Nocturnes (short story collection)

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Nocturnes
Nocturnes.jpg
First edition
Author Kazuo Ishiguro
LanguageEnglish
Genre Short story collection
Publisher Faber and Faber
Publication date
7 May 2009
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages221 pp
ISBN 978-0-571-24498-0
OCLC 310156229
Preceded by Never Let Me Go  
Followed by The Buried Giant  

Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall is a 2009 collection of short fiction by Kazuo Ishiguro. After six novels, it is Ishiguro's first collection of short stories, though it is described by the publisher as a "story cycle". As the subtitle suggests, each of the five stories focuses on music and musicians, and the close of day. The hardback was published by Faber and Faber in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2009 and in the United States by Knopf in September 2009.

Contents

Stories

As the subtitle suggests, each story focuses on music and musicians, and the close of day. All of the stories have unfulfilled potential as a linking theme, tinged with elements of regret. The second and fourth stories have comic undertones. The first and final stories feature cafe musicians, and the first and fourth stories feature the same character. All five stories have unreliable male narrators and are written in the first person. [1]

Reception

Upon release, Nocturnes was generally well-received. [3] [4] Culture Critic assessed critical response as an aggregated score of 81% based on British press reviews. [5] [6] According to Book Marks, based mostly on American publications, the book received a "positive" consensus, based on eleven critic reviews: four "rave", six "positive", and one "mixed". [7] On November/December 2009 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg (3.5 out of 5) based on critic reviews a summary saying, "Perhaps Entertainment Weekly summed it up best by stating that Nocturnes, by any other writer, would be praiseworthy; by a celebrated author like Ishiguro, it can best be likened to a minor work from a master composer". [8]

Robert Macfarlane writes in The Sunday Times that "Closing the book, it’s hard to recall much more than an atmosphere or an air; a few bars of music, half-heard, technically accomplished, quickly forgotten." [9] Christian House of The Independent writes that "Ultimately this is a lovely, clever book about the passage of time and the soaring notes that make its journey worthwhile". [10]

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References

  1. Ruth Scurr (24 April 2009). "Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro". The Times . Retrieved 29 June 2010. All five stories have unreliable male narrators, who are musicians of some kind, and are written in the first person.
  2. Decca Aitkenhead (27 April 2009). "Kazuo Ishiguro: 'There comes a point when you can count the number of books you're going to write before you die. And you think, God, there's only four left'". The Guardian . Retrieved 29 June 2010. She cannot actually play the instrument at all. So convinced was she of her own musical genius, no teacher ever seemed equal to it, and so rather than tarnish her gift with imperfection, she chose never to realise it at all.
  3. "Nocturnes". Complete Review. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  4. "Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall". The Omnivore. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  5. "Kazuo Ishiguro – Nocturnes: Five Stories". Culture Critic. Archived from the original on 12 May 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  6. "Nocturnes". Culture Critic. Archived from the original on 7 June 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  7. "Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall". Book Marks. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  8. "Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall By Kazuo Ishiguro". Bookmarks. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  9. Robert Macfarlane (10 May 2009). "Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro". The Sunday Times . Retrieved 29 June 2010. Closing the book, it's hard to recall much more than an atmosphere or an air; a few bars of music, half-heard, technically accomplished, quickly forgotten.
  10. Christian House (17 May 2009). "Nocturnes, By Kazuo Ishiguro". The Independent . Retrieved 29 June 2010. Ultimately this is a lovely, clever book about the passage of time and the soaring notes that make its journey worthwhile.