Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating - works on a number of levels.
Review: On one level, this is simply the well-written tale of an English butler. On another, it is a Japanese author's allegory about the striking parallels between British and Asian society. The sense of honor, duty and dignity that Stevens carries is precisely what one finds in many Asian and Asian-American families, with characteristic traits of emotional restraint and self-sacrifical service. Ishiguro has found in England an analogy for the Asian culture he hails from. And yet this is a story with far wider application. It speaks a word of warning to the many workaholic Americans who spend their lives in professional pursuits at the expense of family concerns and personal growth. It also has ramifications for communication theory and interpersonal relationships. Very often the genius of the narrative is not in what the author says, but what is left unsaid, which the reader is left to intuit from the subtleties of the text. All in all, an amazing work - one of the few where both book and movie provide finely crafted dialogue and well-developed characterization.
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Summary: A Butler Procedural, A Repressed Romance, And . . .
Review: "The Remains of the Day", Kazuo Ishiguro's 1989 Booker Prize winning novel, is the slim memoir of Stevens, a lifelong British butler, recounting his glory days before the second World War at the infamous Darlington Hall, while on a road trip through the English countryside. Or at least that is what a cursory read-through would leave the reader believing. In fact, it is much more than that. "The Remains of the Day" is actually three books in one, a fact that I will now elaborate on. Firstly, it is a fine butler procedural. "Surely it is enough that the likes of you and I," Stevens writes to his ideal reader, "at least try to make our small contribution count for something true and worthy." Having attained a high position in one of England's finer homes, he has had the chance to rub shoulders with not only the most important political figures of the day (he's even met Mr. Churchill), but with some of the finest modern butlers. Men such as Mr. Graham and Mr. Donalds, names that his reader will most assuredly be familiar. They not only discuss amongst themselves the various butlering trends of the day (e.g. methods of polishing silver; how to remain constantly at their master's service while remaining out of sight), but also the less tangible characteristics of a good butler, such as dignity and loyalty. On the former characteristic, Stevens gives an example from his father's history, as well as his own that illustrate his notions on the subject of dignity. His example concerns the Conference of March 1923, an attempt by Lord Darlington to retract the Treaty of Versailles. Already taxed during this busy weekend, Stevens is further inconvenienced when his father, a legendary butler in his own time now working at Darlington Hall during his waning years, falls gravely ill. During his father's last moments, Stevens never strays from duty, even going so far as to find fresh bandages for the French delegate's feet. You will agree that a butler, born to serve, must keep his mind on his duties at all times, personal feelings be damned. As to the second characteristic, loyalty, Stevens maintains that, "it is... not possible to adopt... a critical attitude towards an employer and at the same time provide good service." Thus, he turns a blind eye to the popular opinion that Lord Darlington more hurt than helped England's cause. Paradoxically, Stevens doesn't advocate loyalty to an employer obviously not deserving of such. How does one achieve both goals? It is a question not even a butler of Stevens' caliber can fully answer, although in asking the question one has taken the first step towards enlightenment. Besides being a butler procedural, "The Remains of the Day" is also a love story. But not your typical love story, for most of the romance is beneath the surface, hidden from even those involved. Part of the reason for Stevens' holiday in the country is the desire to be reacquainted with one Miss Kenton, the housekeeper at Darlington Hall during its halcyon days. She, having just divorced from her husband, may be interested in returning to her former post. Stevens, never admitting his feelings for Miss Kenton, is excited by this prospect. But why did he not snatch her up when he had the chance? More apt to do what's good for the house than what's good for himself, Stevens "always found such liaisons [two members of the staff deciding to marry one another] a serious threat to the order in a house." So he represses his feelings. Much of the memoir's suspense comes from wondering what will happen when Stevens, out of his professional stuffy surroundings, finally meets Miss Kenton again. I'll not spoil the fun, but will warn the reader to bring along some hankies. Despite not being a conventional love story, "The Remains of the Day" succeeds at pulling your heartstrings. Despite the tone I've adopted so far, I suspect a clever reader will have seen through my ruse. Implications abound above that "The Remains of the Day" is non-fiction. Sorry to mislead you, but you see I was trying to make a point. Just as a reader should not take anything I've said so far at face value, they also should not wholly put their trust in Stevens' words. For he is, in my opinion, the epitome of the post-modern rhetorical device that I find most fascinating: the unreliable narrator. Stevens thinks he is doing his best to relate the events of his life, and, as a byproduct of this, clear Lord Darlington's name. But he is too stuffy and too reserved to fully complete his task. Several moments in the book explicitly point out that he -- intentionally or otherwise -- is hiding the real facts, for they do not support his hypothesis. When asked by a man helping him with his dry radiator if he, "used to work for that Lord Darlington?" Stevens implies that he didn't. Stevens is not able to come up with an answer for why he misled the man, but a perceptive reader will. Later, after he's spent four pages trying (unsuccessfully) to refute claims of Lord Darlington's anti-Semitism, Stevens realizes he has digressed from what must be the reader's real interest, the trend of meticulous silver polishing. Unconsciously, he leapt off on a tangent. When he realized that maybe he was in dangerous territory, he quickly backpedaled. Very telling. Ishiguro, Japanese born but British bred and educated, captures the prudent voice of the English butler perfectly. He never falters in his accurate portrayal, to the point where a reader wouldn't be blamed for really thinking this a memoir. Along with this accuracy comes a story, full of mystery and romance and political intrigue and remorse, that, despite its lack of a propulsive narrative, never ceases to be a page-turner.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Most Perfect Books I've Ever Read
Review: The centerpiece of Kazuo Ishiguro's understated, beautiful and perfect novel, THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, is its protagonist, the "perfect" butler, Stevens. Set in 1956, Stevens has devoted the better part of his life to the service of Lord Darlington, the now deceased, former inhabitant of Darlington Hall, one of the great English country manor houses. Darlington Hall is now owned by an American businessman, not really the kind of person Stevens enjoys, but one he serves impeccably, for after all, Stevens and his family have been "in service" for as long as Stevens can remember and he fells that service has its own special place in the world and in shaping history. Stevens is a man who has sacrificed personal happiness for a sense of duty and, as he begins a motor trip to England's West Country, he comes to realize just how much he has sacrificed and how little he really knows himself. The reason for Stevens' journey to the West Country contains an outward purpose and an inward one. Outwardly, Stevens says he is making the journey in order to persuade Darlington Hall's former housekeeper, Miss Kenton, to return. But inwardly, Stevens comes to realize that he is making the journey for personal reasons...for reasons that have little to do with Darlington Hall and everything to do with both himself and Miss Kenton. We learn about Stevens' past (and his former interaction with Miss Kenton), through flashbacks as Stevens writes in his travel diary. I am not a fan of flashbacks, but Ishiguro handles the flashbacks in THE REMAINS OF THE DAY so perfectly that they never seem intrusive and never interrupt the forward thrust of the narrative. This is most definitely a character driven novel as opposed to a plot driven one and one that is quiet, restrained and understated as well. However, this "quietness" doesn't mean that we don't learn a lot about Stevens. We do. As Stevens journeys to the West Country, he also makes a journey inward and we learn who he is is and what he has given up, all in the name of duty. The background against which the flashbacks (and the then still alive Lord Darlington) is set, is pre-war England. This adds yet another layer to this rich and complex book when we learn what Stevens is loathe to admit to himself...that Lord Darlington was a Nazi sympathizer...perhaps more...but never the "great" and "wonderful" man that Stevens has imagined him to be. This makes Stevens lost youth all the more sad, all the more poignant as he must come to realize that his service to Lord Darlington did little to promote anything that was good. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is a perfectly nuanced book, and it does become quite sad when we realize that Stevens must somehow come to terms with the fact that his life "in service" really didn't have the meaning he'd thought it had and that he wasted many years of his life...years he is now desperately attempting to recapture. For me, THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is a perfect book. Nothing about it is out of place and each set piece, each scene, contributes greatly to the whole. Ishiguro's prose is, as always, perfectly suited to his subject matter...it's cool, it's restrained, it's understated...it's as perfect as Stevens, himself, strives to be. Although THE REMAINS OF THE DAY may seem to be a totally different "type" of book from THE UNCONSOLED, A PALE VIEW OF HILLS, AN ARTIST OF THE FLOATING WORLD or WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS, a close inspection should tell most readers that all of the books share the same theme...the exploration of memory and memory's reliability. I can't recommend THE REMAINS OF THE DAY highly enough. Although the film was wonderful, people who saw the film should still read the book. They'll get a deeper, richer portrait of Stevens and Lord Darlington in the book and Ishiguro's beautiful prose should not be missed. Recommended to everyone...with no reservations.
