History and fiction in Kazuo Ishiguro's novels

Kako se navodi u njenom naslovu, predmet ove disertacije biće romani Kazua Išigura, obrađeni po hronološkom redosledu objavljivanja, i to: Bledi obrisi brda (1982), Slikar prolaznog sveta (1986), Ostaci dana (1989), Bez utehe (1995), Kad smo bili siročad (2000) i Ne daj mi nikada da odem (2005). Cilj istraživanja pri tom će biti osvetljivanje aspekta istorije u pomenutim romanima, odnosno ispitivanje odnosa istorije i fikcije, kao i uticaja značajnih istorijskih događaja, prvenstveno ratova, na živote običnih ljudi, zatim prevrednovanje prošlosti u sadašnjem trenutku, ali i sukob javne i lične istorije. Svi ovi elementi, naime, u izraženoj meri karakterišu celokupan opus ovog savremenog pisca, čija su dela s razlogom odlično prihvaćena, kako kod čitalačke publike, tako i kod najstrožih književnih kritičara. Uloga istorije i značajnih istorijskih događaja u romanima Kazua Išigura ne može se poreći. Iako u različitom stepenu prisutna u pojedinačnim romanima, istorija je, na ovaj ili onaj način, uvek u pozadini radnje, koju dopunjuje, gradeći sa njom neraskidivu celinu. U tom kontekstu, posebno ćemo se osvrnuti na odnos između javne i privatne, odnosno lične istorije pojedinca. Osim toga, teme kojima ćemo se baviti u zasebnim poglavljima, analizirajući svaki roman ponaosob, obuhvataju dijalog prošlosti i sadašnjosti, nepouzdanost sećanja, perspektivu i pluralizam istina u postmodernizmu. Poseban naglasak prilikom analiziranja romana Kazua Išigura sa aspekta istorije stavićemo na besmisao i strahote rata, budući da Drugi svetski rat, kao istorijski događaj koji je na tragičan način obeležio čitav 20. vek, figurira u svim romanima ovog pisca. Zahvaljujući specifičnosti Išigurovog stila, međutim, prvenstveno njegovoj suptilnosti i eliptičnosti, samo se u nekim romanima mogu naći jezivi detalji ratnih razaranja, ruševina i krvavih borbi, dok se u drugim romanima prećutno podrazumeva koliku tragediju rat zapravo predstavlja i koliko je običnim ljudima teško da se nose sa njegovim posledicama. Upravo se u ovakvom njegovom stilu ogleda topla, ljudska poruka koju Išiguro prenosi svojim, istorijom obojenim, romanima...As is stated in its title, the subject of this dissertation will be the novels of Kazuo Ishiguro, analyzed chronologically, as follows: A Pale View of Hills (1982), An Artist of the Floating World (1986), The Remains of the Day (1989), The Unconsoled (1995), When We Were Orphans (2000), and Never Let Me Go (2005). The objective of the analysis will be to highlight the aspect of history in these novels, i.e. to examine the relationship between history and fiction; the impact of significant historical events, mainly wars, on the lives of ordinary people; revaluation of the past in the present moment; but also the conflict of public and private history. All these elements, namely, to a considerable extent characterize the entire oeuvre of this contemporary writer, whose works have been well accepted, both by the readers and the most demanding literary critics. The role of history and momentous historical events in the novels of Kazuo Ishiguro is indisputable. Though present in variable degrees depending on the novel, history is, this way or another, always in the background, complementing the plot, with which it intertwines to build an unbreakable whole. Within this context, we will particularly refer to the relationship between public and private, i.e. personal history of an individual. Moreover, the topics to be dealt with in separate chapters, devoted to the analysis of each novel, include the dialogue between the past and the present, unreliability of memory, revaluation of the past, perspective and pluralism of truths in postmodernism. Special focus during the analysis of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels from the perspective of history will be placed on the pointlessness and horrors of war, given that the World War II, as a historical event that tragically marked the entire 20th century, occurs in every single novel authored by Ishiguro. Thanks to the specificity of Ishiguro’s style, however, mostly its qualities of being subtle and elliptical, it is only in some novels that we find the gruesome details of war destruction, rubble, and bloodshed, whereas in his other novels it is tacitly understood what kind of tragedy the war actually brings, and how hard it is for ordinary people to bear the burden of its..