From the winner of theNobel Prize in Literatureand author of theBooker Prize–winningnovel The Remains of the Day comes an inspired sequence of stories as affecting as it is beautiful"Each of these stories is heartbreaking in its own way, but some have moments of great comedy, and they all require a level of attention that, typically, Ishiguro’s writing rewards."  -The ObserverWith the clarity and precision that have become his trademarks,Kazuo Ishigurointerlocks five short pieces of fiction to create a world that resonates with emotion, heartbreak, and humour.Here is a fragile, once famous singer, turning his back on the one thing he loves; a music junky with little else to offer his friends but opinion; a songwriter who inadvertently breaks up a marriage; a jazz musician who thinks the answer to his career lies in changing his physical appearance; and a young cellist whose tutor has devised a remarkable way to foster his talent."A fine and moving collection of stories, displaying his unique combination of the sad, the stoic and the consoling. It’s about failure, but it dignifies failure, and with it, the human condition."-Margaret Drabble, The GuardianFor each,music is a central part of their livesand, in one way or another, delivers them to an epiphany - all at some moment of reckoning. Gentle, intimate and witty, this quintet is marked by a haunting theme – the struggle to keep alive a sense of life’s romance, even as one gets older, relationships founder and youthful hopes recede.