Kazuo Ishiguro: Remembering and Forgetting
A revealing profile of the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, author of The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, as he publishes his much-anticipated new book, Klara and the Sun.
Filmed during lockdown, Alan Yentob invites us into the intriguing world of award-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro. The only living British author to hold the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ishiguro鈥檚 novels and short stories have been translated into more than fifty languages. Two of his most popular novels, The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, have also enjoyed success as star-studded film adaptations.
In this revealing profile, Ishiguro explores the significance of his early life in Nagasaki and the experience of growing up in the aftermath of the atomic bomb. He shares memories of feeling like the only Japanese boy in the home counties of England in the early 1960s, and how this helped to shape his viewpoint as a writer. As a young man, he harboured ambitions to be a singer-songwriter, and he shares his lifelong emotional connection to music and lyrics, and the impact that particular songs have had on his writing.
Alongside contributions from writers Hanya Yanagihara and Bernardine Evaristo, as well as Ai-Da, an AI robot artist, Ishiguro charts the development of his work across the four decades of his writing career. He discusses the recurring themes of memory, history and the redemptive power of love, and reveals how he has turned his gaze to the future for his much-anticipated new book, Klara and the Sun.
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Clips
-
His mother's story
Duration: 01:00
-
A 'Tom Waits' moment
Duration: 01:15
-
"Your lives are set out for you"
Duration: 01:47
-
"brave young men die for stupid causes"
Duration: 01:21
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Alan Yentob |
Director | Morag Tinto |
Producer | Morag Tinto |
Series Editor | Alan Yentob |
Executive Producer | Tanya Hudson |
Broadcasts
Featured in...
The World of Writers
The fascinating people behind some of the world's most popular and influential books
Books and Beyond
Immerse yourself in the world of literature.
imagine...
Alan Yentob gets close up with those shaping today's cultural world.