeed, the first Ishiguro I read was Never Let Me Go, which was a book group pick. I liked it okay, but it didn't strike me as special in any way. After a writer friend spoke about reading his first few novels and finding them all perfect in her mind, I decided to put him in heavy rotation. She was right - and I loved his first two especially. I have read 5 of I believe 8 books by him, and have become an Ishiguro fangirl. Even when he's a bit off, as arguably with The Buried Giant, I just find his prose hypnotic and his ideas compelling, how he combines these to evoke big emotions in a subtle way, usually! I loved Remains of the Day but felt he may've overplayed his hand at the end a bit. Thanks for reminding me I need to read the rest of his oeuvre! ETA: I want to reread Never Let Me Go at some point - I suspect now the commonalities with the other work in terms of style and ideas would enhance it for me.
I, too, want to give Never Let Me Go another read. I tackled it a few years ago and thought it was only okay, but it's so well-loved that I feel like I must have missed something. Or maybe I just wasn't in a reading mood at the time (which often happens with me). Glad you liked the video, and the book! Artist of the Floating World was just terrific, I thought.
Catching up on your 125 books videos Rick. I’d never even heard of this one and so was surprised to see it on this list. As you said, I’m one of the people who has only read Never Let me Go, eight years ago although Remains Of The Day is sitting on my 2019 TBR. I actually think I would like this book more because it wasn’t Never Let me Go, not because I didn’t really enjoy that book but because I’d hate to think Ishiguro was a one trick pony. For me, being on this list is the thing that would lead to overly high expectations and exert pressure on my opinions but I understand what you mean about it making you look deeper. I’m a fan of slow novels, from what I remember NLMG was a slow novel with things unsaid and an open ending. I’m a fan of that kind of writing so perhaps An Artist of the Floating World is for me. When I read it, I’ll let you know. 😄
Sorry for the late reply! Didn't notice a notification for it :P I think you'll really enjoy this book, Jo. It's quiet and slow, but it's also fairly short (just over 200 pgs). It really lets you take your time with it, if needed. But it's extremely readable at the same time. I liked it much more than NLMG, actually. Haven't read Remains of the Day but a friend of mine just gifted it to me so I might tackle it sooner rather than later. Let me know if you end up reading Artist of the Floating World, though. Would love to know your thoughts on it.
@@RickMacDonnell Not saying you did, you just culled it from a collated list of several top 100 lists of books, per your own video and generating 125 based on appearance > 1. Some of which are claiming "best of all time", some are just covering a specific time frame. The Modern Library is the top 100 by an English language author of the 1900's. I was just trying to make the point that the book has not had enough time behind it to make that determination. Safe to say Shakespeare, Chaucer, Homer, etc have stood the test of time. I have not read the book yet, but something tells me there is a higher likelihood that people that are into literature in the year 2086 will still know about James Joyce, Orwell, Dickens, the Brontes, Woolf, etc. Will many be sitting around discussing this book? Do you think so?
Ah, I'm such a basic bitch when it comes to Ishiguro! Read Never Let Me Go, thought real hard about reading Remains of the Day :) When he won the Nobel (and I guess he'll be the last one for a while, lol) there were a LOT of Ishiguro purists who came out of the woodwork, talking about how this book, or The Unconsoled was actually their favourite and SO much better than Never Let Me Go... lol... I'm sure that could be true but you know, some people gotta be the most obscure... Anyway I will probably want to read Remains of the Day before this one.
I think it's a lot about preference, and the mood you're in at the time (when it comes to reading Ishiguro). I've read Never Let Me Go, and I enjoyed this one much more. So who knows. I know MOST people would disagree with that. But it could all have been mood-based. I bet if I read Never Let Me Go again I'd enjoy it more. I remember specifically not WANTING to read it when I did, so I'm sure I wasn't into it.
The Remains of the Day is great but i liked it on second read a lot more. The movie is also brilliant... Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson at their best.
Great review! You surely demonstrate you are a good reader who can get the most out of a good book, unlike most shitty booktubers who do not know how to read and have horrible literary taste. I wish I could find more booktubers doing reviews like this one.
