Shattering View

Book Review of Pale view of the Hills

Genre: Sad, Slice of life

Personal Rating: 3/10

Setting Japan after World War II

This novel is the debut of the well-renowned writer Kazuo Ishiguro, which stretches the story of a mother whose daughter has ended her life. From her perspective, we look at the things that made her strong, her experiences, and the treatment she faced. This story also explores the story of a friend, a wife, and a daughter-in-law.

This story mainly revolves around Etsuko, the protagonist, Keiko (her deceased daughter), Nikki (her other daughter), and Shigeo Matsuda. This novel sheds some light on how relationships are made and conserved. It also amplifies the message of looking forward to life through Mrs. Fujiwara, who was still enjoying life even after losing all her family except a son, her status as a wealthy personality, and her luxurious lifestyle.

The pacing of this novel was rather ordinary, and there were times I found myself lost even though this novel is written in simple language, and many of the lines such as "stop it" and "why don't you understand?" seem overly repetitive. This novel also seems to lack action or build-up; it's just a constant and simple story full of misery and a reflection of the reality of the effects of war.

Apart from that, this story was simple to understand, and I am sure many were able to relate to it as it contained many generic themes such as the struggles of parenthood, depression, and introversion.

The story highlights how situations change quickly, and some are also left in wonder and this and that are to be accepted and moved on from, such as a poor lifestyle. This story changes between present and past, which doesn't resonate with me.

The author Kazuo has used a simple but rather descriptive style of writing, and the whole use of anecdotes was great, but this novel lacked metaphors and other literary components.

The characters in this novel were lacking development. As these characters were not involved in any conflict, they didn't experience huge development except for Sachiko and Etsuko. Sachiko had been robbed of her money and trust, leading her to be quite stoic and just focusing on the welfare of her daughter, whereas Etsuko lost her daughter and left her old husband, which let her empower herself and focus on what's left for her.

In conclusion, this story brings forth some relatable and miserable events that can happen in day-to-day life, which is why it's even more tragic. Even though it's not to my taste, it still encourages me to do better and be nobler, and my main takeaway from this is learning to accept reality and move on with our lives.

Ankit, Grade 11