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Sir Kazuo Ishiguro ( ; born 8 November 1954) is a British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. Ishiguro was born in
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, and moved to Britain in 1960 with his parents when he was five. He is one of the most critically-acclaimed and praised contemporary fiction authors writing in English, being awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its 2017 citation, the
Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is bes ...
described Ishiguro as a writer "who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world". His first two novels, ''
A Pale View of Hills ''A Pale View of Hills'' (1982) is the first novel by Nobel Prize–winning author Kazuo Ishiguro. It won the 1982 Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. He received a £1000 advance from publishers Faber and Faber for the novel after a meeting with ...
'' and '' An Artist of the Floating World'', were noted for their explorations of Japanese identity and their mournful tone. He thereafter explored other genres, including
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
and
historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...
. He has been nominated for the
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
four times, winning the prize in 1989 for his novel ''
The Remains of the Day ''The Remains of the Day'' is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The protagonist, Stevens, is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a stately home near Oxford, ...
'', which was adapted into a film of the same name in 1993.
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and We ...
praised the novel as Ishiguro's masterpiece, in which he "turned away from the Japanese settings of his first two novels and revealed that his sensibility was not rooted in any one place, but capable of travel and metamorphosis". ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' named Ishiguro's science fiction novel '' Never Let Me Go'' as the best novel of 2005 and one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.


Early life

Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, on 8 November 1954, the son of
Shizuo Ishiguro Shizuo Ishiguro (1920-2007) was a Japanese oceanographer who studied the dynamics of ocean waves using analog computing.  He worked at the Nagasaki Marine Observatory from 1948 to 1960 receiving his doctorate from the University of Tokyo in ...
, a physical oceanographer, and his wife, Shizuko. In 1960, Ishiguro moved with his family to
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
, Surrey, as his father was invited for research at the National Institute of Oceanography (now the
National Oceanography Centre The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is a marine science research and technology institution based on two sites in Southampton and Liverpool, United Kingdom. It is the UK’s largest institution for integrated sea level science, coastal and ...
). He did not return to visit Japan until 1989, nearly 30 years later, when he was a participant in the Japan Foundation Short-Term Visitors' Programme. In an interview with
Kenzaburō Ōe is a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues, i ...
, Ishiguro stated that the Japanese settings of his first two novels were imaginary: "I grew up with a very strong image in my head of this other country, a very important other country to which I had a strong emotional tie … In England I was all the time building up this picture in my head, an imaginary Japan." Ishiguro, who has been described as a
British Asian British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...
author, explained in a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
interview how growing up in a Japanese family in the UK was crucial to his writing, enabling him to see things from a different perspective from that of many of his English peers. He attended Stoughton Primary School and then Woking County Grammar School in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. Ishiguro sang solos as a
choirboy A choirboy is a boy member of a choir, also known as a treble. As a derisive slang term, it refers to a do-gooder or someone who is morally upright, in the same sense that "Boy Scout" (also derisively) refers to someone who is considered honora ...
with his church and school choirs. He also enjoyed music as a teenager, listening to songs by the likes of
Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
, Joni Mitchell and, particularly,
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
. Ishiguro began learning guitar and writing songs, and initially aimed to become a professional songwriter. After finishing school in 1973, he took a
gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...
and travelled through the United States and Canada, writing a journal and sending demo tapes to record companies. He also worked as a grouse beater, a practice of
driven grouse shooting Driven grouse shooting is the hunting of the red grouse, a field sport of the United Kingdom. The grouse-shooting season extends from 12 August, often called the " Glorious Twelfth", to 10 December each year. Large numbers of grouse are driven to ...
, at Balmoral Castle. Ishiguro later reflected on his ephemeral songwriting career, saying, "I used to see myself as some sort of musician type but there came a point when I thought: actually, this isn't me at all. I'm much less glamorous. I'm one of these people with corduroy jackets with elbow patches. It was a real comedown." In 1974, he began studies at the
University of Kent at Canterbury A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, graduating in 1978 with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
(honours) in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. After spending a year writing fiction, he resumed his studies at the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
where he studied with
Malcolm Bradbury Sir Malcolm Stanley Bradbury, (7 September 1932 – 27 November 2000) was an English author and academic. Life Bradbury was born in Sheffield, the son of a railwayman. His family moved to London in 1935, but returned to Sheffield in 1941 with ...
and
Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
on the
UEA Creative Writing Course The University of East Anglia's Creative Writing Course was founded by Sir Malcolm Bradbury and Sir Angus Wilson in 1970. The M.A. is widely regarded as the most prestigious and successful in the country and competition for places is notoriously ...
, gaining the degree of
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in 1980. His thesis became his first novel, ''A Pale View of Hills'', published in 1982. He gained
British citizenship British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...
in 1983.


