JAPANESE-born, British-raised Kazuo Ishiguro is an author who has cornered the market in anti-heroes, characters who display failings.
In his most famous novel, Remains of the Day, the butler fails to act on his romantic feelings.
Nocturnes, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Allen & Unwin, rrp $29.99
And in Nocturnes, a series of short stories with a cursory theme of music, many of the characters fail to reach their potential: couples separate, ambitions fall short, issues remain unresolved. In one sense this makes these characters appealing, the reader feels for their plight - it's also refreshing to have a dose of real life in a novel.
However, it can be disconcerting.
In one short story, a faded star and a wannabe star - wrapped in bandages after plastic surgery - wander the halls of a posh hotel during the night, souveniring trinkets on their ventures.
In another, a failing songwriter returns to his childhood home in the English countryside, reliving the grudge against an old school teacher while witnessing the crumbling marriage of a couple of tourists.
While some may find wit in Ishiguro's writing, others may find it grating, such as when a character goes to farcical lengths to mask a trivial crime.
But generally Nocturnes is an easy-to-read novel, typical of the author's style, that explores what happens when life falls short of our expectations.
