A Pale View of Hills

It was Donna Brown’s birthday (congratulations!), and before our book discussion we all enjoyed a piece of traditional cake from the region—although I can’t remember its name. Masako brought homemade sushi and Japanese snacks for the occasion. We read A Pale View of Hills by the Nobel Prize laureate Kazuo Ishiguro, a British author of Japanese origin. This was Ishiguro’s first novel, published in 1982 and tells the story of Etsuko, a middle-aged Japanese woman living alone in England. It opens with a conversation between Etsuko and her younger daughter, Niki, about the recent suicide of Etsuko’s older daughter, Keiko. Most of the book consists of Etsuko’s memories of her life in Nagasaki after the atomic bomb, focusing on her friendship with Sachiko, a single mother with a young daughter, Mariko. Etsuko leads a rather traditional married life, while Sachiko appears more independent and unconventional. The novel also explores Etsuko’s complex relationships with her two daughters. The narrative moves back and forth between postwar Nagasaki and her present life in England. If you don’t pay close attention, the book may seem as though very little happens. At first, the connection between the two time periods is not clear. Gradually, however, the stories of Sachiko and Mariko begin to overlap with Etsuko’s own life and her relationship with Keiko. We discussed several possible hidden meanings behind Etsuko’s memories, which do not always seem entirely reliable. Not all of us agreed on these interpretations. Nevertheless, we concluded that it is a beautifully written novel with subtle and carefully woven storylines.