Literary career

Ishiguro set his first two novels in Japan; however, in several interviews, he said that he has little familiarity with Japanese writing and that his works bear little resemblance to
Japanese fiction Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...
. In an interview in 1989, when discussing his Japanese heritage and its influence on his upbringing, he stated, "I'm not entirely like English people because I've been brought up by Japanese parents in a Japanese-speaking home. My parents (...) felt responsible for keeping me in touch with
Japanese values Japanese values are cultural goals, beliefs and behaviors that are considered important in Japanese culture. Global perspective From a global perspective, Japanese culture scores higher on ''emancipative values'' (individual freedom and equalit ...
. I do have a distinct background. I think differently, my perspectives are slightly different." In a 1990 interview, Ishiguro said, "If I wrote under a pseudonym and got somebody else to pose for my jacket photographs, I'm sure nobody would think of saying, 'This guy reminds me of that Japanese writer.'" Although some Japanese writers have had a distant influence on his writing—
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle por ...
is the one he most frequently cites—Ishiguro has said that Japanese films, especially those of
Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...
and
Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967. Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily shomin-geki ("common people drama") films with female protagonists, ...
, have been a more significant influence. Some of Ishiguro's novels are set in the past. '' Never Let Me Go'' has
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
qualities and a
futuristic The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...
tone; however, it is set in the 1980s and 1990s, and takes place in a parallel world very similar to ours. His fourth novel, ''
The Unconsoled ''The Unconsoled'' is a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, first published in 1995 by Faber and Faber, and winner of the Cheltenham Prize that year. Plot introduction The novel takes place over a period of three days. It is about Ryder, a famous pianis ...
'', takes place in an unnamed
Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
an city. ''
The Remains of the Day ''The Remains of the Day'' is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The protagonist, Stevens, is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a stately home near Oxford, ...
'' is set in the large
country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
of an English lord in the period surrounding
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. '' An Artist of the Floating World'' is set in an unnamed Japanese city during the Occupation of Japan following the nation's surrender in 1945. The narrator is forced to come to terms with his part in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He finds himself blamed by the
new generation "New Generation" is the third and final single from the album ''Dog Man Star'' by English rock band Suede, released on 30 January 1995 through Nude Records. It is the first single to feature music by new guitarist Richard Oakes. Though the tit ...
who accuse him of being part of Japan's misguided foreign policy, and is forced to confront the ideals of the modern times as represented by his grandson. Ishiguro said of his choice of time period, "I tend to be attracted to pre-war and postwar settings because I'm interested in this business of values and ideals being tested, and people having to face up to the notion that their ideals weren't quite what they thought they were before the test came." With the exception of ''
The Buried Giant ''The Buried Giant'' is a fantasy fiction, fantasy novel by the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning British writer Kazuo Ishiguro, published in March 2015. The novel follows an elderly Celtic Britons, Briton couple, Axl and Beatrice ...
'', Ishiguro's novels are written in the
first-person narrative A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-telle ...
style. Ishiguro counts
Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
and
Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel '' In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous E ...
among his influences. His works have also been compared to
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and We ...
,
Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
, and
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
, though Ishiguro himself rejects these comparisons. In 2017, Ishiguro was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
, with the motivation "in novels of great emotional force, ehas uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world". In response to receiving the award, Ishiguro stated:
It's a magnificent honour, mainly because it means that I'm in the footsteps of the greatest authors that have lived, so that's a terrific commendation. The world is in a very uncertain moment and I would hope all the Nobel Prizes would be a force for something positive in the world as it is at the moment. I'll be deeply moved if I could in some way be part of some sort of climate this year in contributing to some sort of positive atmosphere at a very uncertain time.
Ishiguro was appointed
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
for services to literature in the 2018 Birthday Honours. Ishiguro's eighth novel, ''
Klara and the Sun ''Klara and the Sun'' is the eighth novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British writer Kazuo Ishiguro, published on 2 March 2021. It is a dystopian science fiction story. Set in the U.S. in an unspecified future, the book is told from the point o ...
'', was published by
Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...
on 2 March 2021. Rumaan Alam of ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'' wrote it is "more simple than it seems, less novel than parable." It was longlisted for the 2021
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
. In the novel he discusses subjects such as the dangers of technological advancement, the future of our world, and the meaning of being human that he also broached in his earlier books. Ishiguro adapted the screenplay for the 2022 British film ''
Living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...
'', directed by
Oliver Hermanus Oliver Hermanus (born 26 May 1983) is a South African film director and writer.
"Oliver Hermanus." IMDb: The Internet Movie Dat ...
and starring
Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...
, from the 1952 Japanese film ''
Ikiru is a 1952 Japanese drama film directed and co-written (with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni) by Akira Kurosawa. The film examines the struggles of a terminally ill Tokyo bureaucrat (played by Takashi Shimura) and his final quest for meaning. ...
'' directed by
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
.


