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A review by elderlingfool
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Initially I thought that I wouldn't love this book as much as everyone seems to, even though I was enjoying it. Stevens isn't the typical character I like following. He is serious and very dedicated to his job as a buttler and he comes off as boring sometimes. Only the circumstances around him kept my interest in the beginning. However, the last few pages bumped this from a four stars book to a five stars. I should be used at this point that Ishiguro leaves the best moments for last, but this one was so quiet and reflective. Not really surprising as usual, but impactful to me.
This book starts with Stevens' new american boss telling him to take some days off so the main character goes on a journey to meet a former friend and reflects on the past, when he used to serve Lord Darlington, an englishman. Through the eyes of Stevens the reader has access to his former boss' shifting political views and involvement in big world events. There is also a bit of a tragic romance.
While the plot wasn't really surprising to me since I had heard so much about this book, I still found it really engaging. Stevens' dedication to his job and pride made him ignore everything else and while his attitude can be frustrating it is without a doubt interesting.
I wish the "romance" had been more developed, but I get that the focus was more on the themes than the love story in itself. I also wish to have seen more of Lord Darlington, but once again it makes sense that Stevens didn't have access to everything and that the focus was on themes and not necessarily seeing the characters development in detail.
This book has a different feel to it compared to other Ishiguro works I read. Not only because of the setting, but because there are two major characters besides the main one. "Klara and the Sun" had something like that too, but usually the focus is mostly on the main character. Meanwhile, in this book Lord Darlington and Miss Kenton are as relevant as Stevens. Given the main character's personality there isn't also as much reflective moments as I am used to with this author's works (until the last pages).
I found it curious that this book made me chuckle because I don't remember that happening with other Ishiguro's books and then I get to the last pages that made me aware of how itentional that was and once again I was in awe about the details that this man puts into his work. I think that was what impressed me most of all here.
I still prefer "Klara and the Sun" and maybe "An Artist of the Floating World" (because I still think about it even though I remember giving it a lower rating than this), but "The Remains of the Day" is firmly in third place for now. I still have three Ishiguro novels to read and I am thankful for that since no others make me feel the way his books do.
This book starts with Stevens' new american boss telling him to take some days off so the main character goes on a journey to meet a former friend and reflects on the past, when he used to serve Lord Darlington, an englishman. Through the eyes of Stevens the reader has access to his former boss' shifting political views and involvement in big world events. There is also a bit of a tragic romance.
While the plot wasn't really surprising to me since I had heard so much about this book, I still found it really engaging. Stevens' dedication to his job and pride made him ignore everything else and while his attitude can be frustrating it is without a doubt interesting.
I wish the "romance" had been more developed, but I get that the focus was more on the themes than the love story in itself. I also wish to have seen more of Lord Darlington, but once again it makes sense that Stevens didn't have access to everything and that the focus was on themes and not necessarily seeing the characters development in detail.
This book has a different feel to it compared to other Ishiguro works I read. Not only because of the setting, but because there are two major characters besides the main one. "Klara and the Sun" had something like that too, but usually the focus is mostly on the main character. Meanwhile, in this book Lord Darlington and Miss Kenton are as relevant as Stevens. Given the main character's personality there isn't also as much reflective moments as I am used to with this author's works (until the last pages).
I found it curious that this book made me chuckle because I don't remember that happening with other Ishiguro's books and then I get to the last pages that made me aware of how itentional that was and once again I was in awe about the details that this man puts into his work. I think that was what impressed me most of all here.
I still prefer "Klara and the Sun" and maybe "An Artist of the Floating World" (because I still think about it even though I remember giving it a lower rating than this), but "The Remains of the Day" is firmly in third place for now. I still have three Ishiguro novels to read and I am thankful for that since no others make me feel the way his books do.