Reading 1001 discussion

My rating: 4 stars
This beautifully written book is about a painter Masuji Ono who is facing a new times in Japan after the war. It is a story of a family relationships, of tolerance and love. It is about rebellion of a young student towards his teacher and about admitting responsibility for wrong decisions and ideas.
The writing is so subtle and soft, the plot is slowly unfolding. Still, you cannot miss this extraordinary language, beautiful expressions and inner thoughts of main characters.

read June 2020

I found this to be a very powerful and moving novel, and because of that it was a difficult (in an emotional sense) read. Of course, my knowledge of WW2 is based on Canadian/Allied history. I can imagine it would have been very different for the people of Japan (pre, during and post war). We follow the main character’s thoughts over the course of approximately 1.5 years after the war, while he is trying to reconcile his career which seems to have supported the ousted regime, it’s impact on his family, and whether it is actually as important (to others) as it is to him. The writing is stellar, as you would expect with Ishiguro and the pacing gentle. The main character and his colleagues are artists, so descriptions are evocative and paint beautiful word pictures. 4.5*

A Japanese artist, after the second world war, voices as if to a friend, some of his recollections, musings and current activities between October 1948 and June 1950. The structure of the book is handled so beautifully that we are given insight into his relationship with his father, his relationship with his first mentors and his relationship with peers and students later in life, all within an on-going family discussion about his daughters and his grandson Ichiro.
Mr Ono, our artist, was mentored by a master artist famous for his subtle capturing of all that is transitory and intangible as viewed by lantern lite scenes in the "floating world", the pleasure houses from before the war. However, Mr Ono, moved by the poverty created by the capitalist growth in Japan and also moved by his own ambition to rise above the mediocre, becomes a traitor to his master and paints instead scenes meant to engage the viewer in the rising patriotic fervor of the day. After the war, he thinks about his missteps and mistakes in promoting what ultimately caused the destruction of his own son, and the Japan that he used to know, including the floating world.
However, the subtle nature of the beautiful writing is such that we only glimpse guilt and suffering and at no time does Mr. Ono describe his suffering and guilt in detail. Mr. Ono is a complex character who is nevertheless presented simply. Ono is not a likable character but we learn to see him within the context of his and his country's history. Through Ichiro, who wants to be Popeye or a cowboy, we learn about the crushing western influences. We are also treated to insight into Japanese gender rules and pride of male rituals through Ichiro. We hear Mr. Ono's interpretation of a conversation with his daughter that is so subtle that later we learn that his interpretation was either completely incorrect or simply that the daughter denies the interpretation to save face for her father.
Overall, the repeated pattern of defying the father to become a painter, defying the master to become his own master, turning on his own students as they defied him, leaves us with a vision of the nature of generations and the nature of history in which men may make history but it is history that defines the man.
With Ishiguro's incredible language, this is a simply beautiful book about a family finding their way after the second world war, and also a book about loyalty, humiliation and treachery. We are left with all that is intangible and illusory, not unlike a lantern lite scene in the floating world.

Reason Read: Alpha KI. Nobel Prize, 1001, ROOT

This is set in Japan, post WWII and it features four generations. The narrator and protagonist is Masuji Ono. He is an old man and he is the one telling the story so there is the problem with memory but Ono became an artist though his father wanted him to follow in the business. As an artist he was good, but he used his art as propaganda for imperialism and at the point of the story. He does not talk much about his art and states "they are packed away". His daughters aand grandson are also part of the story. His one daughter is married and she is more traditional, taking a backseat approach with her father rather than directly confrontational. His other daughter is attempting to marry and there is the process of getting the marriage arranged. His grandson is a headstrong boy and it is a very nice part of the book to see the interaction between grandpa and grandson.

I enjoyed the story though not as much as The Remains of the Day which remains my favorite but I like stories that feature older people and especially enjoyed a look at Japan post war and through the generations.

I rated it 3.4 stars.

You can see the seeds of Remains of the Day in this book. Both works feature older men trying to reconcile questionable decisions they made in the past. It’s not my favorite of Ishiguro’s work (that would be Never Let Me Go). This is smaller, less ambitious, but an engaging book that tackles some important questions about personal and collective guilt.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2

Hello, Jane. I love this book. It's not sweeping in scope, I agree. But the writing style here I feel is unsurpassed by Ishiguro in some ways: It's so beautifully restrained. Gentle in description, yes, but the plot design and the main character's realities come to bear slowly and organically. I found the revelations somewhat more enlightening as a result. I may re-read it this time around and see what else comes to mind!

*****

A depiction of the "losers' guilt" that followed WWII and affected mainly Germany and Japan. This was expertly done as we navigate through the recollections (and almost forced admissions) of renowned Japanese painters who gradually has to confront the errors of judgment of his past. The interplay with his daughters and sons-in-law also highlights the clash between the pre-war and post-war generations in Japan. I loved it!