NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro's next will be one for lovers.
Alfred A. Knopf announced Thursday that Ishiguro's 鈥淭he Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain,鈥� coming out March 5, is a collection of lyrics written for the million-selling jazz singer Stacey Kent. Ishiguro and Kent are longtime friends and collaborators; Ishiguro wrote lyrics for a handful of songs on Kent's 鈥淏reakfast on the Morning Tram,鈥� which in 2009 received a Grammy nomination for best jazz vocal album, and also contributed to such Kent albums as 鈥淒reamer in Concert鈥� and 鈥淚 Know I Dream.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e built a reputation over the years as a writer of stories, but I started out writing songs,鈥� Ishiguro, best known for such novels as 鈥淭he Remains of the Day鈥� and 鈥淣ever Let Me Go,鈥� said in a statement Thursday.
The book combines older compositions dating back to 2007 and four 鈥渃inema鈥� works for an upcoming project with Kent. 鈥淭he Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain鈥� also includes an introduction by Ishiguro, illustrations by the Italian artist Bianca Bagnarelli and a QR code that links to an album of Kent performing songs by the author.
鈥淜azuo Ishiguro has often said that he views the songwriting he did in his youth as an apprenticeship for his work as a novelist, and in this beguiling book of lyrics for the American jazz musician Stacy Kent one feels a variation on the haunting sorrow and hopefulness that echo through each of his novels," Knopf Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Jordan Pavlin said in a statement.
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
