Synopses & Reviews
Kazuo Ishiguro's novels are suffused with a sense of memory, nostalgia and mourning. Memory is an area of research that continues to grow in importance within the humanities and this unique study examines the importance of memory and its representation in Ishiguro's novels, filling a long-standing gap in knowledge in studies of Ishiguro's work. Drawing from Paul Ricoeur's philosophical writing on memory, as well as theories on mourning, trauma and collective memory by Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson, Maurice Halbwachs and Walter Benjamin, Yugin Teo introduces a conceptual framework that examines the function of memory in these novels, revealing the distinctive and cathartic work of memory that is very much a part of Ishiguro's novels. This innovative study explores how Ishiguro's writing both aligns itself with and challenges these established concepts of memory.
Synopsis
An innovative study examining the work of memory in Kazuo Ishiguro's novels. Drawing from Paul Ricoeur's writing on memory, and a number of theorists on mourning, trauma and collective memory, this study introduces a unique conceptual framework that investigates the distinctive and cathartic work of memory that is inherent in Ishiguro's novels.
About the Author
Yugin Teo is Associate Tutor in English and Film at the University of Sussex, UK, where he completed his PhD. He has published articles on contemporary literature and film in the journals Critique and Science Fiction Film and Television, as well as his own short fiction and poetry.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Memory Work - Forgetting, Testimony and Release
PART I: FORGETTING
1.Memory Traces and Fragments of the Past
2.Trauma, Forgetting and Memory
PART II: REMEMBERING
3.Recognition and Testimony
4.Nostalgia and Mourning
PART III: RELEASE
5.The Search for Meaning and Utopia
6.A Profound and Ethical Forgetting
Conclusion: Ishiguro's Work of Memory
Notes
Bibliography and Further Reading
Index