The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
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Book Reviews of The Remains of the Day
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: Carpe Diem
Summary: 5 Stars
Kazuo Ishiguro's story of an English butler's reflection on his life is a subtle discourse on the consequences of not living life to the fullest, not "seizing the day." As Mr. Stevens journeys towards a meeting with a former housekeeper, Miss Kenton, with whom he had a strange and romantically unfulfilling relationship, he remembers events spanning the period from just after WWI until 1956 about which he has deep, though barely and belatedly acknowledged regrets.Being a butler in one of England's great houses, Stevens witnesses meetings between many of Europe's high rollers. It is only through remembering (a characteristic of Ishiguro's works) that Stevens comes to realize the gross misjudgements of his employer, a Nazi sympathizer. Still, the ever loyal Stevens' defense of his former employer only shows cracks late in the novel, as his disturbing memories continue to surface.
Absorbed in his work, like his father, Stevens seems afraid to form close relationships and instead cloaks himself in the "dignity" he feels to be the most important attribute of a great butler. His rationalization of the pride he takes in such a "professional," yet colorless, existence is Ishiguro's subtle and ingenious warning about the regrets such a life eventually causes. Indeed, Steven's own father waits until his deathbed to express his regret over not being a better father.
Stevens' relationship with Miss Kenton and the eventual climax are moving. Their exchanges over the years reflect Ishiguro at his best. Unlike The Unconsoled or When We Were Orphans, there is little here that would be considered dream-like, though Ishiguro shows why he is a master of creating a mood. If you've seen the movie, you won't be able to help seeing Anthony Hopkins as Stevens, but it is still worth reading for all the added nuance Ishiguro brings to his characters. Along with The Unconsoled, Ishiguro's best!
Book Review: A fascinating, heart-rending masterpiece.
Summary: 5 Stars
For readers who prefer fast-paced thrillers or the light beach-read, "The Remains of the Day" may be just the book to pull you into serious, contemplative literature. The story is presented in the form of a butler's diary, and the time alternates between his years of service to Lord Darlington (leading up to WWII) and the "present" day, in which Lord Darlington has died and Stevens is adjusting to both his new employer and his own advancing age. Deciding to seek out a former associate who now lives in Cornwall, Stevens borrows his new employer's car and takes a "motoring trip" across the English countryside, all the while contemplating his past thirty years of service and their greater significance.
Ishiguro is truly a master of the form. I've seldom read a book by an author who seems to understand, without reservation, what good fiction does and how it is written. There are no car chases, no shouting matches, no fistfights or dead bodies. But if you let Ishiguro work his magic, he will pull you under swiftly and see you to the conclusion of this beautiful work.
As for character portraits, the butler Stevens is perhaps one of the most compelling characters I have ever met in a novel. Many times I felt myself thinking of Stevens not as an interesting (or even life-like) character or as an ideological construct but as a real person with feelings, desires and passions. As you read the book, there are quiet moments that are utterly heartbreaking. Most of this is due to understatement or implication, and being able to sense the meanings behind Stevens' actions--and especially his non-actions. The Remains of the Day presents these repressed moments of sorrow with a precision I'm not sure I've found elsewhere--even in the works of the masters. I'm anxiously awaiting my next Ishiguro novel.
Book Review: Proud and Sad, Poor and Living Like A King -- a Book of Contrasts
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes books are too long. Occasionally, they are too short. And, all too rarely, they are perfect in length. This is one book whose length is perfect.
Listening to a well mannered man servant, or butler, about his professional ideals of the service to the lord can be too much for the American reading public. But, Ishoguro does it masterfully with this insightful piece about a butler who worked for a lord basically overlapping and between the two great wars.
Pride in his work is what he describes as the professional demeanor of the butler. There are references to an equivalent to a Butler's Hall of Fame, and how our butler's father may have been one to be included - as well as himself. But, ironically, as we learn more about the revered lord to whom our butler serves, the more we learn that the butler's character exceeds the lord - who we discover is a lame "good old boy" from another generation whose best intentions become his worst nightmares.
The love for a woman is distant - they actually feel deeply for one another but never even embraced or discussed their respective emotions. The concept of human emotion is stilted in a manner which makes it difficult for American readers to understand, but the author does a great job of leading our Yank noses through such an education.
Most of the thoughts or memories occur while riding 4 days to see the butler's "almost" old flame. And, it was a great ride. Thank God, this author had the knowledge and savvy to assure us not to plod through another 4 days. I say this because during the 4 day journey, we learned, we lived, and we saw enough of the unfortunate soul from whom this book is written in the first person. We understood, and understood well, just how proud and sad the butler was, is and will be.
Book Review: Powerful writing, constantly engaging.
Summary: 5 Stars
The Remains of the Day, by the magnificent Kazuo Ishiguro, is the story of a Butler named Steven's, who in the twilight of his career takes a journey to visit an old colleague. That journey is a just a backdrop to the heart of the novel, which is Stevens reminiscing on past events, as a Butler to the late Lord Darlington for decades, and about life itself, including some surprisingly fascinating analysis on the meaning of the word dignity and the significance of social banter.
The events the main character takes us back to are sometimes life or world changing, and sometime are seemingly not very significant, but all combine to really show us his journey from his perspective, and tells us what kind of man this longtime loyal servant is. Stevens is not always an entirely likable protagonist. Sometimes he comes off as arrogant and often he feels emotionless. But he's sympathetic because he sticks to what he believes, and is a victim in many ways of believing it so strongly and of his upstanding loyalty to his late employer. There is heart raging scene of tragedy, which I will not give away, that left me in tears and in particular summons the kind of man he is. Miss Kenton, the old colleague whom he's on his way to visit in the present, as well as Lord Darlington, take a huge presence, and both are well drawn, always from Stevens' perspective. Stevens is kind in his describing of Lord Darlington, but even so the darkness of his late employer is not hidden.
The Novel taps on themes of class, loyalty, fascism, dignity, wealth, and democracy. There is comedy, drama, beauty, and in an indirect way romance. It's magnificent writing which never hints at quite where it will take you next. Highly recommended.