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Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall Audiobook
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(3.00) - 5,045 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and author of the Booker Prize–winning novel The Remains of the Day comes an inspired sequence of stories as affecting as it is beautiful. With the clarity and precision that have become his trademarks, Kazuo Ishiguro interlocks five short pieces of fiction to create a world that resonates with emotion, heartbreak, and humor. Here is a fragile, once famous singer, turning his back on the one thing he loves; a music junky with little else to offer his friends but opinion; a songwriter who inadvertently breaks up a marriage; a jazz musician who thinks the answer to his career lies in changing his physical appearance; and a young cellist whose tutor has devised a remarkable way to foster his talent. For each, music is a central part of their lives and, in one way or another, delivers them to an epiphany.
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"I listened to this on cd in the car. I really liked it. It had that quality of.... Like as if a friend were telling you a story. The sense of the characters' disposition, and mood came thru in such a way that one can nearly picture them in person."
— Suzanne (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Expressive and harmonic, delicate yet substantive…[A] true virtuoso performance.”
— Christian Science Monitor -
“In both craft and substance Nocturnes reveals a master at work.”
— Seattle Times -
“Tight and assured…Suffused with sympathy.”
— Time -
“These stories recall Ishiguro’s best known novel, The Remains of the Day…By now it is clear that this exquisite stylist is serious in his pursuit of a minimal—perhaps even universal—mode of expression for the emotional experiences that define our lives as human.”
— Times (London) -
“Superb…A deceptively plain and easy style that rides on the surfaces of manners and decorous behavior.”
— Providence Journal -
“A brilliant new book…Art, its dangers, its pains, and its gaiety [are] all topics seriously considered in this accomplished book.”
— London Review of Books -
“Each of these stories is heartbreaking in its own way, but some have moments of great comedy, and they all require a level of attention that, typically, Ishiguro’s writing rewards.”
— Observer (London) -
“These stories come up on you quietly, but then haunt you for days.”
— Evening Standard (London) -
“Ishiguro blends musical concepts with their literary counterparts in his latest work, and Nocturnes has the…quality of a song cycle with recurring themes and motifs developed in different prose keys.”
— Bookmarks
Awards
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One of the 2009 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Fiction
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A New York Times bestseller
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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Selected for the October 2009 Indie Next List
Nocturnes Listener Reviews
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" My second Ishiguro read - and as with all short story collections, this one is made up of hits and misses. Not necessarily bad, but it wasn't at par with his other, older works either. "
— Pauline, 2/11/2014 -
" I loved the first two stories, but found the other three disappointing. "
— Eden, 2/9/2014 -
" Kazuo Ishiguro's writing, as always, is top-notch. However this was not my kind of book. It reminded me of Hanif Qureshi's short stories. Each of the stories seem like fragments from what should be a book in itself. There is a body to the story but no beginning and no end. As a matter of personal preference I dislike such fiction. The 3 stars (actually want to give it 2.5) are purely for the quality of his writing. Each story draws you in. "
— Neha, 2/8/2014 -
" Novels like this make me happy that I read short stories. I enjoyed how Ishiguro tied music into his five stories and how the stories flowed with one another. Beautiful stories. "
— Xarah, 1/28/2014 -
" My two stars here are very reluctant two stars, because I associate Ishiguro with Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. His prose glitters there. But in this collection, I'm tempted to say his alluring tone took a nap. "
— M., 12/29/2013 -
" Five stories about music and nightfall by the master Ishiguro. I fell in love with this book. I like Ishiguro's writing style and his characters are very believable. Out of the five stories the only one I did not care for was the last. "
— Eric, 12/23/2013 -
" I wanted so badly to love it, but sad to say I couldn't. It was just so-so for me. This is really a far cry from Never Let Me Go, which I absolutely love to bits. Can't say much more about this one. "
— Juwita, 12/23/2013 -
" Read the first two stories of five and I must say I love his style of writing but the content in this case is c..p! Such a shame, as his writing sways flows beautifully. "
— Selene, 10/15/2013 -
" Disappointing.....I was expecting something much deeper and more profound "
— Louise, 8/23/2013 -
