A review by miagw962
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

"But we could still have chaps like you taking messages back and forth, bringing tea, that sort of thing. Otherwise, how would we ever get anything done? Can you imagine it, Stevens? All of us rooted in the soil? Just imagine it!"

Third book in a row that I've rated 5 stars which is extremely exciting. I picked up The Remains of the Day simply because it was Ishiguro - I've only ever read Never Let Me Go which I liked but didn't move me in the way that I expected it would. I did, however, enjoy Ishiguro's quiet, sensible yet emotive style of writing that made his characters seem so tangible. I did not expect to fall in love with The Remains of the Day  - in fact, I was told I might find it tedious or just kind of odd considering it is a little historical fiction that only shows the perspective of Mr Stevens, a butler in the mid-19th century. Guess what? I did indeed fall in love with every moment of it. There was a point where I kind of slowed down reading the book but that was mostly because I had other stuff on. I don't know how Ishiguro has written something so purposefully emotionally charged yet so indifferent and content. At every moment, I felt like I knew how Stevens was going to react to things, I felt after all this time I completely understood why he reacted in the ways that he did. He both frustrated me and warmed my heart. I can barely describe it - I just wanted to tell him 'hey, it's ok to let your feelings show' and he'd probably reply back 'I'm perfectly fine, I have no idea what you're talking about' (but probably in some proper, more polite English). I was crying maybe for the last 20 pages of the book. I was getting really upset knowing it would end with Stevens being like 'oh well, I've had a pretty nice career' WHICH HE HAS but I need him to know that people love him and he deserves happiness. AHHHHHH I feel so strongly for this character. I was just so upset by the end, it was so so so bittersweet. Indescribable things I feel. Anyway I will indeed be watching the movie which I've heard is a beautiful adaptation and am really looking forward to it.
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