--- title: British Author Kazuo Ishiguro Just Won the Nobel Prize. Here Are His Greatest Novels description: British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, best known for "The Remains of the Day," just won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Here's where to buy his books and film adaptations. authors: - name: Martha C. White role: Writer url: https://money.com/author/martha-c-white/ education: BA, English, Princeton University at_money_since: 2015 articles: 350 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology published: '2017-10-05T16:15:08.000Z' modified: '2024-05-16T12:44:19.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - Books - deals - film - Literature - movies - nobel prize - shop money word_count: 473 canonical: https://money.com/kazuo-ishiguro-nobel-prize-literature/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![171005-Kazuo-Ishiguro](https://img.money.com/2017/10/171005-kazuo-ishiguro.jpg) *British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, best known for "The Remains of the Day," at his home in London, Oct. 5, 2017.* The Nobel Prize committee announced Thursday that the [Nobel Prize in Literature](https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2017/) had been awarded to Kazuo Ishiguro, the British author whose [novel *Remains of the Day*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679731725/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0679731725&linkId=c63e0d349c0bf27582ea7edab5c78d3f) was turned into an [Academy Award-nominated movie](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00003CXC9/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00003CXC9&linkId=3d3cf1d9533db46416f02e8272df0d4b). The film [*Remains of the Day*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679731725/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0679731725&linkId=c63e0d349c0bf27582ea7edab5c78d3f) starred Anthony Hopkins as Stevens, an emotionally stifled butler who manages a British estate in the years leading up to the Second World War. The dutiful-to-a-fault Stevens sacrifices the prospect of a romantic relationship with the estate's housekeeper (played by Emma Thompson in the movie) out of a hidebound sense of loyalty to his employer. Even Amazon head Jeff Bezos admires Ishiguro, calling *Remains of the Day* "one of my favorite books." ![171005-Kazuo-Ishiguro-3](https://img.money.com/2017/10/171005-kazuo-ishiguro-3b.jpg) *Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins in REMAINS OF THE DAY (1993)* *Remains of the Day* is certainly Ishiguro's most famous novel, but the Nobel Prize is likely to renew interest in Ishiguro's other critically-acclaimed books, including 2005's [*Never Let Me Go*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400078776/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1400078776&linkId=ce127f2c2262b0edf3cbe6d16ff71aab). Born in Japan and raised in England, Ishiguro's seven novels span decades and continents, but readers often find that the plots ultimately circle around to characters' inner lives. His elegant writing turns on themes of history, loyalty, and fiercely disciplined stoicism in the face of heartache. Sara Danius, the permanent secretary of the Nobel-granting Swedish Academy, [describes Ishiguro’s style](https://twitter.com/NobelPrize/status/915903758520979456) as a "mix \[of\] Jane Austen and Franz Kafka... add a little bit of Marcel Proust," adding, "he has developed an aesthetic universe all his own." Ishiguro's 1982 debut novel, [*A Pale View of Hills*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067972267X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=067972267X&linkId=b521ac31f83971ad8870b4e3ba34155e), tackles the complex emotions of a mother grappling with her daughter's suicide. [*An Artist of the Floating World*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679722661/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0679722661&linkId=90e475c6f9da04df6379d4db3d1e2218), published four years later, is set in post-World War II Japan and explores an aging artist's reflections on his life and regrets. For his most recent novel, 2015's [*The Buried Giant*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307455793/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0307455793&linkId=8b536a005b8af20c6e5e845b21c5a5fa), Ishiguro transports the reader to an Arthurian fantasy world of dragons and magic, creating what [*The Guardian*](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/01/the-buried-giant-kazuo-ishiguro-review-game-of-thrones-conscience) calls "*Game of Thrones* with a conscience." After *Remains of the Day*, Ishiguro's best-known work is probably [*Never Let Me Go*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400078776/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1400078776&linkId=ce127f2c2262b0edf3cbe6d16ff71aab). Published in 2005, the book takes the reader into a dystopian parallel universe the Nobel academy called with "a chilling jigsaw puzzle" with "a cold undercurrent of science fiction." The book tells the story of a trio of teenage friends, ostensibly students at a wealthy boarding school, who are actually part of a human-cloning experiment. Five years later, this book the [*New York Times*](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/04/books/sealed-in-a-world-thats-not-as-it-seems.html) called "a Gothic tour de force" was made into a [movie](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H8ZQKU/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B004H8ZQKU&linkId=c3c6151b5e4d6c0b52f07f0ec0a92fef) starring Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley. ![SWEDEN-BRITAIN-NOBEL-LITERATURE-ISHIGURO](https://img.money.com/2017/10/171005-kazuo-ishiguro-2.jpg) *The works of British writer Kazuo Ishiguro on display at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm, Sweden.* Remarkably, Ishiguro once told the [*Japan Times*](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2001/10/28/general/kazuo-ishiguro-in-praise-of-nostalgia-as-idealism) in an interview, "If I’d grown up in Japan, I doubt I would ever have become a writer." Fans of his work around the world — and for the many new fans his Nobel Prize is sure to bring him — are no doubt grateful that he did. *We’ve included affiliate links into this article.* [*Click here*](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/) *to learn what those are.* ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/kazuo-ishiguro-nobel-prize-literature/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Art and Culture", "item": "https://money.com/art-and-culture/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "British Author Kazuo Ishiguro Just Won the Nobel Prize. 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