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A review by pagesofnectar
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
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? It's complicated
2.0
Oh my Gosh, I should just really give up on Ishiguro!
The first book of his I read was "Never Let Me Go" which I found extremely underwhelming and after a good five years I decided to pick up this as well, since it's been sitting on my shelf for a while. But I just can't get why this man's writing fascinates.
So, first, writing wise: I'm very, very underwhelmed! I'm trying to find the Nobel prize worthy writing in this and I simply can't. I've come to believe that Literature Nobels are like the Oscars. There is no characteristic writing style, no special writing to make this book memorable. Are there powerful descriptions in it? Not in my opinion. I found the descriptions to be pretty basic, like you've teached a highschool student how to craft adequate descriptions and now they repeat the pattern in all their essays, which pass the exams but are neither memorable nor special. As for the narrative, I found nothing special in it, either. If anything, the guy is constantly repeating himself, and, having read another book of his, I doubt it's for the purpose of giving his narrator a characteristic, personalised manner. Nothing appealed to me to keep reading his narration, nothing intrigued me.
Plot wise: I understand this is supposed to comment on the political and social state of the specific era in the specific country, but I don't think hearing a cold, English butler being (or, more accurately, gaslighting himself to feel) so absolutely euphoric and privileged to be able to serve a fascist scumbag, with no recognition at all of the classist injustice he's going through, praising his rich master and his exhausting load of work, was the way to do it for me. Also, was there supposed to be a romantic tension between him and the woman? Cause the only thing I noticed between them was a huuuge block of ice. I saw some reviews mentioning "unrequited love" but those two people literally exchanged the most typical of sentences and had never actually communicated. The lack of emotion both in narrative and description that I saw both in this and "Never Let Me Go" really discourages me from reading any more of his books, since this author makes me feel literally nothing and I'm the kind of person that feels all the feels from the simplest things and cries because the sky is a specific colour or something, so yeah, Ishiguro, this quiet evoking of emotion through discreet writing you're trying to pull off ain't working between us...
The first book of his I read was "Never Let Me Go" which I found extremely underwhelming and after a good five years I decided to pick up this as well, since it's been sitting on my shelf for a while. But I just can't get why this man's writing fascinates.
So, first, writing wise: I'm very, very underwhelmed! I'm trying to find the Nobel prize worthy writing in this and I simply can't. I've come to believe that Literature Nobels are like the Oscars. There is no characteristic writing style, no special writing to make this book memorable. Are there powerful descriptions in it? Not in my opinion. I found the descriptions to be pretty basic, like you've teached a highschool student how to craft adequate descriptions and now they repeat the pattern in all their essays, which pass the exams but are neither memorable nor special. As for the narrative, I found nothing special in it, either. If anything, the guy is constantly repeating himself, and, having read another book of his, I doubt it's for the purpose of giving his narrator a characteristic, personalised manner. Nothing appealed to me to keep reading his narration, nothing intrigued me.
Plot wise: I understand this is supposed to comment on the political and social state of the specific era in the specific country, but I don't think hearing a cold, English butler being (or, more accurately, gaslighting himself to feel) so absolutely euphoric and privileged to be able to serve a fascist scumbag, with no recognition at all of the classist injustice he's going through, praising his rich master and his exhausting load of work, was the way to do it for me. Also, was there supposed to be a romantic tension between him and the woman? Cause the only thing I noticed between them was a huuuge block of ice. I saw some reviews mentioning "unrequited love" but those two people literally exchanged the most typical of sentences and had never actually communicated. The lack of emotion both in narrative and description that I saw both in this and "Never Let Me Go" really discourages me from reading any more of his books, since this author makes me feel literally nothing and I'm the kind of person that feels all the feels from the simplest things and cries because the sky is a specific colour or something, so yeah, Ishiguro, this quiet evoking of emotion through discreet writing you're trying to pull off ain't working between us...