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jgverrero's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
How is it that Ishiguro can write that relentlessly loyal character more than once? Behold, "The Remains of the Day", my second novel read by Ishiguro followed by "Klara and the Sun."
At the decline of British aristocracy in the end of WW2, we follow Stevens on a six day vacation outside of Darlington Hall proposed by his new employer, an American. As he moves further away, flashback by flashback in a formal stream of consciousness catch glimpses of the truth, and how unsettling they are! How do we frame the past? How do we define purpose? Bit by bit, mostly not through what he tells us but instead precisely through what he does not tell we come to see that poor Stevens is perhaps the most unreliable narrator there ever was.
The most fascinating thing about characters like Stevens is how dubious they are. Although he is a devoted butler, and even remains loyal to the memory of Lord Darlington, he never fully admits that the man he had spent his life serving and admiring was in fact not so great. It reminded me a lot of Klara, which was one of the few books to make me cry. I mean it really takes a literary genius to manage it.
You have to be very comfortable with a laborious read to get the most out of Ishiguro's quiet messages that are hidden within a prose of high proficiency. Reading his work is like a compressing wrapped around your chest that slowly, almost unnoticeably, gets tighter and tighter. When you finally reach your moment of clarity the compressions unconstructs itself from you and you take your first breath. If you're like me, it'll be a gasp and some tears will follow.
At the decline of British aristocracy in the end of WW2, we follow Stevens on a six day vacation outside of Darlington Hall proposed by his new employer, an American. As he moves further away, flashback by flashback in a formal stream of consciousness catch glimpses of the truth, and how unsettling they are! How do we frame the past? How do we define purpose? Bit by bit, mostly not through what he tells us but instead precisely through what he does not tell we come to see that poor Stevens is perhaps the most unreliable narrator there ever was.
The most fascinating thing about characters like Stevens is how dubious they are. Although he is a devoted butler, and even remains loyal to the memory of Lord Darlington, he never fully admits that the man he had spent his life serving and admiring was in fact not so great. It reminded me a lot of Klara, which was one of the few books to make me cry. I mean it really takes a literary genius to manage it.
You have to be very comfortable with a laborious read to get the most out of Ishiguro's quiet messages that are hidden within a prose of high proficiency. Reading his work is like a compressing wrapped around your chest that slowly, almost unnoticeably, gets tighter and tighter. When you finally reach your moment of clarity the compressions unconstructs itself from you and you take your first breath. If you're like me, it'll be a gasp and some tears will follow.
smeyers98's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mauspenguin's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
megane_panda's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bhnmt61's review against another edition
5.0
Mr Stevens, the butler of a distinguished British household in the years leading up to and following World War II, finds himself toward the end of his career reminiscing about his life. The book is written to someone, as if he were writing a letter, but the person he is addressing is never specifically identified (that I remember). It is beautifully written, and the heavily repressed butler is fully realized as a complex and lovely and tragic human being. Unlike almost every book I’ve read, it did not seem too long. It is exactly as long as it needs to be. I’m giving it five stars because I admire it so much— the writing is brilliant— but I have to admit my usual standard is how much I enjoyed reading it, and by that standard it’s more a four star read.
irisjune's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Such skillful writing, conveying layers of identity, memory, and regret
cristamajo's review against another edition
5.0
Man.... Ishiguro is my favorite author of all time. Literary genius. I'm currently writing a paper on this, so I don't really have it in me to give this the review it deserves, but my god this is spectacular
notrg's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
stierwood's review against another edition
5.0
Oh I did not expect this strange, delightful book to be so devastating as well. Ishiguro gets so into his character— I’ve rarely read one so fleshed out before and it makes him all the more sympathetic. A book about indecision, about performance of all types, about possession, loyalty, dignity. Last sentence particularly got me. Thinking back on my old coworkers in food service jobs who pissed me off so bad cause they had sticks up their asses and took shit way too seriously with newfound, I don’t know, sympathy? Stevens pissed me off too. But I was devastated by his character. The tension between being a possession, a pawn in a system, and possessing one’s own destiny. Loved miss kenton. Diva.