Finally watching this since i just finished. Loved it! Really amazing prose and now that I've read five of his novels I'm getting a better sense of the themes Ishiguro repeats (memory, generational resentments) than if i had just read one... Also finding fascinating Ishiguro's use of the first person (i think Buried Giant is the first time he moved away from that) and the reasons he makes the choice of this perspective. I still think Remains of the Day is still his best (haven't read The Unconsoled or When We Were Orphans though) but have been so engaged by this one and The Pale View of Hills.
Greatly appreciated your analysis. I’m about to start reading it later today and I know your review will have assisted my appreciation for the book!
Not read this one of Ishiguro's but have had this one on my radar for a while. Barely ever see anyone talk about Artist of the Floating World, so thanks for the ace review!
Thanks for this excellent review of a superb novel. Your 'warning' about the subtlety is wise. I thought this book was incredibly thought-provoking and so I think the way it moves along slowly is the perfect pace. Otherwise it would not work. It gave me more time to think of the themes (which you have expertly described) as I was reading it.
Fascinating video; keep on keeping on. Thank you Rick…
Thanks for this review! I loved the book. Having read "Never let me go" in the past and, being younger, I couldn't appreciate Ishiguro's essence and I guess this one shows his style perfectly well. He knows how to engage the readership. I can in someway relate it to Atonement by McEwan, if you guys liked that one you'll like An artist of the floating world too.
I have known about Ishiguro for a while now, and while I haven't read Never Let Me Go, I had definitely seen the movie and did not expect what I read in the Artist. I have owned Remains of the Day for a while now but somehow haven't read it.
I accidentally picked up the Artist and was instantly immersed. I really enjoyed the nostalgic recollections as I often experience them myself having changed hometowns / countries multiple times, and feeling that nostalgia every time I return and the towns look different, the people having changed.
Having grown up in a very conservative 3rd world country I found a massive cultural difference moving to a liberal 1st world country. I can really relate to Misuji Ono as I feel my previous conservative views were normal at the time but now seem outdated and wrong. I look with nostalgia and fondness at my younger years but then realise how I would've been held back as a female in my home country.
I can also really relate to the misogynistic comments made by Ono to his grandson as this is the type of talk I grew up hearing and thinking that it was normal.
Obviously the context is different but for someone who faced stark cultural shock and the need to adapt but never quite fitting in, I can really sympathise with post war Misuji.
Hey Rick, I’ve just finished An Artist of the Floating World and quite enjoyed it. Could you please recommend some other books written by Ishiguro, as this is the only novel of his I’ve read :)
I’ve only read Never Let Me Go. It’s wonderful, but that’s no secret. I wish I could be a bigger help!
I really liked this book when I read it. I think that I gave it 4 on Goodreads.. Thanks for a really interesting review
Oh nice! I don't know anyone else who's read it. Happy you liked it. Have you read any other Ishiguro books? If so, how does it compare?
My problem with An Artist of the Floating World is that I came to it after Remains of the Day. I found the books overwhelming similar. I saw Artist as the sketch of a novel that he wrote better next time around.
Oh, that’s interesting. I haven’t read Remains, so I was coming at this with a clean slate. I think that was the preferred option. I adored this book.
I'm so excited to see this book get some love! Great review & thoughts! I also adored it. Indeed, the first Ishiguro I read was Never Let Me Go, which was a book group pick. I liked it okay, but it didn't strike me as special in any way. After a writer friend spoke about reading his first few novels and finding them all perfect in her mind, I decided to put him in heavy rotation. She was right - and I loved his first two especially. I have read 5 of I believe 8 books by him, and have become an Ishiguro fangirl. Even when he's a bit off, as arguably with The Buried Giant, I just find his prose hypnotic and his ideas compelling, how he combines these to evoke big emotions in a subtle way, usually! I loved Remains of the Day but felt he may've overplayed his hand at the end a bit. Thanks for reminding me I need to read the rest of his oeuvre! ETA: I want to reread Never Let Me Go at some point - I suspect now the commonalities with the other work in terms of style and ideas would enhance it for me.
