Great post! I could quibble a little (I do think Buried Giant is a masterpiece) but overall, I think you got the breakdown in the right order.

(Also read the linked article about Murakami, believe me when I tell you you made the right choice. I wish I had never read 1Q84, it’s even creepier than his previous stuff sounds!)

Many thanks for an insightful post. You say you have approached other writers this way - have you read David Mitchell perchance?

I read Never Let Me Go with having no idea what it was about going into it. It’s so beautiful and devastating, and it’s a book that’s haunted me ever since. One of those book highs that you’re always chasing but rarely get.

I will be your second!

Here to proudly support the “The Unconsoled is a masterpiece” camp.

The remains of the day is one of my all time favorites and I never really liked his sci fi as much.

My husband and I were both studying biochemistry when we read this book at the same time. It was a weird and singular experience to read that book in particular as a budding scientist in the process of falling in love with someone else also reading that book...

My sister read Klara and the Sun, as her first Ishiguro, and loved it. So, so much. So much that I started crying because I knew that Never Let Me Go was waiting under the Christmas tree to blow her mind and devastate her soft little heart, and retroactively tarnish her memory of Klara and the Sun. I'm the worst.

I read Never Let Me Go at around thirteen years old and wasn't able to pick up on enough of it to appreciate it. I read it again at the end of my teens and loved it. I picked up When We Were Orphans and it turned me off trying any of his other books. One was a masterpiece, the other was horrendous. I have been meaning to give him another chance.

Well that was really interesting. I shall plan to read more of him\her? Idk Ishiguro’s gender lol. But what I really must say is, Mr. Edward Radical I like YOUR writing style. If should have a story in your head please write it.

Sir, you go too far. The Unconsoled is a work of genius. A total banger, if you will. Retract your criticism or I will have no choice but to demand satisfaction

Don't have anything to add here, but wanted to plug Nocturnes, a collection of short stories. The one other fiction he's written that's not listed here, I believe. It's very good, like everything he's written. He's a remarkably consistent author. Rewarding to read all of, and very manageable as there are only the 6 or 8 (don't have the list in front of me and not going to look it up) books.

Liked your point about order mattering, because he does have a pattern. Once you've read one of Never Let Me Go / Artist of the Floating World / Remains of the Day, you know what to start looking for in the other two. His other books are patterned a bit differently. Buried Giant is probably the most obvious (except for the end, which I still haven't quite worked out). A character states the titular point. But I like that the novel makes the obvious macro-point secondary to the micro-level experience of the main characters.

I’ve only read Never Let Me Go. That’d be a good place to start.

Klara and the Sun is dope and explores really different themes than Never Let Me Go. Just because they both have speculative fiction aspects doesn't mean they should be lumped together!

When We Were Orphans is his homage to Great Expectations... It's not a good book but that's what it's about.

I've only read Pale View and Never Let Me Go. I absolutely loved Pale View, I quite enjoyed Never Let Me Go but the story seemed a bit more flimsy once I watched the film afterwards

Nocturnes is a very nice light reading

I think Ishiguro uses sci-fi and fantasy as vehicles to tell emotionally-driven stories, and it's pretty unique. Like you said, the actual genre is very minimal as far as the importance it has to the story being told. Like with Klara or Never Let Me Go, he uses sci-fi as much as he needs to in order to set up the story and then it kind of stops mattering.

Klara was my first and it floored me! And I think set the stage well for the subtleties of The Remains of the Day in my opinion. Never Let Me Go is my next!

Couldn't agree more, The Buried Giant at every level falters. The language and dialogue are strained, the overall allegory is effete, and Ishiguro is at his worst there.

I enjoyed it as I keep getting their names mixed up despite knowing they’re quite different writers.

Thank you for this! I am currently reading through his work right now!

Ove from a man called ove. Something about him just brings me so much comfort and joy

I own The Remains of the Day, it was a blind buy after loving Never Let Me Go, and I've tried several times, but I just can't seem to get into it. I like the way it is written and it feels very tender (?) but I also feel like it isn't going anywhere or something.

Never let me go will stick with me for the rest of my days.

I loved When We Were Orphans! The ending was.. sudden and jarring and it infuriated me at first but now that I’ve recovered from the emotional damage, I see how it was the only “proper” way to end the book.