Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - The Remains of the Day

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Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

87 reviews

v171's review against another edition

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emotional reflective relaxing 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

4.0

Ishiguro will never cease to amaze me with how well he constructs such an intimate, gentle story that keeps me invested and in love with the characters. The Remains of the Day was just that and more. The character development was impeccable, being realistic but also interesting. The construction of the story was also excellent, seamlessly weaving the current day with the main character's nostalgic memories, but joining each beat with a common theme. While the story felt slow and aimless at times, I still couldn't help but fall in love with it. Ishiguro is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

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literalottie's review against another edition

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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

Absolutely beautiful. After I read (and loved) Never Let Me Go I knew I had to read more of Ishiguro's work, and I figured his most acclaimed novel would be the best place to start. While this didn't floor me quite as much as the former did, I am still amazed by how beautiful Ishiguro's writing is.

Much of what made Never Let Me Go brilliant also makes this brilliant, despite them also being so different and distinct from each other. To borrow a phrase I used in my review of the formed, The Remains of the Day is a similarly "quietly heartbreaking" novel. The voice of our main character, Stevens, feels so authentic and compelling, and despite me not being an aging English butler, I found him strangely relatable. I felt like I learnt a lot from Stevens, and also learnt a lot beside him.

I love how Ishiguro frames the story around memories and the recollection of them - how one moment can inspire recollection of another, which in turn leads to another. Despite it being incredibly genuine to how people think and feel, you'd think it would make for unruly and messy storytelling, but Ishiguro pulls it off expertly. I already have my next book of choice of his on order, and I look forward to seeing more of what he has to offer.

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berrytoki's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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9_13kg's review against another edition

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reflective relaxing 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

5.0

This book compliments really well with "Klara and the Sun", in which the main narrator of the books have a limited perception of the world, and are only able to see the 'outside world' from their small knowledge of it (this was also something that Kazuo Ishiguro mentioned in an interview).

Some parts of the book do seem extremely slow-placed and descriptive, however, once you immerse yourself in the setting, each paragraph flows beautifully and portrays the manner in which Stevens thinks of the experiences he reflects upon.

I also felt that the writing left many parts of Steven's emotions unsaid, again adding to the "dignity" which Stevens hold so highly in his philosophy and dedication as a butler, and carries into his actions and observations, even in his more private feelings.

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dee_dreams's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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berodatheelf's review against another edition

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emotional 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? Yes

3.5

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scruffie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Didn't feel slow-paced to me. Then again, I have been getting used to Ishiguro's writing style. Very predictable story, but quite an emotional journey. Never Let Me Go was the first of Ishiguro's I read and I'm already looking forward to reading a third one.

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