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Kazuo IshiguroBritish writer of Japanese descent.
Date of Birth: 08.11.1954
Country:  Great Britain |
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Biography of Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro is a British writer of Japanese origin. In 1960, his family immigrated to Britain, where his father began working at the National Institute of Oceanography. Ishiguro received his education at a boys' grammar school. Although he aspired to become a musician and played in clubs, he did not find success in this field. In 1978, Ishiguro earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of Kent. He worked as a social worker in London before obtaining a Master of Arts degree from the University of East Anglia in 1980. Ishiguro was a graduate of the literary seminar led by Malcolm Bradbury.
Literary Career
Kazuo Ishiguro's literary career began in 1981 with the publication of three short stories in the anthology "Introduction 7: Stories by New Writers." In 1983, shortly after the publication of his first novel, he was nominated for the "Best of Young British Novelists" grant. He received the same recognition in 1993. His first novel, "A Pale View of Hills" (1982), tells the story of Etsuko, a Japanese widow living in England haunted by memories of the destruction and reconstruction of Nagasaki following her daughter's suicide.
His second novel, "An Artist of the Floating World," explores the relationship of the Japanese people to World War II through the story of Masuji, an artist burdened by his own wartime past. This novel won the Book of the Year award in Great Britain. Ishiguro's third novel, "The Remains of the Day" (1989), is a monologue reminiscing on the decline of traditions, the impending world war, and the rise of fascism, as told by an aging English butler. The novel received the Booker Prize and was unanimously voted for by the Booker Prize committee, a rare occurrence. Critics noted that Ishiguro, despite being Japanese, wrote "one of the most English novels of the 20th century." He was compared to Joseph Conrad and Vladimir Nabokov, who also managed to create classic works in a language that was not their native tongue. The novel was adapted into a successful film titled "The Remains of the Day," starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
In 1995, Ishiguro published his most stylistically complex novel, "The Unconsoled." Filled with numerous literary and musical allusions, the story takes place in an unnamed Central European country in the present day, in contrast to Ishiguro's previous works, which were steeped in reminiscences of the past. "When We Were Orphans" (2000), Ishiguro's fourth novel, is set in Shanghai during the first half of the 20th century. It tells the story of a private detective who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his parents twenty years earlier. Here, Ishiguro returns to his favorite technique of wandering in the past.
Recognition and Personal Life
Ishiguro is the author of two original television films. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His works have been translated into more than 30 languages, including Russian ("The Remains of the Day," "When We Were Orphans," "A Pale View of Hills"). His novel "Never Let Me Go" (2005) was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 best English novels of all time. Kazuo Ishiguro lives in London with his wife and daughter. His latest novel is titled "The Buried Giant" (2015). Ishiguro has been awarded the Whitbread Award for his second novel, "An Artist of the Floating World," and the Booker Prize for "The Remains of the Day." Additionally, "When We Were Orphans" and "Never Let Me Go" were nominated for the Booker Prize.
