The Reader's Den selection for August 2010 is A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Born November 8, 1954, in Nagasaki, Japan, Ishiguro is one of Britain's leading contemporary writers. He received the Booker Prize for his third novel, The Remains of the Day, in 1989, and was shortlisted for another Booker in 2000 for When We Were Orphans.

A Pale View of Hills is his first novel. Published in 1982, it won the Winifred Holtby Award, and was well-received by critics and readers. An absolute gem of a novel, it grips the reader and begs to be read again and again. Each subsequent reading reveals new questions and new and deeper insights.

I would like to begin the discussion by raising two questions:

1. What is our first impression of Etsuko?

2. What do we think of the English setting / location?

Please comment with your insights and share your thoughts!