" Fairly light by Ishiguro standards, but still has that appealing narrative flavor. These stories definitely don't rank with Remains or Never Let You Go, but were entertaining enough. "
— carl, 2/13/2013 -
" Very well written - I found one of the stories laugh-out-loud funny which was delightfully unexpected. I realize I need to read more funny books. "
— Candice, 10/26/2012 -
" Gorgeous, beautiful stories about music. I listened to this in the car from CDs and the readers did a beautiful job. "
— Donna, 7/11/2012 -
" The title is the best part. "
— Breeann, 5/22/2012 -
" Another masterpiece. His writing towers above most even in simple stories such as these. "
— Matthew, 5/20/2012 -
" Lovely and well-written. "
— Denae, 11/15/2011 -
" I'm always hopeful I'll find the perfect series of connected short stories, this wasn't quite it but it's close. Beautifully written at times, it has clear themes but none of them are forced on you... subtlety is its strength. "
— Rachel, 9/21/2011 -
" I usually don't like short stories but I loved these..Ishiguro is a wonderful writer! "
— Jean, 8/14/2011 -
" As always, he (KI) wrote poignant stories. "
— Mitsuyasu, 5/9/2011 -
" Lovely book. Really interesting short stories about different characters with the themes of relationships and music throughout each story.<br/>I read this book as an audiobook. Very easy to listen to. "
— Cathy, 5/7/2011 -
" Nice enough stories. It's just his prose<br/>is so rigid and the style feels very <br/>old fashioned. That would be fine if I liked<br/>the style. Maybe that's what it's about - <br/>don't like his style, but kinda like the stories. "
— Mark, 4/19/2011 -
" Still containing the original elegance of his other works, this one doesn't quite reach the heights of the others insofar as impact. Temporary, but good. "
— Michelle, 4/17/2011 -
" characters were bland/ flat... I really tried to like this book since I liked Never Let Me Go. <br/> <br/>Found myself wanting to finish the book asap. <br/> <br/> <br/>I quite liked the first story though... especially the ending. "
— Jane, 4/16/2011 -
" Like Chopins Nocturnes, with a strong melody on one side and an undertone of very choppy chords, these stories combine interesting stories of musicians , with an undertone of obsession. Not as multi layered as his novels, the stories were still interesting, and skillfully written. "
— Suzanne, 4/15/2011 -
" decent but not nearly as good as his novels. i'm not sure if his writing style fits with short prose. "
— Wenning, 3/24/2011 -
" A delightful set of stories that are linked together. An apt title to the book.<br/><br/>Given to a fellow bookcrosser "
— Maureen, 3/16/2011 -
" A book of five short stories in which nothing really happens. <br/> <br/>However, as a reader I was fully immersed in each. A difficult enough feat to achieve even with a rip-roaring tale. "
— Ian, 3/15/2011 -
" Just some nice short stories for a lazy afternoon. Nothing spectacular here, but sweet enough. I listened to them on audio and was very pleased with the readers that were chosen for each segment. "
— Cassandra, 3/8/2011
About Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro, the author of several acclaimed novels, won the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature in 2017. The Remains of the Day won the Booker Prize and was the basis for a major motion picture. The Buried Giant was a New York Times bestseller, A Pale View of Hills won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize, and An Artist of the Floating World won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award. The Unconsoled won the Cheltenham Prize and Never Let Me Go won the Corine Internationaler Buchpreis, the Serono Literary Prize, the Casino de Santiago European Novel Award, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 1995 Ishiguro received an OBE for Services to Literature and in 1998 the French decoration of Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1954 and moved to Britain at the age of five.
About the Narrators
Mark Bramhall has won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has repeatedly been named by AudioFile magazine and Publishers Weekly among their “Best Voices of the Year.” He is also an award-winning actor whose acting credits include off-Broadway, regional, and many Los Angeles venues as well as television, animation, and feature films. He has taught and directed at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.
Kirby Heyborne is a musician, actor, and professional narrator. Noted for his work in teen and juvenile audio, he has garnered over twenty Earphones Awards. His audiobook credits include Jesse Kellerman’s The Genius, Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, and George R. R. Martin’s Selections from Dreamsongs.
Lincoln Hoppe is an accomplished actor of stage and screen with several films, plays, television shows, and numerous audiobooks to his credit. His audiobook narrations have earned him nine AudioFile Earphones Awards. His diverse voice characterizations can be heard on animated films, video games, and commercials across the globe. He is a member of the Lost Angeles Comedy Sportz Improv Company.
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.