Video summary
The video features a book review of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel *An Artist of the Floating World*, which is described as literary fiction rather than a thriller, focusing heavily on themes of guilt and introspection through an unreliable narrator. The reviewer notes that while Ishiguro often explores these elements, this particular story feels somewhat repetitive compared to his earlier works, lacking the surreal or fantastical elements found in authors like Haruki Murakami or even other books by Ishiguro himself. The narrative centers on Masuji Ono, a painter who once depicted the "floating world," a euphemism for Japan's red-light districts, and chronicles his life before, during, and after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Unlike typical thrillers, the events in this book are grounded in reality, yet the protagonist's perspective remains ambiguous as he reflects on his past actions and their implications.
A significant portion of the discussion revolves around Ono's moral decline and his role during wartime, where he shifted from painting the pleasure districts to creating propaganda for the Japanese Empire. The reviewer highlights a disturbing parallel between Ono's character and real-world political figures, specifically criticizing the logic used by fascist regimes that blame their own people for societal failures while enriching corrupt businessmen. This critique is illustrated through a passage in the book where Ono claims Japan was a mighty nation suffering under internal weakness, a sentiment the reviewer strongly refutes by pointing out how such rhetoric often precedes fascism and hate. The review suggests that the novel effectively exposes how societies can be manipulated into accepting authoritarianism when they are led by those who exploit their desperation for personal gain.
The emotional core of the book is further explored through Ono's strained relationships with his family, particularly his grandson Ichiro and his daughters, which serve to underscore his lack of redemption. The reviewer finds particular resonance in a scene where Ono attempts to convince his daughter to let an eight-year-old boy drink sake, viewing this as a clear demonstration of the narrator's flawed morals and inability to learn from his past mistakes. While the reviewer acknowledges that some readers might find the story deeply moving or even love it, they personally feel that the book rehashes themes of guilt without offering true redemption, leaving them in a middle ground between appreciation and disappointment. The awkwardness of Ono's situations and his eventual disgrace after the war are presented as uncomfortable but necessary elements that challenge the reader to confront difficult truths about national identity and personal responsibility.
Ultimately, the reviewer concludes that while *An Artist of the Floating World* contains spectacular scenes that evoke discomfort, it falls short of the surreal expectations set by Ishiguro's other works or the genre conventions of the time. The book is rated three out of five stars, indicating enjoyment despite the repetitive nature of its themes and the absence of magical realism. The reviewer expresses a desire to explore more of Ishiguro's later, more fantastical novels like *Clara and the Sun* in future reviews, suggesting that this novel represents a different side of his writing style. Despite personal reservations about the lack of redemption and the reiteration of guilt, the review acknowledges the book's power in depicting the transition from wartime propaganda to post-war democracy, where younger generations were eager to embrace new ideals of individual rights and freedom.
Read the full video transcript
Oh, yeah.
>> [laughter]
>> That That That should give something
give the the give the trolls something
to talk about.
Um I'm not going to hold you. I got
three more reviews to get done and
things are things are going to be
changing.
I hope you guys are doing well.
I can't really say the same for myself
having to say goodbye to a lot of stuff
having to move on. And everything you
see in here is going to be changing
because it will no longer be in my
possession. Uh so today I am talking
about an artist of the floating world by
Kazuo Ishiguro.
Um I have read his his first novel
chronologically. I can't remember the
title off the top of my head. Um but it
had a lot of the same themes as this one
and from what I understand Ishiguro just
that's what he writes about which is
guilt. Um introspection, guilt with
unreliable narrators. Now we're not
talking a thriller here. This is
definitely 100%
Um literary fiction, sorry.
Uh and
I I find this one rehashed a lot of the
same stuff that his first book did. Uh
and what I mean by that is the
unreliable narrator in the first book
through introspection kind of
I
it
I I don't know if I want to spoil it but
it
the character that the characters that
are being talked about
are the same character that is
narrating. I That might be confusing and
I hope it is but if you've read the book
you know what I'm talking about. At
least I hope you did if you caught all
the clues and everything.
In this one there was a lot of the same
stuff. We are dealing with
know his name's Ono. Masuji m a s u j i
Masuji Ono o n o. Um we're we're dealing
with him. He is He is the titular artist
of the floating world and the floating
world is a basically like a red-light
district
that that type of thing in Japan
and this novel takes place before and
after the bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki
and how Japan is both how they got to
where they were and the the bombing and
after the bombing
this this artist Ono started off as an
an artist who who painted the floating
world the the world of you know a
night girls that that street walkers
that kind of thing but actually not
because Kawakami's the brothel is
actually
is the place where they are certain
sections of this book reminded me of
From Here to Eternity
by James Jones
and I guess just because both of them
have brothels I don't know but there
were some similarities there not a whole
lot happens in the brothel
but
it was interesting to to see him and his
takes on on the pleasures
pleasure and vice pleasure center not
pleasure center
pleasure district that's what it is it
doesn't even say that on the back of the
book
I just it finally popped into my head
but I'm going to read you a little bit
back here because I went into this
expecting something a little more
surreal
I know Ishiguro has done some surreal
stuff so far I have not read anything
surreal by him that was the first one
and there was this one um
and it's not a series I'm just saying
the first one that I read that I still
cannot remember the name of
and I'm I'm waiting for these surreal
elements to pop up I thought he was more
of a Haruki Murakami in that sense so
far he has not been unless you consider
Murakami's Norwegian Wood that has
absolutely nothing surreal in it no
fantastical elements but I expected that
based off the description. Let me Let me
read a uh to you what what I'm talking
about. Now, hang on. Hang on. Hold up.
