From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, here is the universally acclaimed novel—winner of the Booker Prize and the basis for an award-winning film. This is Kazuo Ishiguro’s profoundly compelling portrait of Stevens, the perfect butler, and of his fading, insular world in post-World War II England. Stevens, at the end of three decades of service at Darlington Hall, spending a day on a … spending a day on a country drive, embarks as well on a journey through the past in an effort to reassure himself that he has served humanity by serving the “great gentleman,” Lord Darlington. But lurking in his memory are doubts about the true nature of Lord Darlington’s “greatness,” and much graver doubts about the nature of his own life.
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I loved this quiet and introspective story. It was different in some ways than the movie, understandably, yet also very similar in others. The story unfolds as he looks back on some moments of his life and the role he has played. I really enjoy reading books like this that can be brilliant in their subtlety.
My favorite author is Kazuo Ishiguro, probably most well known for Never Let Me Go. But I’d strongly recommend starting with The Remains of the Day!
Brilliant insight into the servant class in the waning days of British aristocracy, and the tragedy of repressed feelings. Beautifully written.
I love this book. It is understated, the writing is beautiful, and it is one of the most unexpected love stories I have ever read. A manor requires the services of a housekeeper. The butler sets off to find the woman who was once housekeeper in the manor where he has served for many years. In the course of his travels, he remembers the past, which occurs during the rise of Hitler. What he is ignorant of at the time is the fact that the lord whom he serves is part of a ring of British Nazis. The butler himself is completely apolitical, and his very neutrality is a major flaw. A deeper, more paralyzing flaw is that he is terribly repressed. The housekeeper tries to draw him out, but he stubbornly resists. Her feelings for him are obvious to the reader but not to him. Ultimately, it’s a sad story of lost opportunity and undiscovered love.
A perfect character study using an unreliable narrator. The reader knows more about the butler’s personality than the butler knows about himself.
An excellent book. While the movie and the book diverge the differences do not ruin either.
The book is an intimate look at a man, his life and his choices, at all times striving to do his best, and the few regrets he had with his life as he finds himself winding down in the evening of his life.
Well, done! A fast read and a lovely story.
Ishigura’s Masterpiece.
On the surface, not much happens in The Remains of the Day. A butler drives through the English countryside and reminisces about the work he did for his former employer. But as in Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro manages to imbue each sentence with significance, slowly revealing more and more about the attitudes of the late Lord Darlington and the role of his butler. I kept expecting to grow bored, but I was instead mesmerized by this beautifully crafted meditation on loyalty, integrity and regret.
The potential inhumanity of powerful individuals and the expendability of those over whom they have power is terrifying
Just beautifully written…
Wonderful book.
But it’s not easy reading
I truly don’t know what to say about this book. I thought I’d be bored but, I kept reading… and reading and, reading. Stevens, the main character, is a an English butler. He refers to it as a profession. Strangely, I just kept going as he described the art of polishing Silver and other duties involved in overseeing a manor. I guess there’s a reasons it’s so famous!
It’s a brief book, and it doesn’t hit you in the face, but you certainly end up thinking about your own life and how you want to live the rest of it.
Uplifting and heartbreaking.
Enjoyed this book and the movie also. Interesting perspective on England on the verge of WWII. Very thought-provoking book as the main character reflects on his life which he has dedicated “in service” as a butler. He has denied himself many things, including a closer relationship with the housekeeper because of his dedication to this “profession.” Was it worth it?
“The evening’s the best part of the day. You’ve done your day’s work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it.”
Stevens is a Butler, one of the last few greats. With the demise of his previous employer, Darlington Hall is now in the hands of an American businessman. His new employer suggests it’s time for Stevens to take a holiday and get away from the estate for a week. And so he sets off… reminiscing on his life, of fellow servant Ms. Kenton, choices made or not made, and wonders…just who he really is.
The writing style took me a bit to get used to, and the start is a bit slow, but once I got used to the story and the wording, it flowed really well. Everything, even reputation, depended on how well they handled their stations and how well their households were ran. Without their stations their identities were lost. It was interesting to see how estates were ran from the staff’s POV.
Amazing portrait of two souls in love but their status in life prevented them from fulfilling that love. The book could easily have been called “The Remains of a Life.”
one of my all-time favorites from one of my all-time favorite writers.
Really liked