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The Unconsoled

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About this listen

Ryder, a renowned pianist, arrives in a Central European city he cannot identify for a concert he cannot remember agreeing to give. But then as he traverses a landscape by turns eerie and comical - and always strangely malleable, as a dream might be - he comes steadily to realise he is facing the most crucial performance of his life.

Ishiguro's extraordinary study of a man whose life has accelerated beyond his control was met on publication by consternation, vilification - and the highest praise.

©2018 Faber & Faber (P)2018 Faber & Faber Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Metaphysical & Visionary Psychological Mind-bending

Critic reviews

"The Unconsoled is a masterpiece...it is above all a book devoted to the human heart, and as such Ishiguro's greatest gift to us yet." (The Times)

"A work of great interest and originality.... Ishiguro has mapped out an aesthetic territory that is all his own...frankly fantastic [and] fiercer and funnier than before." (The New Yorker)

"He is an original and remarkable genius….The Unconsoled is the most original and remarkable book he has so far produced." (New York Times Book Review)
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Beautifully written; the prose reminds me of M John Harrison's, and Simon Vance's narration is top class as usual.

*** Possible spoilers ***

It is a long novel and I can understand why people become confused and give up. Taken at face value it makes no sense and the inconsistencies pile up from page one, but once you understand the basic premise, things begin to come together.

The implicit backstory is that Mr Ryder, a mediocre pianist with a drink problem, gets married and the couple have a child. Ryder's low-paid work frequently takes him away from home and this, together with Ryder's bullying and indifference towards his son, leads to friction with his wife and culminates in a bitter separation. At the end of his life, Mr Ryder falls into a delusional state whereby he symbolically relives key elements of his life, from his youth - desperately eager to please his hyper-critical and overbearing parents - to his later life, where he attempts to confront his habitual willingness to please those around him and his guilt at not having been a good husband or father. In order to deal with all this he constructs for himself the persona of a world-famous pianist, revered and respected by those around him, touring an unnamed but strangely familiar European city. In this place, various aspects of his personality are presented to him as third parties and strangers turn out to be friends and family. It is this latter story that forms the narrative of the book, the backstory needing to be pieced together from the unfolding events.

A really, really good read.

A masterpiece

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How does one go about describing this amazing book. Seemingly written in dream logic. Kafkaesque, poignant and very funny in parts (the porters dance in the Hungarian Cafe, an ironing board used as a crutch). I've read it twice before and then listened to this marvelous narration. Simon Vance catches all the nuances in the text and has a beautifully modulated voice, not a crushed cadences missed. Thoroughly recomended. It a masterpiece and utterly original.

What happen to number nine?

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This saw me through 3 days of interminable travel in snow stormed Europe. I could barely suppress my chokes of laughter as our hero moved from one disastrous scene to another
His complete misinterpretation of every situation was hilarious. supposedly a famed pianist he never didanage to perform once
hehe scene where a doctor amputated a wooden leg ... Oh dear, mustn't spoil it for you.

Humorous and unforgettable

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The performance is remarkable. The story is difficult to follow, like living a bad dream, but it is strangely addictive. The writing is fascinating, not everyone’s taste but to me The Unconsoled is a masterpiece of its own kind.

Unsettling and dreamlike

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Another beautifully written work by Ishiguro. The main character as a musician was not completely credible, but otherwise a good listen.

Brilliantly Narrated

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