Ah, here we go. Now, as the mature Ono
struggles through the aftermath of the
war, his memories of his youth and of
the floating world, that's in quotation
marks, the nocturnal realm of pleasure,
entertainment, and drink offer him both
escape and redemption. I was expecting
something weird, um something along the
lines of maybe After Dark by Murakami.
That didn't happen at all. This is a
very grounded story. Um other than
having the reliable narrator, everything
that happens in the book happens in the
book. Well, like with the first one of
his that I read, with this one, he
travels down the same path and leads the
same clues that
the main character, even though it's
written in first person, the character
he is talking about, who Ono is talking
about,
it might actually just be him.
Uh the cool part is he goes from uh
painting the pleasure district to uh
working on paintings uh painting
propaganda for for Japan uh during the
for the Empire of Japan during uh before
uh the bombings. Um afterwards, he is
disgraced. And that's where the the the
swap comes into play, I believe. I
didn't look up anything about this. Uh I
could be completely wrong. I could be
reading into it because I read the other
book. Um and so, take this with a grain
of salt. This is me doing my amateur,
you know, uh my amateur sleuthing.
Um I am while I love literary fiction, I
am
I I kind of miss the point sometimes,
especially when I read uh people like
Saul Saul Bellow or uh who's another one
that just completely loses me. Um Edith
Pearlman completely loses me. I don't I
don't understand their themes. I don't
understand what what what they're
getting at other than what's on the
page. I can't seem to get any deeper. Uh
and I've spoken to people about those
authors and this author.
Um and it it seems like half and half.
It seems like a split. And if you go
look up the reviews on Goodreads or just
the reviews on his books period, you're
going to find the same thing that
there's a split there. Um
there's a quite a few people who did not
like this one, but the people who liked
it really loved it. I am right in the
middle. Um only because I think I think
it rehashes some of the same themes of
guilt, not really redemption. That's the
interesting part. There is really no
redemption here.
Um but especially when he
turns in the another character, when he
turns them into
uh the authorities before the bombing.
Um when he turns them in, it felt like
he might have been talking about
himself. Um once again, I could be
completely wrong. Um not saying that he
turned himself in. It's just some of the
things that he was saying about that
character, very reminiscent of him and
what he went through. Um there's a
very very
I don't know. It's not fun relationship
between him and his grandson Ichiro.
Um
I believe it's Noriko, his daughter's
son.
Uh I I really loved the part where he
Oh, no. The grandfather, the main
character, was trying to talk Noriko and
the other daughter. I can't remember her
name now. Uh trying to talk her into
letting this 8-year-old boy have some
sake. Um and I thought that was also
just a a really good way of showcasing
the unreliable narrator's um morals or
lack thereof. Uh I had a lot of fun with
this one. Um and but
I I'm still going to go with three. And
three doesn't mean it was bad. Three
means I enjoyed it. There's just some
stuff that was repetitive in in in my
opinion. Uh I believe we have we
when we Hang on. When we were orphans, I
believe is next. And I'm hoping at some
point in time we get to his surreal
stuff. He has Clara Clara and the Sun.
That's Clara with a K.
Um or Clara, whichever one you want to
say.
Um Clara and the Sun, uh that one has
some surreal elements and the buried
giant, that kind of thing. This one has
none whatsoever. And I was a little bit
disappointed by that also. So, you can
take my expectations and everything as a
grain of salt also. But I'm not taking
away from it because of my expectations.
I'm taking away from it because I
believe that he uh regurgitated some of
the themes. Um there were
spectacular scenes that made me
very uncomfortable. Not in a horror way,
not in a
uh it is a very awkward situations that
he puts himself into. Um especially when
he comes across people who consider him
a traitor uh for helping the empire, you
know, during time of war.
Um I also loved all the younger people,
how they were described, and how they
were more than willing to move on and
embrace even the American occupation
after the war, after the bombings. They
were willing to embrace it and say,
"Hey, let's give this a chance. Let's go
for democra- democracy and individual
rights, so on and so forth." Um I I
really liked that aspect. Now, there
there's something here I want to uh to
to read to you. If you're a fan of the
current administration in America, you
you may want to click away now. Um I
don't know why you're here anyways. Um
but this this is the section uh that I
want to read. Uh we are now a mighty
nation capable of matching any of the
Western nations.
In the Asian hemisphere, Japan stands
like a giant amidst cripples and dwarfs.
And yet, we allow our people to grow
more and more desperate.
Our little children to die of
malnutrition. Meanwhile, the businessmen
get richer
and the politicians forever make excuses
and chatter.
Can you imagine any of the Western
powers allowing such a situation?
They would surely have taken action long
ago. Well, I'm sorry, Kazuo Ishiguro,
but you were hella wrong.
Um that's everything that we're going
through now. And it seems that the only
thing uh it takes uh for uh fascism to
run rampant in your country and for hate
to succeed
is to hire a bankrupt rapist businessman
to do
the dirty work that you
uh
were not willing to
to begin with. Um he is everything that
you guys wanted and you're getting
exactly what you paid for, what you
bought into. But anyways, uh have you
read An Artist of the Floating World by
Kazuo Ishiguro? If you have, let me know
down there in the doobly-doo. Um also,
if you'd like to spew hate down there,
too,
I suggest you do that. I would love to
see it. Anyways, until next time. I have
been me, you have been you. This has
been another book review. I'll talk to
you guys later. Bye-bye.