I almost didn’t read this one because I wasn’t in the mood for what I thought would be a maudlin monologue told from the perspective of a regretful old person involved in the fascist side of World War 2, a la The Remains of the Day and An Artist of the Floating World. I am so glad I took a chance and went for it anyway because Come Rain or Come Shine is nothing like that at all - who knew Kazuo Ishiguro could write comedy so brilliantly? This is like a lost episode of Fawlty Towers or a French c...

’So you decided to invite me for a visit. To be Mr Perspective.’Sometimes all it takes to save a marriage is a subtle shift in perspective. Things could always be worse.‘She welcomed me into the apartment the way she might a very aged and frail relative.’Convince your partner of your worthiness by means of downward comparison with an unfortunate friend. ’We could be like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.’ The ‘Great American Songbook’ might, however, derail this scheme.

I read this in two uneven chunks and by pure chance my reading break occurred just before the caesura in the story.A short short depends on it's caesura so I must be careful to reveal absolutely nothing , not the merest hint of a breath of that break.The story is an everyday tale of a triangular relationship, a married couple Charlie and Emily, and Ray (Raymond (view spoiler)[it is nice watching what the other two characters call him (hide spoiler)]) - the narrator, who all met and became friend...

This was definitely a bit absurd but not in a good way. It just seemed kind of silly to me and I didn’t like any of the characters.

Then before you know it, you’re forty-seven years old, and the people you started out with have long ago been replaced by a generation who gossip about different things, take different drugs and listen to different music. I had been struggling to start off with any books for a few days, perhaps the hangover of Satantango was still lingering upon and was having nauseatic effect on my consciousness. I picked this book today itself and for initial some pages, I felt severely unconnected with the n...

There is something so mesmerising, melancholic yet captivating about Kazuo Ishiguro’s writing style, which perhaps explain why readers cannot help but being drawn into his books. This one is no exception, and if one gets to choose one word to describe it, it would probably be bittersweet.This book would be recommended for someone interested in reading a short yet realistic story about marriage life and the importance of friendship, as well as the complexity underneath the term relationship, and

The version I obtained is missing the preamble. So here it is:(Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown - April in Paris, playing in the background).Ray: So, Kazuo, what are you working on these days?Kazuo: Nothing much...Ray: Writer's block? Kazuo: Nah. I just don't want to tell a book critic what I am up to.Ray: You have been always like this. Every book you write is against everybody's expectation.Kazuo: Not on purpose. I like to try everything at least once.Ray: You are kidding me. But you know wha...

I never saw Ishiguro as an author who could make me laugh but with this short story I did and loudly.As with every Ishiguro novel memory is an integral part of his plots. Here the focus is on Ray, whose best friend in college, Jonathan, married another good friend, Emily. Occasionally Ray visits the couple and sleeps over.After a long time Jonathan contacts Ray and asks him to stay over the reason is that their marriage is slowly falling apart and Jonathan wants Emily to realise that Jonathan is...

Recently, I'm on a quest to read as many Faber Story series as possible. Thus far, none have fallen short.I was excited to delve into this tiny paperback today.It was an odd story indeed. The story started off with the protagonist, Raymond, sharing a similar taste of music from the American Songbook with Emily - a somewhat occurrence in the days of the 50's/60's. Eventually, Emily married his best friend Charlie. Years passed and he lived in different parts of the world, teaching English to chil...

Laugh-out-loud funny. Lapped it up in a few hours in 2 sittings. A sharp diversion from ishiguro's usually pensive, ruminative style. There is no moral or take home message at the end of it. And I think I prefer it that way. But the beauty of it lies in the setting, the foibles of all 3 characters (delicately handled) and the extremely realistic (not the slightest bit forced) interactions between them, as the story hops, skips and jumps through a day's timeline.Emily remains a bit of an enigma b...

I can’t remember where but I’m 100% certain that I’ve read this story before. It could have been from one of Ishiguro’s own books but I think there should have been at least been a disclaimer that this is just a short story lifted from elsewhere. I was so excited to read his next book but womp womp.EDIT: The story is indeed from his collection of short stories written in 2009, Nocturnes.

I was not expecting this plot. Quite impressive and surprising for me. Two men and a woman. There could be a story of cheating and temptation. Whereas, no, here, absurd events take places. When reading, you’ll smile in irony. I liked the sarcasm of Ishiguro.

This is another one of the Faber stories collection - slightly longer than the previous instalments I have read however just as poignant and vivid if not more so. This little peek in to British suburban life is all the precious for its seemingly normal view.True the events show how one person can the glue that everyone needs however successful or not they may personally be but also how rich every day life can be. We all have stories to tell and this vinaigrette proves that we all can be special

Always difficult to say something about these short stories without spoiling it. I read 'The Buried Giant' before and really didn't get along with it. In this short story, I really did enjoy Ishiguro's writing style and the story he crafted. I didn't give it 5 stars, because I felt like some things just didn't feel right and all of the main characters seemed slightly off in a way, but nevertheless the setting and story was beautifully written and had this amazing melancholic quality. In a way, i...