An Artist of the Floating World Audiobook

" This was one of the best books I can remember reading. It is slow moving like a river but builds on you. You have to savor it like a fine wine. "

" I thought I had read all of Ishiguro's work so was excited to find this gem. What a great store. His empathy is always refreshing. There's something to be said for looking at the world from a different perspective. "

" I read this immediately after finishing A Pale View of Hills, which left me rather disappointed. This left me slightly less disappointed, though not at all enthusiastic. The protagonist here is more compelling than in Pale View, since he grapples with the effect his career and beliefs have had on his career, the lives of his children and colleagues, and the way he sees himself as an elderly man. It may be that Ishiguro's language is too sparse, too precise - too much like what Ono should be; though Ishiguro does a very good job at crafting a realistic character in Ono, in the end I found it difficult to feel any real emotion at all for him. "

" Not as good as his later stuff but still worth a read for Ishiguru fans. And as usual, a refreshingly different perspective of the world. "

" Amazing and sad novel. Couldn't stop reading. Noticed a very odd historical tic in the book, but it wouldn't bother anyone but a film history buff. (Godzilla came out five years after they see it in the book. Which is only certain because the author gives you the dates of events occasionally. Except we have a narrator here who is unreliable, so it is very possible this is not an error at all.) "

" i really enjoyed this book in regards to reminiscing about art and japan in the past, but i did not like how women were presented. however, this is an issue i have with japanese culture rather than the author. "

" Ishiguro's portrait of post-WWII life in Japan from the perspective of a once famous artist seamlessly allows for memories of the old Japan to drift in and out, creating a living history of generations. Beautifully written and relentlessly reflective. "

" This book knocked me out. Flat out. "

" Wise, deep and delicate insight of an aging Japanese society by an artist who lived through WWII. He wrestles with guilt and search for peace of mind. "

" Read only if you would enjoy the warped logic of a long-winded old man. Kazuo seems to specialise in this sort of character. I think he has more success writing about the English. He should stick to it. "

" A slow but compelling read, providing a rich picture of the Japanese mind. (There are no English in this book, but reading Ishiguro does make you thnk about how much the two island nations share in terms of a national character.) "

" I guess this was too subtle or formal or Japanese for me or something. It was like an awkward date with a really quiet person. "

" In general I think Ishiguro is too subtle for me. "

" Didn't bother finishing. Oddly quaint in a uninteresting way. Big disappointment, since he's one of my favorite authors. "

" I really like his writing style. Does Kazuo Ishiguro always write like this? "

" Good book, but I think my expectations were a little high after reading "Never Let Me Go." "

" Love it. Absolutely love it. "

" True to Ishiguro's style, the novel is told in a foggy first-person narrative full of regret, honesty, doubt, and self-deception. Although the narrator is unreliable, the drastic changes in pre-war and post-war Japan are skillfully depicted. "

" The floating world of transient beauty and loss is portrayed in Hishiguro's words and in his protagonist's experimental paintings. "