#unconsoled

You’re totally right, I didn’t even consider that it might be a specific brand!

Toward the end of last night's dinner party (a fennel-and-orange salad, fusilli with anchovies and caramelized onions), the four New Yorkers are consoling our visiting musician friend about his Girl Who Got Away. There's a line in his story that is crushingly familiar to me.

"So she sent me this e-mail," notes the unconsoled, "that basically said the only reason anything happened was because she knew I was leaving in a few days*."

"That's just a self-defense mechanism," assures the Chelsea narrator.

"She obviously wants to be the one in control," adds the party's host.

"And then...she says I shouldn't even try to get in touch until I've stopped feeling like I want to be...romantically involved with her."

"Again, control," says the host. "She wants it to be on her terms."

"I don't know," says the unconsoled. "I guess I just miss being around her."

On the walk back to the 7th Avenue station, I'm not sure how to explain to him what I know. That you feel wrecked by it, that you start to wonder if anything really happened -- maybe it was all in your head. That maybe she's right, and you were just dumbstruck. That your friends will tell you it's not your fault and that she's probably dealing with something she won't tell you -- and you will nod and agree, but you still feel wrecked by it because you still want her. That you will keep thinking about her, especially when you're alone. That you will feel helpless, not being able to hide from her even though she's not even there anymore.

I'm not sure how to say any of this to the unconsoled. I don't know how to begin.

So instead, we talk about guitars.

-- *Here's the version that got sent to me in the pre-gpc era†:

I love talking to you, but I don't want to keep dwelling in the fact that I'm far away. A big part of me thinks none of this interaction between the two of us would even have happened if I hadn't been leaving. Wouldn't you agree? If that's true, then I'm thankful it happened because I really enjoyed even the short few weeks we spent together. I think our friendship jumped leaps and bounds and I got to know the real you. And you are one of the most amazing people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. So you wanted me to let you know what I thought, so here it is. I want you to be happy, above all else :)

8/50

The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro is for DIE-HARD ISHIGURO FANS like ME!

I love his writing- its simple and so FLUID.

Though THE UNCONSOLED is quiet unlike any of his previous work. For a change the Story is actually taking place in the present, unlike his previous books where the protagonists usually looks back on his/her life, recollecting the past events.

The plot is quiet bizarre- Kafkaesque style- and the Story is in itself a Nightmarish dream. 

I mean Its 500+ pages long bizarre DREAM sequence. Who would wanna read that?

I mean the Story is long enough as it is but it never builds up to something substantial. Moreover its never revealed that the story is indeed a dream. I mean Does the guy never wake up?

All in all, the Unconsoled is a NEVER-ENDING Nightmare. I wont say is Particualry Gripping or Rewarding(for tht matter)... but read it if you are into Decoding, Interpreting, Analyzing DREAMS. 

But I am going to give it a 3.5 out of 5 because I love ISHIGURO enough to love his CRAP too.