The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Remains of the Day
Book Review: A Comfortable Old Friend, A Review of The Remains of the Day
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my all time favourite novels. The story of a butler, Mr Sterling the main character. It also features his father also a butler and Ms Kenton the housekeeper. The book offers insights into the workings of a stately english home during the time preceding the Second World War. What I particularly enjoyed about the book are the characters and the roles they portray. Mr Stevens the younger is an incredible character that is unaware he is trapped within a class system and actually likes his role within the system. It is his sense of duty that enables his naivety to develop throughout the novel. This naive sense of duty to his most noble profession, follows a procession of events that would impact greatly upon the lives of most people. However Stevens is only aware of his sense of duty to his master. Much like a dog retruning a ball to his owner, Stevens remains unaware of the events that are unfolding around him. The role of Ms Kenton in the book is to highlight the unreal world that Mr Stevens lives within. There is an obvious sense of closeness between the two characters, however due to Stevens' sense of being honourable and the duty that comes from being honourable, this allows only evotional frustration to Ms Kenton. Stevens is a portrait of repressed identity. He is unable to come to terms with his feelings and is unable to offer opinions about the politics of his master or more importantly about his own emotions.
The Remains of the Day is a wonderful book. It is extremely well written by Ishiguro and has become a close friend. It has become a book that I return to when I want to read something of the highest quality. It is a piece of writing that I believe will pass the test of time.
Book Review: A Deserving Winner of Booker Prize
Summary: 5 Stars
Not often would you find the protagonist of a novel bereft of emotions and sentiments. Stevens, the narrator-hero of the `The Remains of the Day' is one such rarity.In the novel, Stevens, the archetypal butler, recounts his experiences in an aristocratic household in the post-war England, as he travels to meet a long separated female colleague. The aftermath of the war has rattled his cloistered and complacent life and he never reconciles to the fact that the distinguished household should ever pass on to the hands of a strange American.
This American master has given Stevens the keys of his Ford and has sent him out to explore the world. Once out of the claustrophobic atmosphere of Darlington Hall, Stevens discovers a totally different world: beautiful, expansive, informal, accommodating and full of zest.
Towards the end of the journey he is found reflecting, `I should cease looking back so much, ... I should adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of my day.'
Characterization and language contribute greatly to the enduring quality of the novel. Stevens is a very complex, self-effacing and inhibited character who likes to `minimize my presence by standing in the shadows.' He takes refuge in a highly regulated and formal lifestyle, where all human emotions are set aside. His mindless loyalty to and blind faith in his employer (`I have every trust in his lordship's good judgment.') look odd in the light of the fact that the master is a strong sympathizer of Nazi Germany and hater of Jews.
The language is tuned perfectly to the needs of the narrative -- sometimes subdued, sometimes formal or stiff-upper-lippish, but always a pleasure to read.
The novel derives its greatest strength from a big irony around which it is built: Stevens making all the fuss of himself and his master, without knowing what kind of a fool he is.
A well-deserved winner of the Booker Prize.
Book Review: A Devoted Professional
Summary: 5 Stars
Brilliant novel about a butler so dedicated to perfection that he suppresses all human emotion in the quest for professional "dignity" and service to a great man. Feelings of love, grief, guilt & shame are banished in a life of service, and Stevens is ever searching for a way to improve, even in (what should be) casual "banterings" with a new American employer. However, traces of the butler's humanity emerge as he travels the countryside in hopes of having a former maid return to Darlington Hall. The true character of his former employer, the words of a letter from Miss Kenton, and his own past behavior are under scrutiny during his travels. I loved the subtlety & elegant melancholy of this novel. Thoroughly enjoyable.Book Review: A Good Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is truly profound. The quiet narration of the text allows one to delve deep into the meaning and the character of each person involved in the novel. The drama comes not from the actions of the characters, but from the motives and psychological flaws in themBook Review: A Great Short Read
Summary: 5 Stars
If you get a chance, pick this book up. It's the story of a butler who travels down memory lane and questions the decisions he made in his life. Ishiguro does that very admirable literary task - creating an interesting story solely out of a perfectly uninteresting figure. This book shows just how many significant moral choices lie in the seemingly insignificant life and its moments. Remains of the Day is also very human in its treatment of remorse, regret, reflection, and acceptance. We see the quiet life of a butler through his quiet mind and how loud the consequences of his choices were.