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Summary: The High Price of Perfection
Review: Sometimes I think there can't be a more perfect novel than "The Remains of the Day." I am a great fan of Kazuo Ishiguro and have read all of his books, and while all of them are superb and all are literature of the highest order, "The Remains of the Day" is certainly his very best. "The Remains of the Day" is the story of Stevens, the perfect English butler and of how his devotion to duty and his negation of emotion virtually annihilates his sense of self. Stevens is "in service" at Darlington Hall, the home of Lord Darlington during the years between World War I and World War II. Complications arise for Stevens when he finds he must replace two members of the staff at Darlington...a housekeeper and an under-butler. ... "The Remains of theDay" is a masterpiece in many ways, not the least of which is subtlety. We know Stevens feels pain, we know he feels love, and we can read, in between Ishiguro's perfectly chosen, precise words, Stevens' struggle to express that which he feels so deeply. ... If you haven't read "The Remains of the Day" or seen the movie, you may get the idea that this is a very depressing book, indeed. It is not. It is quiet and understated and ultimately, profoundly sad, but it does its moments of humor, though they, too, are masterpieces of understatement. One of the most typical involves a Chinese figure that causes a minor battle of wills between Stevens and Miss Kenton. All of Kazuo Ishiguro's books raise many more questions than they answer (a mark of a truly superlative book) and "The Remains of the Day" is no exception. Are Stevens and Miss Kenton merely victims of their occupations and the times in which they live or does Stevens possess some flaw of character, a flaw that permits him to be the perfect English butler but a less than perfect man? Each reader will have to draw his or her own conclusions, but I can guarantee one thing: no one who reads this book will come away from it unchanged. Indeed, most will come away heartbroken.
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Summary: A chilling executioner
Review: Kazuo Ishiguro's butler is a perfect example of, what Nietzsche called, people who employ the wrong conjugation: they don't live, they are lived.
The main character in this book 'Stevens' has but one aim in his life: to become his master's perfect butler, his impeccable servant, the self-effacing loyal executioner of his master's desires. If his master plays the fascist's game, he will excuse him and protest that he is not an anti-Semite, but he will fire the Jewish household personnel without the slightest regret. If his master changes his ideas, no problem, he goes with him. That's what he calls 'dignity' or 'carrying out his duties to the best of his abilities'.
That is also what Eichmann said or the brutal executioners in Pol Pot's death camp. Those are the words of today's cold career men.
Stevens accepts unflinchingly his fatality:'that the likes of you and I will never be in a position to comprehend the great affairs of today's world, and our best course will always be to put our trust in an employer' (p.211) or 'The hard reality is that for the likes of you and me, there is little choice other than to leave our fate, ultimately, in the hands of those great gentlemen at the hub of this world who employ our service.' (p.257)
A terrible negation of one's own life and responsibilities.
Kazuo Ishiguro has written an implacable dark masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully subtle
Review: The beautifully subtle recollections of an English butler during a country drive in England. Moving, with a unique style and voice.
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Summary: A Quiet Man
Review: Having received the Booker Prize and popularized into a movie, The Remains of the Day yet remains the most under-rated novel of the 20th century. This is an exquisite novel about humility and abnegation; narrated by a butler who must re-assess the worthiness of his career upon his employer's death. Written in eloquent English (by the Japanese author Ishiguro), the novel is a re-account of what transpired some twenty years ago to the butler Mr. Stevens and head housekeeper Mrs. Kenton, during an important political conference hosted by their employer, Mr. Darlington. In the novel's present, Stevens is on a drive through England to re-unite with Kenton, in order to ask her to come back to work under the new owner at Darlington Hall, an American named ****. The chronological dichotomy between past and present symbolizes promise and failure, respectively. Stevens' drive into the past is a metaphor for regret, epitomized by the breaking down of his car. The novel broaches upon two major themes: Stevens' repressed love for Mrs. Kenton, and his Ego, lived vicariously through his perception of his employer Darlington. There are a myriad of beautiful meditations on loyalty, greatness, and discipline. Stevens basis his entire moral structure on his belief that, by helping a great man do great things, he is indirectly changing the course of history. When it turns out that Darlington was a nazi sympathizer, Stevens cannot admit to himself his own failure (however self-induced), which only instigates a deeper qualm, that of love unrequited. The most endearing scene is when Mrs. Kenton ventures unannounced into Stevens' private room, in an amorous attempt to solicit Stevens' affection, whereby Stevens backs awkwardly into the corner. She pries the book he is reading out of his hands, which turns out to be a girlish love story. This exposure leaves Stevens horrified, to the reader's empathy and sheer delight. What gives the novel so much emotional breadth and psychological complexity is that Stevens never really talks about how he feels. In fact, his account of what happened is focused only on daily rituals like chores, maintenance, and meal services. He fixates on micro-managing everything, as it becomes obvious that Stevens is in denial of all the palpable and imminent things around him: Love, Passion, and Death (his father, who he hires as a servant, dies). Yet Stevens' hardness and stoicism is so convincing and likable, that readers become convinced that things are exactly as our Stevens perceives them. One New York Times critic has a famous narrator 'likability' test that measures the success of a book on the mentioned attribute. I can say with relief, celebration, and deep conviction that Mr. Stevens is the most likable character I've ever read, with his obstinate tranquility and ridiculous rationality, for (as readers will come to see and love), Stevens is truly far deeper than that.
