Nocturnes
by Kazuo Ishiguro
Faber and Faber
HK$124
Clapping is an integral part of any performance, but knowing when to do so at a classical concert can be tricky if you are unfamiliar with the work. This can also be a problem for readers of Nocturnes.
So oblique are the endings of the volume's five stories, all linked by music, that you might think they are movements rather than discrete works. But then the last page looms and Kazuo Ishiguro has disappeared backstage. Before you know it you are ejected from your seat, shuffling towards the exit and socked in the eye by fluorescent lights in the foyer.
Ishiguro is known for causing unease. Nothing is ever quite what it seems in his stories, which is doubly disconcerting because his writing is so simple. Plain English, however, does not always produce neat stories. But it can, as several pieces in Nocturnes do, convey complex emotions that provoke disbelief, sadness and even the giggles, sometimes all in one narrative.
