The Word On: Kazuo Ishiguro

The more I thought about [Nocturnes], the more I came to appreciate the subtle triangular dynamic between the author's intentions, the motivations and perceptions of the characters, and the suppositions and anticipations of us the readers... These open-ended stories may seem light, but the characters stay with you. They left me thinking that most people are displaced in some form or other. The imagination has room to conjure possibilities.

Chumley (chumleyandpepys. blogspot.com)

'Nocturnes' retains some aspects of Ishiguro's world which are familiar to us – the elegant, understated language used by his narrators, the sense of people speaking not just at cross purposes but in active denial of communication, characters paralysed by the past – but others which are new: contemporary settings; stories where the storyteller is not – necessarily – the central character; and even unaccustomed evidence of Ishiguro comedy

John Self (theasylum. wordpress.com)

In two of the stories the flaws in the narrator's character create situations which are bizarre, funny and almost unbelievable, but Ishiguro carries this off with aplomb... These nocturnes are, in the end, gentle, sad depictions of dreamers... Night music? Perhaps. Beautifully played? Certainly.

Ann Skea (groups.google.com)