Musical work

Ishiguro has co-written several songs for the jazz singer Stacey Kent with saxophonist Jim Tomlinson, Kent's husband. Ishiguro contributed lyrics to Kent's 2007 Grammy-nominated album ''
Breakfast on the Morning Tram ''Breakfast on the Morning Tram'' is an album by American jazz singer Stacey Kent that was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2009. It was her first album for Blue Note Records. including its title track, her 2011 album, ''Dreamer in Concert'', her 2013 album ''
The Changing Lights ''The Changing Lights'' is a 2013 album by Stacey Kent. Track listing # " This Happy Madness" (Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Gene Lees) - 5:37 # "The Summer We Crossed Europe In The Rain" (Kazuo Ishiguro, Jim Tomlinson) - 5:31 # ...
'', and her 2017 album, ''I Know I Dream''. Ishiguro also wrote the liner notes to Kent's 2002 album ''In Love Again''. Ishiguro first met Kent after he chose her recording of "
They Can't Take That Away from Me "They Can't Take That Away from Me" is a 1937 popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film ''Shall We Dance'' and gained huge success. Overview The song is performed b ...
" as one of his ''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...
'' in 2002 and Kent subsequently asked him to write for her. Ishiguro has said of his lyric writing that "with an intimate, confiding, first-person song, the meaning must not be self-sufficient on the page. It has to be oblique, sometimes you have to read between the lines" and that this realisation has had an "enormous influence" on his fiction writing.


Personal life

Ishiguro has been married to Lorna MacDougall, a social worker, since 1986. They met at the West London Cyrenians homelessness charity in
Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...
, where Ishiguro was working as a residential resettlement worker. The couple live in London. Their daughter, Naomi Ishiguro, is also an author, and published the book '' Escape Routes''. He describes himself as a "serious cinephile" and "great admirer of
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
".


Honours and awards


National or state honours

* 1995: Appointed Officer of the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
for services to literature * 1998:
Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
by the French government * 2018: Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class, Gold and Silver Star by the Japanese government * 2018: Appointed
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
for services to literature


Literary awards

* 1982:
Winifred Holtby Winifred Holtby (23 June 1898 – 29 September 1935) was an English novelist and journalist, now best known for her novel '' South Riding'', which was posthumously published in 1936. Biography Holtby was born to a prosperous farming family in ...
Memorial Prize for ''
A Pale View of Hills ''A Pale View of Hills'' (1982) is the first novel by Nobel Prize–winning author Kazuo Ishiguro. It won the 1982 Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. He received a £1000 advance from publishers Faber and Faber for the novel after a meeting with ...
'' * 1986:
Whitbread Prize The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...
for '' An Artist of the Floating World'' * 1989:
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
for ''The Remains of the Day'' * 2017:
Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
* 2017:
American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...
's Golden Plate Award Except for ''A Pale View of Hills'' and ''The Buried Giant'', all of Ishiguro's novels and his short story collection have been shortlisted for major awards. Most significantly, '' An Artist of the Floating World'', '' When We Were Orphans'', and '' Never Let Me Go'' were all short-listed for the Booker Prize (as was ''The Remains of the Day'', which won it). A leaked account of a judging committee's meeting revealed that the committee found itself deciding between '' Never Let Me Go'' and John Banville's '' The Sea'' before awarding the prize to the latter.


Other distinctions

* 1983: Published in the
Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...
Best Young British Novelists issue * 1993: Published in the
Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...
Best Young British Novelists issue * 2005: '' Never Let Me Go'' named on ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine's list of the 100 greatest English language novels since the magazine's formation in 1923. * 2008: ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' ranked Ishiguro 32nd on their list of "The 50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945".


