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Kazuo IshiguroA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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What do you think the novel’s title means? How is it connected to the book’s main ideas? Could you think of an alternative title?
How do the atomic bombs impact post-WWII Japanese society as depicted in the book? What are most people’s reactions to the traumatic events of WWII (such as Mrs. Fujiwara’s or Ogata-san’s)?
How is the relationship between the narrator and her first husband presented? Why do you think they were married? What impact do you think their marriage had on Etsuko’s second marriage?
In your opinion, why does Keiko commit suicide? What are Etsuko’s feelings on the matter? Why does she lie to her neighbors about Keiko’s death?
Why is the motif of hanging so prominent in the novel, and why is this the means of suicide Ishiguro chose?
Ishiguro presents a variety of depictions of mother-daughter relationships in the novel. How do they differ, and what do they tell us about motherhood as a whole?
What is your opinion of the narrator? Do you empathize with her? Why do you think she recalls memories of Sachiko and Mariko during Niki’s visit?
What is the function of Sachiko’s and Mariko’s characters?
Why is the novel missing the years between Etsuko’s first pregnancy and Keiko’s suicide?
What is the role of immigration in this novel?
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By Kazuo Ishiguro