Kazuo Ishiguro facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir
Kazuo Ishiguro
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 石黒 一雄 | |||||
Ishiguro in 2017
|
|||||
| Born | 8 November 1954 Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
|
||||
| Citizenship |
|
||||
| Education | |||||
| Occupation |
|
||||
| Years active | 1981–present | ||||
| Spouse(s) |
Lorna MacDougall
(m. 1986) |
||||
| Children | Naomi Ishiguro | ||||
| Awards |
|
||||
| Writing career | |||||
| Genre |
|
||||
| Notable works |
|
||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 石黒 一雄 | ||||
| Kana | いしぐろ かずお | ||||
|
|||||
Sir Kazuo Ishiguro (Japanese: 石黒 一雄, Hepburn: Ishiguro Kazuo, /kæˈzuː.oʊ ˌɪʃɪˈɡuroʊ, ˈkæzu.oʊ/; born 8 November 1954) is a famous Japanese-born British writer. He writes novels, short stories, and screenplays for movies. Many people think he is one of the best modern authors writing in English. In 2017, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy, which gives out the award, said his books have "great emotional force." They also said he shows "the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world."
Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan. When he was five, in 1960, he moved to Britain with his family. His first two novels, A Pale View of Hills and An Artist of the Floating World, explored Japanese culture. They also had a thoughtful, sometimes sad, feeling. Later, he wrote books in different styles, including science fiction and historical fiction.
He has been nominated for the important Booker Prize four times. He won it in 1989 for his book The Remains of the Day. This book was later made into a movie in 1993. The famous writer Salman Rushdie called it Ishiguro's best work. He said it showed that Ishiguro's writing could explore different places and ideas, not just Japan.
Time magazine called his science fiction novel Never Let Me Go the best novel of 2005. They also put it on their list of the 100 best English novels from 1923 to 2005. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2022 movie Living.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, on November 8, 1954. His father, Shizuo Ishiguro, was a scientist who studied the ocean. In 1960, when Kazuo was five, his family moved to Guildford, England. His father had been invited to do research there. Kazuo did not visit Japan again until 1989, almost 30 years later.
Even though he lived in England, Ishiguro said he grew up with a strong idea of Japan in his mind. He explained that he was "all the time building up this picture in my head, an imaginary Japan." He also said that growing up in a Japanese family in the UK helped him see things differently from his English friends. This was very important for his writing.
He went to Stoughton Primary School and then Woking County Grammar School in Surrey. As a child, he sang solos in church and school choirs. As a teenager, he loved music, especially artists like Bob Dylan. Ishiguro started learning guitar and writing his own songs. For a while, he wanted to become a professional songwriter. He feels that writing songs helped him become a novelist. He learned to tell stories in a personal way and to suggest meanings subtly.
After finishing school in 1973, he took a year off to travel. He went through the United States and Canada, writing in a journal. He also sent demo tapes of his songs to music companies. He even worked at Balmoral Castle for a short time. Later, he realized that being a musician wasn't for him.
In 1974, he started studying at the University of Kent. He earned a degree in English and philosophy in 1978. After spending a year writing, he continued his studies at the University of East Anglia. There, he joined a special writing course. His master's thesis from this course became his first novel, A Pale View of Hills, published in 1982. He became a British citizen in 1983.
Writing Career
Early Novels and Success
Ishiguro's first two novels were set in Japan. However, he has said that he isn't very familiar with Japanese writing. He feels his books are not much like traditional Japanese fiction. His second novel, An Artist of the Floating World (1986), takes place in a Japanese city after World War II. The main character has to face his past actions during the war. Younger people criticize him, making him rethink his old beliefs. Ishiguro said he likes to write about times when people's beliefs are "tested."
In 1989, he released The Remains of the Day. This book is set in a large English country house around World War II. It was highly praised and won the Booker Prize. The novel was made into a movie in 1993, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
Later Works and Awards
His fourth novel, The Unconsoled (1995), is set in a city in Central Europe. It won the Cheltenham Prize for Literature.
Some of Ishiguro's novels take place in the past. But Never Let Me Go (2005) has elements of science fiction. It is set in the 1980s and 1990s in a world very similar to ours. Time magazine called it the best novel of 2005. It was also made into a movie in 2010. Most of Ishiguro's novels are told from the point of view of one character.