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Summary: Ishiguro masterfully captures the English butler
Review: Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day was an excellent, but it is definitely not that everyone would enjoy. Ishiguro takes the reader into the life of a 1950's old-fashioned English butler. It is told in first person perspective by the butler Stevens, and the reader gets a full view of what is going on in the man's head. The psychology of Stevens is astounding, and one can really feel for the character. The book starts out relatively slow, but it picks up as the reader progresses. While some people were probably checking there pulse, I felt as though Ishiguro did place much suspense and anxiousness in a very subtle way. Everything about the book is subtle. If a reader likes action, then this book is definitely not the right one. On the other hand, if a reader likes astounding character development, interesting WWII political intrigue, and a hint of romance, this is the right book. The reader finds oneself becoming sympathetic for Stevens, along with being annoyed with him and his stoicism. The book is definitely a satisfying read, but it definitely takes patience, so don't start it if you need excitement right from the beginning. This book won the Booker Prize for a reason, and anyone who makes it to the end won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring book
Review: An elderly butler goes on holiday for six days in his (second) master's car, and reminisces on some of the events over the previous decades of his life as a butler of a large household. He shows us his own foibles (e.g. lying, to be discrete; the absence of real love for his father; his excessive ideas of duty in his job; reading love novels; his failure to pursue a love he could have chased in real life). He reveals in the final pages that he actually loved Miss Kenton, a fellow employee, but never made his move before it was too late. His recent supposition, from a letter received, that Miss Kenton (as Mrs Benn) might now be unhappy enough in her marriage to want to leave her husband and return to employement at Darlington Hall proves to be false when he finally encounters her, near the end of his holiday. The butler reveals that he is feeling his age; that he is now something of a spent force in terms of the zest for the job still left in him after the death of his first master (Lord Darlington), but at the end of the book, he determines still to carry on trying to serve his (second) American master well (and to master the art of banter).
The book is a portrait of one main character, an elderly butler, told by the device of an autobiography by that character. The book consists mostly of reminiscences which come to that character's mind while he is driving around southern England on holiday. The book therefore lacks action in the present (apart from the action and rather mundane events involved in driving on the holiday itself).
The style of the book is too formal, and contains the author's usual hallmarks of occasional repetitions of things said, occasional words put in quotation marks, and occasional words put in italics.
Some of the ideas expounded in the text were thought-provoking, but I found the book uninteresting and tedious on the whole, and I didn't derive anything useful from it. The main character was uninteresting, as was his period-piece life. The household details weren't interesting or especially unusual either. The lack of action in the present, and the age of the main character narrating, made the book unexciting. It didn't seem exceptional enough to be deserving of a Booker prize.
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Summary: Brutal depiction of English society
Review: You'll either love this one, or you'll hate it. It won the Booker Prize in 1981, so critics mostly loved it.
Set in post-World War II, it deals with the life of the perfect English butler who has sacrificed himself, his identity, and his life to the ideal of 'service' to his English master.
Both sad and funny, The Remains of the Day is also a love story that does not end well.
How, one might ask, can a Japanese author write so convincingly of British society, but Ishiguro, while born in Japan, lived in Great Britain from the age of six. He skillfully (some say cruelly) skewers the attitudes of the old British empire.
See the movie (with Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins), too; it's good.
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