Yes, that feeling exactly! Several of my friends have recommended An Artist of the Floating World to me, which is set in post-WWII Japan and likewise features an ageing protagonist trying to pretend that he has no regrets whatsoever about his past complicity in morally questionable causes (I sense this is a bit of a theme in Ishiguro), so I may try that one next...
That's a good point. I'll confess I do ship Stevens and Miss Kenton myself, but I also freely acknowledge that Stevens is a bit of an asshole and, like you say, not great husband material. I think what makes it believable for me is that it would take such a massive amount of character development for Stevens to let himself have any personal life at all, that in the (admittedly unlikely) event that he was able to take that step, I think it could just about work. I mean, he's clearly capable of great devotion, it's just all given to the wrong cause and person!
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That's a good point. I'll confess I do ship Stevens and Miss Kenton myself, but I also freely acknowledge that Stevens is a bit of an asshole and, like you say, not great husband material. I think what makes it believable for me is that it would take such a massive amount of character development for Stevens to let himself have any personal life at all, that in the (admittedly unlikely) event that he was able to take that step, I think it could just about work. I mean, he's clearly capable of great devotion, it's just all given to the wrong cause and person!