I, too, want to give Never Let Me Go another read. I tackled it a few years ago and thought it was only okay, but it's so well-loved that I feel like I must have missed something. Or maybe I just wasn't in a reading mood at the time (which often happens with me). Glad you liked the video, and the book! Artist of the Floating World was just terrific, I thought.
Catching up on your 125 books videos Rick. I’d never even heard of this one and so was surprised to see it on this list. As you said, I’m one of the people who has only read Never Let me Go, eight years ago although Remains Of The Day is sitting on my 2019 TBR. I actually think I would like this book more because it wasn’t Never Let me Go, not because I didn’t really enjoy that book but because I’d hate to think Ishiguro was a one trick pony. For me, being on this list is the thing that would lead to overly high expectations and exert pressure on my opinions but I understand what you mean about it making you look deeper. I’m a fan of slow novels, from what I remember NLMG was a slow novel with things unsaid and an open ending. I’m a fan of that kind of writing so perhaps An Artist of the Floating World is for me. When I read it, I’ll let you know. 😄
Sorry for the late reply! Didn't notice a notification for it :P I think you'll really enjoy this book, Jo. It's quiet and slow, but it's also fairly short (just over 200 pgs). It really lets you take your time with it, if needed. But it's extremely readable at the same time. I liked it much more than NLMG, actually. Haven't read Remains of the Day but a friend of mine just gifted it to me so I might tackle it sooner rather than later. Let me know if you end up reading Artist of the Floating World, though. Would love to know your thoughts on it.
Superb!
Bro epo bro upload panuvika pls bro an artistic of the floating world by kazuo ishiburo summary in tamil
❤
Interesting that a book this young could be in a list called "best books of all time" versus something like a top book of the year, or of the 1980's?
I didn’t make the list (technically!). It’s pulled from a group of “best books of all times” lists. Regardless, it’s so good 😊
@@RickMacDonnell Not saying you did, you just culled it from a collated list of several top 100 lists of books, per your own video and generating 125 based on appearance > 1. Some of which are claiming "best of all time", some are just covering a specific time frame. The Modern Library is the top 100 by an English language author of the 1900's. I was just trying to make the point that the book has not had enough time behind it to make that determination. Safe to say Shakespeare, Chaucer, Homer, etc have stood the test of time. I have not read the book yet, but something tells me there is a higher likelihood that people that are into literature in the year 2086 will still know about James Joyce, Orwell, Dickens, the Brontes, Woolf, etc. Will many be sitting around discussing this book? Do you think so?
Ah, I'm such a basic bitch when it comes to Ishiguro! Read Never Let Me Go, thought real hard about reading Remains of the Day :) When he won the Nobel (and I guess he'll be the last one for a while, lol) there were a LOT of Ishiguro purists who came out of the woodwork, talking about how this book, or The Unconsoled was actually their favourite and SO much better than Never Let Me Go... lol... I'm sure that could be true but you know, some people gotta be the most obscure... Anyway I will probably want to read Remains of the Day before this one.
I think it's a lot about preference, and the mood you're in at the time (when it comes to reading Ishiguro). I've read Never Let Me Go, and I enjoyed this one much more. So who knows. I know MOST people would disagree with that. But it could all have been mood-based. I bet if I read Never Let Me Go again I'd enjoy it more. I remember specifically not WANTING to read it when I did, so I'm sure I wasn't into it.
It didn't make a huge impression on my either. I should watch the movie, I love Carey Mulligan!
The Remains of the Day is great but i liked it on second read a lot more. The movie is also brilliant... Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson at their best.
have to do this for hsc and I hate it
What's hsc? What are you hating about it? (Just curious)
@@RickMacDonnell In aus it’s my hsc text (our final exam) and I don’t understand it and it’s hard that’s all, his other books are good
Tamil la summary solunga
Great review! You surely demonstrate you are a good reader who can get the most out of a good book, unlike most shitty booktubers who do not know how to read and have horrible literary taste. I wish I could find more booktubers doing reviews like this one.
Spoiler warning for Never Let Me Go