Narratives of Memory and Identity: The Novels of Kazuo Ishiguro

Although Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels can be found in bookshops throughout Britain, Europe and America, and despite the fact that critics have highly praised his work, there is little critical literature available that deals in detail with his writings. This study provides thorough textual and narratological analyses of Ishiguro’s novels A Pale View of Hills (1982), An Artist of the Floating World (1986), The Remains of the Day (1989) and The Unconsoled (1995), and positions these works within the framework of contemporary British fiction. The disturbing memories of an old lady in A Pale View of Hills, the post-war guilty conscience of the painter in An Artist of the Floating World, the selfdeceptions of the butler/narrator of The Remains of the Day, and the confusion of a renowned pianist in The Unconsoled are all linked to the one central theme of memory and identity.