A theory about Ishiguro The Unconsoled

I am not a fan of the dream sequence theories – I think the book is much more than that.

The first ¾ of the book I was completely confused by everything. However, after finishing the book, I think that this book could have been one of his best books, if it wasn't so needlessly long.

I believe that Ishiguro is blurring what time and identity means by creating a story about the different life stages of one person as if they were happening at once: What I want to say is that I believe that Stephan Hoffman, Mr. Brodsky, and Mr. Ryder are the same Person. (And maybe Boris too, I am not sure)

This will spoiler a lot of the book, but let me explain.

>!The whole story is told from the view of Ryder, except for very few exceptions, where the perspective seamlessly transitions to this of Boris (his memories of playing with his football figure things), Brodsky (how he follows Mrs. Collins and what they talk about), or Stephan (what he talks about with his dad during the concert). While Ryder's memory is full of holes like swiss cheese, he has these insights into their minds.

Further, there are obvious similarities between the lives of those characters:

Boris + Ryder: Both love football. Weirdly, Boris' mum gives him the fault for the failed bathroom renovation – maybe a hint to the failed renovations off Brodsky's house?

Stephan + Ryder: Both play piano, but their parents never come to see them play. Also, Brodsky finds the car of his parents behind the hotel, because they own(ed) the hotel.

Brodsky + Ryder: When visiting the flat of Boris and his Mum, they meet some former neighbors that theorize that Boris dad (Ryder) is a raging alcoholic – just like Brodsky. This also explains the memory issues (that Brodsky also has) and the time dilations. It's also interesting that Brodsky uses a piano (Ryder's instrument) in the hotel to prepare for his gig as maestro.

Some more hints:

• Boris' mum calls Ryder not a real father, which would explain why Brodsky is always hung up on the fact that he and Mrs. Collins never had children together.

• Because the three life stages are mashed together like this in the story, Ryder is at the same time visiting the town of his childhood, visiting the town where he lives with his family, and visiting a completely unknown town.

• In the end of the book, Ryder's mum is described as looking very solemn even though she doesn't mean it – just like Hoffman's mum confesses that she cannot express her feelings like she wants too.!<

I am sure there are a lot more hints to find on a second read-through.