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A review by xcblackdiamond
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
5.0
A Nobel Prize winner, and deservedly so.
As a predominantly genre fiction reader (though I've tried to branch out more, as you can see) I could see myself finding period fiction lacking a certain amount of depth, complexity, or scope compared to the best of genre fiction. However, I tell myself that there is beauty in simplicity when the execution is done right, and The Remains of the Day is a great example. It's a fairly short novel, but the few characters really fly off the page, and I'd never get tired of Mr Stevens and Miss Kenton scenes. I was very invested in the respective fates of these characters despite how inevitably trivial these fates are, because the book brings meaning to this triviality. The book also explores a couple themes and does so with great skill and respect. Newsweek describes The Remains of the Day as "quietly devastating" and I can't agree more. Your heart will hurt for love lost, time wasted, and life unfulfilled, while you also find joy in what you do have and what you can provide for yourself, those you love, and the world. That inner peace is never permanent, as one is more likely to bounce between the two extremes, but that's part of the lesson too, that being human is living in that space and confronting it.
Narratively, it was a consistent joy to be in Mr Stevens' PoV. He is very much "unreliable" but it is the best use of an unreliable narrator I've seen because the unreliability is genuine! He does not know his own inner workings, as he's always shutting out the truth of matters in the name of dignity, and being able to deduce what Stevens may or may not be truly feeling based on his narration was, as I said, a consistent joy. These instances are also great in being able to build up the themes of the novel and Stevens' character. Every event is also "recalled" in place of any present PoV dialogue or action. This, I'm realizing now, enhances the themes of shutting out the present issues at hand, but it also gives the narrative a luster of nostalgia and melancholy.
I haven't even touched on the political aspirations of the book, or more spoiler reason as to why The Remains of the Day can hit like a truck, but they are there and expertly done. I highly recommend this short but sweet, rightfully acclaimed novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. Easy 5 stars.
Oh, and there's plenty more by Ishiguro that I'm excited to eventually delve into.
As a predominantly genre fiction reader (though I've tried to branch out more, as you can see) I could see myself finding period fiction lacking a certain amount of depth, complexity, or scope compared to the best of genre fiction. However, I tell myself that there is beauty in simplicity when the execution is done right, and The Remains of the Day is a great example. It's a fairly short novel, but the few characters really fly off the page, and I'd never get tired of Mr Stevens and Miss Kenton scenes. I was very invested in the respective fates of these characters despite how inevitably trivial these fates are, because the book brings meaning to this triviality. The book also explores a couple themes and does so with great skill and respect. Newsweek describes The Remains of the Day as "quietly devastating" and I can't agree more. Your heart will hurt for love lost, time wasted, and life unfulfilled, while you also find joy in what you do have and what you can provide for yourself, those you love, and the world. That inner peace is never permanent, as one is more likely to bounce between the two extremes, but that's part of the lesson too, that being human is living in that space and confronting it.
Narratively, it was a consistent joy to be in Mr Stevens' PoV. He is very much "unreliable" but it is the best use of an unreliable narrator I've seen because the unreliability is genuine! He does not know his own inner workings, as he's always shutting out the truth of matters in the name of dignity, and being able to deduce what Stevens may or may not be truly feeling based on his narration was, as I said, a consistent joy. These instances are also great in being able to build up the themes of the novel and Stevens' character. Every event is also "recalled" in place of any present PoV dialogue or action. This, I'm realizing now, enhances the themes of shutting out the present issues at hand, but it also gives the narrative a luster of nostalgia and melancholy.
I haven't even touched on the political aspirations of the book, or more spoiler reason as to why The Remains of the Day can hit like a truck, but they are there and expertly done. I highly recommend this short but sweet, rightfully acclaimed novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. Easy 5 stars.
Oh, and there's plenty more by Ishiguro that I'm excited to eventually delve into.