Mood Swings

"On that journey home, with the darkness setting in over those long empty roads, it felt like the three of us were close again and I didn't want anything to come along and break the mood." -pg 183

I have mentioned before Ishiguro's impressive ability to note the small details, facial expressions, and body language of his characters. In every conversation or scene he add these details in to explain why the characters interact the way they do. These details not only create vivid and believable scenes and relationships, but the also create an effect on the reader.

Mood in most novels I have read flips back and forth between a few different feelings. In  Brave New World, the mood switched from factual and blunt to desperate and despairing a few times, but there were very few other emotions set by the characters. The students at Hailsham are written with extreme detail. This details of body language and expression create many fickle moods. This may because they are youthful and emotional, but I think its the details that allow the moods swing back and forth so quickly. The characters can experience elation, sorrow, excitement, curiosity, frustration, and apathy within a few pages. These mood swings may give the audience a bit of whiplash, but they make the novel true to reality connects with the audience easily.