I'm devouring the Summer Reading List for Part 2 of my masters course right now and this is one of the real gems on the list. It's been on my shelf for ages and I kept meaning to pick it up but for some reason (life??) just didn't. I'm so glad that I finally did though as this is a fantastic book. I've read other Ishiguro books and, while in many ways this was different, it is also classic Ishiguro in the restraint of the prose and the beautiful pace of the novel, which gradually guides the reader through the story rather than dragging them forcefully ahead.
Reading this from the perspective of a writer, the narrative voice and the choice to write the narrator as if they are clearly recounting their life history to the reader was a very effective device that very quickly brought the characters alive and immersed the reader in their story. Reliability and POV intertwined with the life story this character recounted and Ishiguro used them in a powerful way, with the narrator often acknowledging the bias or unreliability of their perception. This helps the reader 'trust' the narrator which builds a strong relationship. I read elsewhere in one of the 'craft' books that it can help to think about who your narrator is telling the story to as this can help you build both the voice and the narrative itself (I'll update this post with a reference once I find it again!). This story clearly showed how effective almost-conversational narration can be.
I loved the subtle warping of the English world that we know. This was certainly what I would describe as a literary novel but it subtly and gently intertwined the fantastic with this. The narrator's assumption that the reader already knows and understands this world and exactly what the narrator is makes for a very effective tool to bring the reader into this warped world - it shows us the plausibility of the implausible. It helps build tension as it's not until the end of the novel that it is clearly spelt out but it does so in a gentle way - the reader reaches the end and has their understanding confirmed but the novel isn't driven by suspense. This creates a delightful pace to the work.
There are definitely a lot of lessons to take from this into some interesting creative work this year.