The Gypsy Plays Songs of Love

"But in this place, so obsessed with tradition and the past, everything's upside down."

Kazuo Ishiguro might be the last person to pen romantic stories, as his novels were about melancholic characters who struggled to come to terms with the past. They would do, and it could leave the readers sighing with sadness. But not his first collection of shorts.

After six novels, Ishiguro decided to pen short stories. "Nocturnes", which was first published in 2009, would allude to music. An unlikely choice from the author of "The Remains of the Day", but he would have an ear for it.

"What's a few minutes? Lindy and I have been married twenty-seven years."

Janeck, the narrator in "Crooner", was a guitar player from the Czech Republic. He was one of the gypsies in the piazza. They were foreign musicians, and some Venetians didn't like their presence. It didn't matter to this young man, who thought that the EU was a "free country". And then his heart skipped a beat when he spotted Tony Gardner in the audience. He was his mother's favorite singer. He was better than Frank Sinatra. He wasn't one of those celebrities with an attitude, but Janeck would learn the reason sooner than he thought.

That's how all greats do it

Tony Gardner and Liddy, his wife, were in Venice for a holiday. They were a newly married couple when they first went to this seaside metropolis. It was 27 years ago. They were on the brink of separation this time around. Tony thought of recapturing the lost love, so he decided to serenade Liddy on a gondola. Jandela considered it an honor to play along with him.

The evening ride on the gondola was a bittersweet moment for both men. Tony recalled his heyday, which was the main reason why Liddy married him. Janeck saw vivid images of his mother, who played Tony's records to nurse a broken heart. Readers would sense their voices choked with emotion, but the gondola was navigating on dark waters. The music might have carried them away.

Some readers would wonder why Ishiguro prefer a male narrator. Gender might not be a reason. (Others would cite "Never Let Me Go", where a young woman was narrating past events.) Perhaps they were interested in how men would deal with unresolved issues. (Think of Mr. Stevens.) In the case of "Crooner", two men were bound to music. But they would react to it differently.

Mr. Gardner, who had been in the entertainment industry for so long, saw it all. He wasn't in a bitter mood. Janeck find inspiration, though. Maybe a discussion on the influence of Western music on the Eastern Bloc could make this short story intriguing to readers. But the tone was clear enough. The music would live on. Hope floats.