Two unfortunately timely works from the masterful Kazuo Ishiguro force the protagonists to reck with their roles in the rise of fascism in their respective countries. Ishiguro, born in Japan, raised in England, examines figures that have escaped widerspread ramifications for their (seemingly small) contributions to a movement that would throw not only their countries, but the world at large into turmoil.
“An Artist of the Floating World” is Ishiguro’s second novel, and focuses on an artist who drifted into the realm of propaganda leading into World War II. Under the facade of elevating Japan’s status in Asia, as well as the global chessboard, Masuji Ono becomes an influential propaganda artist whose art escalates an already capricious view of foreigners, especially the Chinese.
Now an elderly man, Ono has avoided any potential legal ramifications for his actions, but is surrounded, in both his personal life and in broader society, by reminders of the agenda he helped advance and the destruction it has wrought on his precious homeland. Ono views his youth as one full of misgivings, but only shows remorse when it benefits him to do so.
“The Remains of the Day” is widely regarded as the author’s masterpiece, and offers a much more subdued glimpse at the banal machinations behind the scenes of the rise of a fascist regime. The main character, Steven’s, is a butler for one of the last remaining “great lords” in England. Both the servant and his lord place much more emphasis on being a “great man” who wields influence, rather than what it takes to elevate oneself to such a status, and how that influence is used.
The need to feel influential and important leads both Stevens and his revered Lord Darlington into incubating the rise of the Nazi party in Europe. Like Ono in “Floating World”, the blind nationalism and desire to elevate on’s country leads to the enabling of fascist ideal. Also similar to Ono, Stevens is willing to forsake those closest to him for their identities (Jewish colleagues in Stevens case, and political dissidence in Ono’s).
What’s left after these men have dedicated their lives to so-called greatness is hollow husks who through their involvement in the fascist machines have found themselves to be chewed up and spit out, with nothing but an empty existence and a world that resents them. Ishiguro’s reconciliation with the troubled history of both of his homelands are stark condemnations of the violent ideas that harbor fascism, and imperative reads for anyone grappling with today’s political landscape.
by AMorton15