A Pale View of Hills

by Kazuo Ishiguro

Upon finishing Ishiguro’s last novel, I borrowed, as it turned out, his first.

A Pale View of Hills is very different from Klara and the Sun but equally enjoyable. The narrator, Etsuko, moves between “now” (unspecified year) of England and “then” (unspecified year) of post-war Nagasaki. The dialogues in “then” Japan are invariably repetitive and are bound to get on some reader’s nerves. I loved them. They add, dare I say, authenticity. (I have no clue how they talked in post-war Japan but, in general, people repeat themselves all the time.) Etsuko’s conversations with her father-in-law, Ogata-San, are the best.

A little later that morning, Ogata-San emerged from his room dressed in his jacket and tie. “Are you going out, Father?” I asked. “I thought I’d just pay a visit to Dr Endo.” “Dr Endo?” “Yes, I thought I’d go and see how he was keeping these days.” “But you’re not going before lunch, are you?” “I thought I’d better go quite soon,” he said, looking at his watch. “Endo lives a little way outside Nagasaki now. I’ll need to get a train.” “Well, let me pack you a lunch-box, it won’t take a minute.” “Why, thank you, Etsuko. In that case I’ll wait a few minutes. In fact, I was hoping you’d offer to pack me lunch.” “Then you should have asked,” I said, getting to my feet. “You won’t always get what you want just by hinting like that, Father.” “But I knew you’d pick me up correctly, Etsuko. I have faith in you.” I went through to the kitchen, put on some sandals and stepped down to the tiled floor. A few minutes later, the partition slid open and Ogata-San appeared at the doorway. He seated himself at the threshold to watch me working. “What is that you’re cooking me there?” “Nothing much. Just left-overs from last night. At such short notice, you don’t deserve any better.” “And yet you’ll manage to turn it into something quite appetizing, I’m sure. What’s that you’re doing with the egg? That’s not a left-over too, is it?” “I’m adding an omelette. You’re very fortunate, Father, I’m in such a generous mood.” “An omelette. You must teach me how to do that. Is it difficult?” “Extremely difficult. It would be hopeless you trying to learn at this stage.”