Kazuo Ishiguro has just been awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature, according to the New York Times. The Japanese British author has penned modern classics and tour de forces such as “The Remains of the Day,” which was turned into a 1993 Oscar-nominated film starring Anthony Hopkins, and the sci-fi romantic drama “Never Let Me Go,” which was also adapted for the screen.
Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1954, but his family immigrated to England in 1960. He studied English and philosophy at the University of Kent in Canterbury and earned a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of East Anglia in 1980.
Described at a mix of Jane Austen, Franz Kafka and a dash of Marcel Proust by The Swedish Academy, Ishiguro is best known for his spare, elegant writing style and his experimentation with the expectations of different genres. Ishiguro’s latest work is a 2015 fantasy novel set in Roman-controlled Britain entitled “The Buried Giant.”
In response to receiving the award, the newly minted Nobel laureate said that it was a “magnificent honor.”
“It comes at a time when the world is uncertain about its values, its leadership and its safety,” he wrote in a statement released by his publisher. “I just hope that my receiving this huge honor will, even in a small way, encourage the forces for goodwill and peace at this time.”