Works


Novels

* ''
A Pale View of Hills ''A Pale View of Hills'' (1982) is the first novel by Nobel Prize–winning author Kazuo Ishiguro. It won the 1982 Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. He received a £1000 advance from publishers Faber and Faber for the novel after a meeting with ...
'' (1982) * '' An Artist of the Floating World'' (1986) * ''
The Remains of the Day ''The Remains of the Day'' is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The protagonist, Stevens, is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a stately home near Oxford, ...
'' (1989) * ''
The Unconsoled ''The Unconsoled'' is a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, first published in 1995 by Faber and Faber, and winner of the Cheltenham Prize that year. Plot introduction The novel takes place over a period of three days. It is about Ryder, a famous pianis ...
'' (1995) * '' When We Were Orphans'' (2000) * '' Never Let Me Go'' (2005) * ''
The Buried Giant ''The Buried Giant'' is a fantasy fiction, fantasy novel by the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning British writer Kazuo Ishiguro, published in March 2015. The novel follows an elderly Celtic Britons, Briton couple, Axl and Beatrice ...
'' (2015) * ''
Klara and the Sun ''Klara and the Sun'' is the eighth novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British writer Kazuo Ishiguro, published on 2 March 2021. It is a dystopian science fiction story. Set in the U.S. in an unspecified future, the book is told from the point o ...
'' (2021)


Short-story collections

* '' Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall'' (2009)


Screenplays

* ''A Profile of Arthur J. Mason'' (
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
) (1984) * ''The Gourmet'' (television film for Channel 4) (1987) * '' The Saddest Music in the World'' (2003) * ''
The White Countess ''The White Countess'' is a 2005 drama film directed by James Ivory and starring Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Hiroyuki Sanada, Lynn Redgrave, Allan Corduner, and Madeleine Potter. The screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro focuse ...
'' (2005) * ''
Living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...
'' (2022)


Short fiction

* "A Strange and Sometimes Sadness", "Waiting for J" and "Getting Poisoned" (in ''Introduction 7: Stories by New Writers'', 1981) * "A Family Supper" (in ''Firebird 2: Writing Today'', 1983) * "Summer After the War" (in ''
Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...
7'', 1983) * "October 1948" (in ''Granta 17'', 1985) * "A Village After Dark" (in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', May 21, 2001)


Lyrics

* "The Ice Hotel"; "I Wish I Could Go Travelling Again"; "Breakfast on the Morning Tram", and "So Romantic"; Jim Tomlinson / Kazuo Ishiguro, on Stacey Kent's 2007 Grammy-nominated album, ''
Breakfast on the Morning Tram ''Breakfast on the Morning Tram'' is an album by American jazz singer Stacey Kent that was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2009. It was her first album for Blue Note Records. *"Postcard Lovers"; Tomlinson / Ishiguro, on Kent's album ''Dreamer in Concert'' (2011). * "The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain"; "Waiter, Oh Waiter", and "The Changing Lights"; Tomlinson / Ishiguro, on Kent's album ''
The Changing Lights ''The Changing Lights'' is a 2013 album by Stacey Kent. Track listing # " This Happy Madness" (Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Gene Lees) - 5:37 # "The Summer We Crossed Europe In The Rain" (Kazuo Ishiguro, Jim Tomlinson) - 5:31 # ...
'' (2013). * "Bullet Train"; "The Changing Lights", and "The Ice Hotel"; Tomlinson / Ishiguro, on Kent's album ''I Know I Dream: The Orchestral Sessions'' (2017). * "The Ice Hotel"; Tomlinson / Ishiguro –
Quatuor Ébène In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations ...
, featuring Stacey Kent, on the album ''Brazil'' (2013).


Adaptations

* ''The Remains of the Day'' (1993 film) * ''The Remains of the Day'' (2010 musical),
Union Theatre, London The Union Theatre is a fringe theatre situated in the borough of Southwark in London, England. It was established in 1998 by Sasha Regan, and has a reputation for staging musicals. Original premises In 1998, Sasha Regan took the initiative to c ...
* ''Never Let Me Go'' (2010 film) * ''Never Let Me Go'' (2016 TV miniseries) * ''An Artist of the Floating World'' (2019 TV movie)


References


External links

* Kazuo Ishiguro'
archive
resides at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin *
Faber and Faber page on Ishiguro

List of works
* *
2005 interview with Ishiguro in Sigla Magazine

2006 Guardian Book Club podcast with Ishiguro
by John Mullan
1989 "A Case of Cultural Misperception," a profile at the ''New York Times''
by Susan Chira
2005 "Living Memories," a profile at ''The Guardian''
by Nicholas Wroe * NHK WORLD (December 2017)
Exclusive Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro
* including the Nobel Lecture 7 December 2017 ''My Twentieth Century Evening – and Other Small Breakthroughs'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ishiguro, Kazuo 1954 births 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British male writers 21st-century British novelists 21st-century British male writers Alumni of the University of East Anglia Alumni of the University of Kent British lyricists British male novelists Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Costa Book Award winners English-language writers from Japan Exophonic writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Japanese emigrants to the United Kingdom Living people Booker Prize winners Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Nobel laureates in Literature Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Nagasaki Postmodern writers British Nobel laureates Writers of modern Arthurian fiction Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class Knights Bachelor