Review: A Pale View of Hills

A Pale View of Hills

by Kazuo Ishiguro

The story of Etsuko, a Japanese woman now living alone in England, dwelling on the recent suicide of her daughter. In a story where past and present confuse, she relives scenes of Japan’s devastation in the wake of World War II.

This is a tale of a woman who is haunted by the suicide of her daughter. She reminisces on a friendship she had with a woman and her daughter in her past. The end of the book will leave you breathless and wanting more.

I found parts of the book a bit confusing at times and I wondered what it had to do with the story. I promise those of you who haven’t read the book, it all makes sense in the end.

This is one of those books that makes you question your memory and how it colors what kind of person you are. It also makes you question how things will look once many years have passed. Will we want to start removing ourselves from the picture to give ourselves a more favorable view of who we are? Will we have a clear picture of what we’ve done or will we obscure the facts to make ourselves look better? Memory is a funny thing. Ishiguro will make you think and wonder about all of these things and more.

This was my first foray into the writings of Ishiguro but it won’t be my last.

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