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<p>This paper addresses the issue of the loss of the real in the fiction of Kazuo Ishiguro as a contemporary author whose thought line is still in progress. His approach to this issue is anti-capitalist as he questions the so-called scientific advancement led by cash-oriented capitalists and industrialists. His writing seeks to strip the veil of the murderous nature of this kind of science. He blames it for killing the real and creating a world of simulations. He animadverts upon dystopian spaces where he holds postmodern scientific knowledge responsible for the digression of the natural course of life and lays bare the secrets behind the replacement of the real with the simulated by drawing attention to such debatable topics as human cloning, cosmetic surgeries and artificial intelligence. In terms of methodology of analysis, this paper is primarily based on a close examination of the author’s literary texts: two novels <italic>(Never Let Me Go</italic> and <italic>Klara and the Sun)</italic> and three short stories from Nocturnes (“Malvern Hills”, “Nocturne” and “Crooner”). Postmodernist concepts have been of great relevance to the analysis of these texts, for his fiction could not be approached in isolation from the realities of the postmodern era where it’s produced. Equally, bearing in mind the author’s socio-ethnic and historical background, the society where he lives and the politico-cultural transformations of the world aTher the Second World War plays an important role in the analysis of his texts.</p>
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This paper addresses the issue of the loss of the real in the fiction of Kazuo Ishiguro as a contemporary author whose thought line is still in progress. His approach to this issue is anti-capitalist as he questions the so-called scientific advancement led by cash-oriented capitalists and industrialists. His writing seeks to strip the veil of the murderous nature of this kind of science. He blames it for killing the real and creating a world of simulations. He animadverts upon dystopian spaces where he holds postmodern scientific knowledge responsible for the digression of the natural course of life and lays bare the secrets behind the replacement of the real with the simulated by drawing attention to such debatable topics as human cloning, cosmetic surgeries and artificial intelligence. In terms of methodology of analysis, this paper is primarily based on a close examination of the author’s literary texts: two novels (Never Let Me Go and Klara and the Sun) and three short stories from Nocturnes (“Malvern Hills”, “Nocturne” and “Crooner”). Postmodernist concepts have been of great relevance to the analysis of these texts, for his fiction could not be approached in isolation from the realities of the postmodern era where it’s produced. Equally, bearing in mind the author’s socio-ethnic and historical background, the society where he lives and the politico-cultural transformations of the world aTher the Second World War plays an important role in the analysis of his texts.

The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s <italic>Never Let Me Go</italic>, <italic>Klara and the Sun</italic> and <italic>Nocturnes</italic>

Prague Journal of English Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s ,  and 

This paper addresses the issue of the loss of the real in the fiction of Kazuo Ishiguro as a contemporary author whose thought line is still in progress. His...

The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun and Nocturnes

Published Online: Nov 10, 2023

Page range: 45 - 62

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pjes-2023-0003

Keywords
The real, the simulated, loss, scientific knowledge, dystopia, human cloning, cosmetic surgery, artificial intelligence

© 2023 El Habib El Hadari, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Loss of the Real in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun and Nocturnes

Published Online: Nov 10, 2023

Page range: 45 - 62

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pjes-2023-0003

KeywordsThe real, the simulated, loss, scientific knowledge, dystopia, human cloning, cosmetic surgery, artificial intelligence

© 2023 El Habib El Hadari, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
The real, the simulated, loss, scientific knowledge, dystopia, human cloning, cosmetic surgery, artificial intelligence