"Nocturnes" was my first reading encounter with Kazuo Ishiguro. Due to the nature of the book, a compilation of short stories on the theme of music at nightfall, I think it might be a bit different compared to his usual works.

What I noticed from the first pages was the exquisite language and descriptions. Even if you ignore the subject of the novel, you're still able to experience some pleasant emotions created by refined words. Unfortunately, I think some readers might have a few problems with this, as the essence of most stories lies in the language and expressions; in the emotions created by these and very little in the action or the actual events. Most of the time, the events might seem quite ordinary, not very dramatic - perhaps a bit absurd sometimes, but they wouldn't stand out on their own.

But if you ignore this and focus on the big picture, the experience is quite great. After all, it's not that hard to come with a dramatic ending, or with a complex plot, but you need a lot of talent in order to even come close to the expressiveness of the "Nocturnes".

There are a few recurring themes throughout the stories. First, all of them are build around music and how the characters are affected by it. It can take you to great heights, or it can throw you in the deepest abyss - yet, there's always an emotion.

There's also the theme of loss of identity - for example, the main characters from "Crooner" and "Come Rain or Come shine" both experience a feeling of lost identity. In "Crooner", we have Tony Gardner, a successful musician which is on a continuous journey of reinventing himself, even if it means giving up on the beloved ones. In "Come Rain or Come Shine" the narrator, Ray is asked to play the role of a complete failure, in order to help his best friends get back together. While it's not a very hard role for him to play, there's one very important bit which makes up for everything - his entire personality is built around his passion for old, slow blues, music. Due to circumstances, he's forced to reject it, even though deep inside it still means a lot to him.

Time is also an important dimension throughout the narrations. The characters are often portrayed at two stages in their life, with an emphasis on how much they were changed by the passing years. While they go through both good and bad experiences, it's impossible not to notice that they have lost something on their way.