Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... The remains of the day (original 1989; edition 1989)by Kazuo Ishiguro
Work InformationThe Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
» 88 more Booker Prize (27) Best Historical Fiction (109) 501 Must-Read Books (61) Folio Society (21) Books Read in 2016 (75) Books Read in 2015 (71) Favourite Books (301) Top Five Books of 2013 (168) Unreliable Narrators (19) Historical Fiction (121) Japanese Literature (36) 20th Century Literature (235) A Novel Cure (44) Big Jubilee List (4) 100 New Classics (27) Top Five Books of 2023 (122) Top Five Books of 2015 (230) BBC Radio 4 Bookclub (42) Top Five Books of 2014 (877) BBC Big Read (53) Books Read in 2020 (668) Love and Marriage (24) Books Read in 2022 (698) My favourite books (16) Overdue Podcast (144) 1980s (103) Books Read in 2019 (1,470) A's favorite novels (11) AP Lit (78) Books tagged favorites (140) Books Read in 2023 (2,122) United Kingdom (45) BBC World Book Club (15) Books Read in 2011 (84) Tagged 20th Century (17) At the Library (164) Franklit (9) Classics (4) Five star books (1,429) Unread books (619) Best of World Literature (261) Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.
An incredibly earnest and wholesome reflection on age and retirement and the insecurities and wonders that can come from any life that is lived, whether spent in servitude to some task or person, or filled with recklessness or love. The mix of historical fiction with Lord Darlington's involvement in WW2 and romance with Mrs Kenton was wonderful. The story is told through Stevens memory of events that took place in the historical manor told while Stevens travels his way to see Mrs Kenton. I use the term romance lightly because it isnt a typical cliche happy ending with eloping and marriage, and rather a soft and bittersweet blow to the heart that left me content with the way it was told. Stevens defense of Lord Darlingtons actions as a puppet of the Nazi's during WW2 served as a defense of his insecurities in a life spent in servitude aswell as a defense of a life spent nobly and filled with mistakes. "He chose a certain path in life, it proved to be a misguided one, but there, he chose it, he can say that at least. As for myself, I cannot even claim that. You see, I trusted. I trusted in his lordships wisdom. All those years I served him, I trusted I was doing something worthwhile. I cant even say I made my own mistakes. Really - one has to ask oneself - what dignity is there in that?" A brilliant look at the defining of a life well lived and how its created and critiqued through our hardships, mistakes, loves, passions, and efforts. Slow but interesting story about a parochial English butler, Stevens, who served Lord Darlington at Darlington Hall for 35 year and then in, the dying days of the British Empire, the manor house acquires a new owner: a wealthy American, Mr. Farraday, who, in Stevens’s view, has no conception of the class-based proprieties of servant and served. Stevens figures out that he has to learn to “banter” with Mr. Farraday and takes him up on his offer to use the car for a motor trip while Farraday is away. Although the story ostensibly takes place over the course of a week in July 1956 as Stevens travels to visit a former housekeeper whose services he is hoping to enlist again, it is more rumination about his decades of service. Stevens is a stuffed shirt who believes he can never step out of the character of butler—he reminded me of Carson in Downton Abbey—and it was hard to feel sympathy for his disappointments. Part of his ruminations were focused on what makes a great butler: Dignity and serving a great gentleman, who in turn serves mankind. I assume the voice of this rather sad man and his bleak outlook was authentic. I've had a used copy of this book sitting on my bookshelf for years. There were multiple times in the past that I've tried to read it. I lost count of how many times I'd read the first chapter and then set it aside for another book. Set in the post WWII era, this is a quiet and reflective story about an aging butler who has spent most of his professional career at Darlington Hall, first serving Lord Darlington and then a new American owner of the estate. In the summer of 1956 Stevens decides to take a six day motoring vacation, partially with the objective to convince a former staff member, Miss Kenton, to return to her post. As Stevens drives he recollects and eventually comes to some realizations about his father, Lord Darlington and also about Miss Kenton. Throughout most of the book Stevens is emotionally stunted, burying himself in his work and quest for perfection. His biggest pride is having a sense of utter devotion to Lord Darlington and also striving for professional dignity. I must say I struggled some with the slow pacing of the story and Steven's unemotional demeanor. At times he almost seemed like a robot given his verbal responses during incredibly sad or difficult situations. It wasn't until the end of the book that he let down his guard and actually allowed himself to have a display of emotion. For the most part, I enjoyed Ishiguro's descriptive writing but I'm not sure if I'll seek out another book by this author.
The Remains of the Day is too much a roman à thèse, and a judgmental one besides. Compared to his astounding narrative sophistication, Ishiguro's message seems quite banal: Be less Japanese, less bent on dignity, less false to yourself and others, less restrained and controlled. The irony is that it is precisely Ishiguro's beautiful restraint and control that one admires, and, in the case of the last novel [The Remains of the Day], his nerve in setting up such a high-wire act for himself. Kazuo Ishiguro's tonal control of Stevens' repressive yet continually reverberating first-person voice is dazzling. So is his ability to present the butler from every point on the compass: with affectionate humor, tart irony, criticism, compassion and full understanding. It is remarkable, too, that as we read along in this strikingly original novel, we continue to think not only about the old butler, but about his country, its politics and its culture. Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inHas the adaptationIs abridged inHas as a reference guide/companionHas as a studyHas as a student's study guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Fiction.
Literature.
HTML: From Kazuo Ishiguro, a tragic, spiritual portrait of the perfect English butler and his reaction to his fading insular world in post-war England. .No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
Ishiguro knows how to craft a damn character. One restrained man’s road trip-turned-introspection, steeped in pride, regret, and realization...all while he remains reluctant to introspect? Relatable. A slow build, but my heart broke on page 239, when Mr. Stevens admits to his own breaking. ( )