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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is quite a emotionally frustrating read. Ishiguro did this beautifully, as even the pacing seems to be accounted for the reader to dwell himself within the corners of this story. I believe the purpose of this book is for the reader to find the story.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was really heartbroken by Stevens’ neglect of himself in service of others, though comforted both by Ishiguro’s beautifully understated prose and the wonderful blossoming of its ending. 250 pages of stifled emotions all let out in three-or-so amazing final pages.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
The Remains of the Day is the scariest book I’ve ever read.
That might seem like an odd statement to make because on the surface this novel is just about a butler calmly looking back on his life. He’s not a creepy murderous butler or secretly a ghost or anything like that. He’s a polite and committed butler, a little repressed and overly formal, but harmless and well-meaning.
My case for this being a horror novel is that—unlike ghosts, monsters, and vampires—this book touches on ideas that can actually haunt you in life: lost opportunities, regret, the indignities of aging, and the feeling that you’ve either wasted your life or didn’t meet your full potential.
Mr Stevens, the butler protagonist, looks back on his life and slowly realizes that he missed many opportunities to break out of his comfort zone and lead a more fulfilling, happier life.
A good book club discussion would be to ask the participants if they felt the ending was hopeful or hopeless. The right answer is probably a bit of both, but I bet the answers would tell a lot about each person and lead to an interesting discussion.
I read this book during the pandemic lockdown and I remember the depressing feeling I had when I finished. I would have said then (and probably now) that Mr Stevens clearly wasted his life and that any hopeful feelings he expressed at the end is just more self delusion to help him cope with that realization.
This book did leave me with a hopeful feeling though, because I made the decision there and then to be more open to new experiences, to be more willing to take risks and escape my comfort zone. I look back on the person I was when I finished that book and the person I am now and I’d make the case that this is one of the most positive, life-affirming novels I’ve ever read. Any novel that can scare you into improving your life is special.
This is a novel I think everyone should read at some point. Hopefully not too early in life before you are ready to absorb its lessons, but that would still be better than reading it too late.
That might seem like an odd statement to make because on the surface this novel is just about a butler calmly looking back on his life. He’s not a creepy murderous butler or secretly a ghost or anything like that. He’s a polite and committed butler, a little repressed and overly formal, but harmless and well-meaning.
My case for this being a horror novel is that—unlike ghosts, monsters, and vampires—this book touches on ideas that can actually haunt you in life: lost opportunities, regret, the indignities of aging, and the feeling that you’ve either wasted your life or didn’t meet your full potential.
Mr Stevens, the butler protagonist, looks back on his life and slowly realizes that he missed many opportunities to break out of his comfort zone and lead a more fulfilling, happier life.
A good book club discussion would be to ask the participants if they felt the ending was hopeful or hopeless. The right answer is probably a bit of both, but I bet the answers would tell a lot about each person and lead to an interesting discussion.
I read this book during the pandemic lockdown and I remember the depressing feeling I had when I finished. I would have said then (and probably now) that Mr Stevens clearly wasted his life and that any hopeful feelings he expressed at the end is just more self delusion to help him cope with that realization.
This book did leave me with a hopeful feeling though, because I made the decision there and then to be more open to new experiences, to be more willing to take risks and escape my comfort zone. I look back on the person I was when I finished that book and the person I am now and I’d make the case that this is one of the most positive, life-affirming novels I’ve ever read. Any novel that can scare you into improving your life is special.
This is a novel I think everyone should read at some point. Hopefully not too early in life before you are ready to absorb its lessons, but that would still be better than reading it too late.