In 2017, Ishiguro received the Nobel Prize in Literature. The award recognized his novels for their "emotional force." He said it was a "magnificent honour" to follow in the footsteps of great authors. He hoped the Nobel Prizes could bring something positive to the world. In 2018, he was made a Knight by the Queen for his contributions to literature. This means he can use the title "Sir."
Recent Works
Ishiguro's eighth novel, Klara and the Sun, came out in 2021. It tells the story from the viewpoint of an "Artificial Friend" named Klara. In this book, he explores ideas about the dangers of new technology. He also looks at the future of our world and what it means to be human. This book was also nominated for the Booker Prize.
Ishiguro also wrote the screenplay for the 2022 British movie Living. This movie was based on a 1952 Japanese film. In 2023, Living was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Musical Work
Kazuo Ishiguro has also written songs! He has co-written several songs for the jazz singer Stacey Kent. He worked with her husband, saxophonist Jim Tomlinson. Ishiguro wrote lyrics for Kent's albums, including Breakfast on the Morning Tram (2007) and The Changing Lights (2013).
He has said that writing song lyrics has greatly influenced his fiction writing. He learned that in a song, the meaning doesn't always have to be obvious. Sometimes, you have to "read between the lines."
In 2024, a book of his song lyrics for Stacey Kent was published. It is called The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain: Lyrics for Stacey Kent.
Personal Life
Ishiguro married Lorna MacDougall, a social worker, in 1986. They met while working at a charity that helped homeless people. They live in London. Their daughter, Naomi Ishiguro, is also a writer.
He loves movies and is a big fan of Bob Dylan. On a radio show, he chose Dylan's "Tryin' to Get to Heaven" as his favorite song. His favorite book choice was the Collected Short Stories of Anton Chekhov.
Honours and Awards
National Honours
- 1995: Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his writing.
- 1998: Given the title Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
- 2018: Received the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government.
- 2018: Appointed Knight Bachelor for his services to literature.
- 2024: Appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for his services to literature.
Literary Awards
- 1982: Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize for A Pale View of Hills
- 1986: Whitbread Prize for An Artist of the Floating World
- 1989: Booker Prize for The Remains of the Day
- 2017: Nobel Prize in Literature
- 2017: American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award
- 2019: Bodley Medal
Many of Ishiguro's novels have been nominated for major awards. An Artist of the Floating World, When We Were Orphans, and Never Let Me Go were all shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Other Recognitions
- 2005: Never Let Me Go was named one of the 100 greatest English novels by Time magazine.
- 2008: The Times newspaper ranked Ishiguro 32nd on their list of "The 50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945."
- 2023: His movie Living was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. This made Ishiguro one of the few Nobel Prize winners to also be nominated for an Academy Award.
Works
Novels
- A Pale View of Hills (1982)
- An Artist of the Floating World (1986)
- The Remains of the Day (1989)
- The Unconsoled (1995)
- When We Were Orphans (2000)
- Never Let Me Go (2005)
- The Buried Giant (2015)
- Klara and the Sun (2021)
Short Story Collections
- Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall (2009)
Screenplays
- A Profile of Arthur J. Mason (1984)
- The Gourmet (1987)
- The Saddest Music in the World (2003)
- The White Countess (2005)
- Living (2022)
Short Fiction
- "A Strange and Sometimes Sadness" (1981)
- "A Family Supper" (1983)
- "Summer After the War" (1983)
- "October 1948" (1985)
- "A Village After Dark" (2001)
Lyrics
- "The Ice Hotel" (2007)
- "I Wish I Could Go Travelling Again" (2007)
- "Breakfast on the Morning Tram" (2007)
- "So Romantic" (2007)
- "Postcard Lovers" (2010)
- "The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain" (2013)
- "Waiter, Oh Waiter" (2013)
- "The Changing Lights" (2013)
- "Bullet Train" (2017)
- "Craigie Burn" (2021)
Adaptations
- The Remains of the Day (1993 film)
- The Remains of the Day (2010 musical)
- Never Let Me Go (2010 film)
- Never Let Me Go (2016 TV miniseries)
- An Artist of the Floating World (2019 TV movie)
- Klara and the Sun (upcoming film)
Images for kids
-
A robot, like Klara in Ishiguro's novel Klara and the Sun.
See also
In Spanish: Kazuo Ishiguro para niños
