The Unconsoled cover art

The Unconsoled

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Unconsoled

By: Kazuo Ishiguro
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

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

Listeners also enjoyed...

 When We Were Orphans cover art
Next Season cover art
Mr. Vertigo cover art
Unhappenings cover art
Timeless Tales for Kids cover art
Doomsday Book cover art
The Restoration of Otto Laird cover art

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)
All stars
Most relevant
I thought this was excellent, but I understand people's difficulty with it. The dream logic is unexpected and unusual. The array of bizarre characters with their hangups and illogicality could be hard for someone expecting a cleaner narrative. But I was swept along, and absolutely loved it.

Dreamlike, frustrating and affecting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Strangely gripping and I suspect easier to listen to than to read Narration excellent too.

A dream sequence.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hard to know where to begin, it’s a dreamlike walk through the life/memory of Ryder, its protagonist. Just the construction of the novel is clever in the extreme but its content covers all of Ryders emotions with great sensitivity. It’s probably one of the best books I’ve ever heard. I don’t think if I was reading it I would have enjoyed it as much as listening to it. It’s a particularly good narration.

Masterpiece of a story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Disappointing. Nothing really happens. The main character seems to have amnesia one minute, then reveals that he knows exactly what's going on the next minute. Fortunately the narrator is good and I'm not one to give up. I wouldn't recommend it though.

A strange, meandering story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I doubt I'd have physically read this book to the end, but the narrator brought it alive.

Fabulous narration - really made the book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews