The first time I read "A Family Supper" by Kazuo Ishiguro, it appeared to be a simple story about a son who comes home after being gone for a few years, who talks about recent family events, and rehashes old memories from childhood with his father and sister while waiting for supper to be prepared. After reading it again I realized however, that Ishiguro hid vital foreshadowing within the plot using dialogue, symbolism, and description. These important clues are not apparent at the time, but they reveal their significance at the story's end.

The first few lines of the story set the stage for the entire work: "Fugu is a fish caught off the shores of Japan. The fish has held a special significance for me ever since my mother died through eating one" (338). If he were to stop right there and contemplate the relevance of this sentence...