4.5/5. This novel is bleak to the core. It will crush your heart when you least expect it to and that is its power. It's only 288 page- short, succinct, no extra embellishments. Kazuo Ishiguro just gives everything to you point blank as a surprise. Every single detail is important, every single word has a purpose. This is definitely on my top ten favorite books of all time at the moment. Also, this is the first of anything that I've read from Ishiguro & this made me want to read all of his work. Japanese authors seem to be on a different plane of reality.