Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved this book more than I thought I would! At first it felt like a memoir of a rather pompous, uptight butler reflecting on his life in dying industry. However I warmed to him and was invested in his relationship with the housekeeper which made their reunion very poignant. The book ended on a reflective note with the title making sense. Very enjoyable and a quick read
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
God this was brilliant. Ishiguro is such a talented writer and subtlety is certainly what he does best. The measure with which this story was delivered was frankly phenomenal. I assumed this would take me longer to get through, given the quite wordy prose and halting on minor details (with absolute purpose every time) but I flew through this and was riveted throughout. Mr Steven’s narrative is laden with melancholy as he unfolds his consciousness before us, always behind the reader as they uncover his mistakes that he struggles to recognise. The formulation of his immense love for Miss Kenton through these gaps of deliberate ignorance is therefore breathtakingly complex and sad. The political threads, the notion of ‘dignity’ leading to him having dedicated his life to a complicit Nazi and his refusal to accept it, never having known, by demonstration of his father, anything else to do are perfectly woven. What we are left with is a sorrowful story of unadmitted regret fostered by a role Mr Stevens could never allow himself to break out of, truly believing that his position as a dignified butler would be a fulfilling purpose for his entire life. Fucking hell this was so excellently crafted.
But what is the sense in forever speculating what might have happened had such and such a moment turned out differently? One could presumably drive oneself to distraction in this way. In any case, while it is all very well to talk of 'turning points', one can surely only recognize such moments in retrospect. Naturally, when one looks back to such instances today, they may indeed take the appearance of being crucial, precious moments in one's life; but of course, at the time, this was not the impression one had. Rather, it was as though one had available a never-ending number of days, months, years in which to sort out the vagaries of one's relationship with Miss Kenton; an infinite number of further opportunities in which to remedy the effect of this or that misunderstanding. There was surely nothing to indicate at the time that such evidently small incidents would render whole dreams forever irredeemable.
But what is the sense in forever speculating what might have happened had such and such a moment turned out differently? One could presumably drive oneself to distraction in this way. In any case, while it is all very well to talk of 'turning points', one can surely only recognize such moments in retrospect. Naturally, when one looks back to such instances today, they may indeed take the appearance of being crucial, precious moments in one's life; but of course, at the time, this was not the impression one had. Rather, it was as though one had available a never-ending number of days, months, years in which to sort out the vagaries of one's relationship with Miss Kenton; an infinite number of further opportunities in which to remedy the effect of this or that misunderstanding. There was surely nothing to indicate at the time that such evidently small incidents would render whole dreams forever irredeemable.
adventurous
emotional
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A beautiful but subtle book, not at all what I expected. You have to persevere with it, but it's worth it in the end.
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finished in one sitting. I always love Ishiguro’s viewpoints, never feels like you’re supposed to agree with the protagonist but instead go on the journey with them, but he also has a very interesting way of writing repressed characters which this has in abundance. It’s odd to stay it’s a page turner because not a lot happens, but I guess that’s the importance of the little things that do. A wonderful and brief story.
It’s about as good as everybody says it is!
Melancholy indeed, but not irredeemably so. Makes you think about the important things in life, which is a fine quality in art.
Melancholy indeed, but not irredeemably so. Makes you think about the important things in life, which is a fine quality in art.