Resumo de An Artist Of The Floating World

An Artist of the Floating World is Kazuo Ishiguro?s second novel,written in 1986. It won him the Whitbread Book of the Year award andwas short-listed for the Booker Prize. Ishiguro later won the Bookerfor The Remains of the Day. This novel is the memoirs of an artist whowas responsible, albeit quite indirectly, for leading Japan into WorldWar II. In the post-war devastation, he is sidelined, disgraced andmorally confused.The book is a casual account in the first person - a record of everydayevents, coupled with reminiscences about the past, by Masuji Ono, theartist. But in this simplicity of narration lies a subtle and gradualdiscovery, for the reader, of the various details that have made hislife and times what they are. His simple and sometimes unconnectedramblings provide a powerfully psychological insight into his mind andthe mind of Japan, circa 1948.Understatement is the way of storytelling for Ishiguro-san. Whereoutrage is expected, the narrator would confess only to 'irritation';great happiness only elicits 'I was pleased'. The tone looks monotonousinitially, but later can be seen to have a unique beauty.Plot Summary:The novel begins in October 1948, when Japan is three years into thehumiliating defeat of World war II. It is trying to stumble back tonormalcy and yet, the coming times are marked by a decisive break fromthe past in many ways. Masuji Ono, a retired painter, is passing hisdays quietly - 'moping around the house', spending time with hisgrandson and most of the time, thinking of the days that were. His onlybig concern in present times is the marriage negotiations of his seconddaughter Noriko. She is 26 and beginning to get sullen about stillbeing unmarried.As we get to know more, it is seen that Ono was a famous and respectedpainter during his heyday, but one who used his art for propaganda andthus played a role in leading Japan into World War II. Many others ofhis generation - businessmen, social workers, composers - have similartrack records. Today, they are hated, being thought responsible for thepresent situation of Japan and the immense suffering that people,particularly the young, had to undergo during the war. Ono?s effortsfor Noriko?s marriage have also met with failure due to this aspect ofhis past.With the book moving forward in time we see Ono trying to contact hisold acquaintances, for one reason or the other, with mixed results. Heis 'wished away' by his once close associates, mostly politely. Thissaddens and irritates him but also causes him to question his pastactions and reason whether he was right or wrong.Ono spends a great while remembering his days in the tutelage of thethen-famous artist, Moriyama, who was a celebrator of beauty. Together,they spent many an evening in pleasure houses, painting dancers,bar-women and geishas. Moriyama reportedly endeavored to 'capture thelight of a lantern' in his painting and encouraged his students too totry for such things. This is the floating world which Ono was once partof. But he soon 'turned traitor', exhorted by a social worker Matsuda,and devoted his art for alleviation of the social ills that were sostarkly present around them.He moves on to admit his mistakes and apologize for them in public,although maintaining that they were committed in good faith. Othersaround him seem to let go of their hatred at seeing him humble himself.In fact, his daughters and sons-in-law who were once obliquely criticalnow reassure him, again obliquely, that he need not feel guilty.The book fades into a climax - with the passage of time the wounds ofJapan seem to be healing, and Ono?s family life is taking a turn forthe better. Noriko gets married; two grandchildren are in the offing.In accordance, Ono also resigns to the reign of the present generation,wishes them well, and finally seems to forget the moral quandaries thatconfronted him.Literary merit:Ishiguro puts some important literary devices to good use, making theoverall prose most beautiful. Like understatement is theway of talking, and one rarely feels that this is an account, at leastin part, of the aftermath of great destruction. Even the narrator?sintensely personal losses - his wife and only son - are mentionedalmost in passing. This lends an air of quietude to the events, andthus gives prominence to feelings.The writing is stream-of-consciousness, though not in the extreme Joyceway. Ono speaks out anything that comes to his mind in the presentconnection, and frequently digresses. It is only towards the last 50pages, at least to me, that the full extent of his doings becomesclear. This forces the reader too to reconsider what he has believedabout Ono?s actions and the treatment he has received. This leads togreater involvement in the inner turmoil and feeling, which is ofcourse what this is all about.What is the true purpose of art? This is perhaps the most importanttheme the book dwells on but, as far as I believe, it does notconclusively reach an answer. Ono reminisces about his involvement withthe two extremes of art?s purpose - art as celebration and reflectionof natural and human beauty, and art as inspirer for social andpolitical causes. Ono never seems to decide finally which path is thecorrect one for an artist - the one that he took, or the one he leftmidway.

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