Ishiguro has written some very strong novels, but this collection of five stories is stilted and amateurish compared to his longer works. Loosely tied with a theme of music, much of the dialogue is artificial and hard to accept. The final story even confuses one as to the point of view -- "told" by a narrator who barely knows the main characters yet somehow knows of all their personal encounters, although he could not have. There are glimpses of Ishiguro's subtle approach, but it is too often clouded in farce and fantasy.