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The Remains of the Day : (Movie Tie-In Edition)

The Remains of the Day : (Movie Tie-In Edition)

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Very Powerful Ending
Review: A story of an old-fashioned expert butler (Stevens) who took a motoring trip to meet an old friend/co-worker (Miss Kenton), and on the way looked back on how he has been living for the past three decades working at Darlington Hall.

The author successfully portrayed Stevens' character. Stevens was a very diligent butler who chose sheer professionalism above anything else, emotionally isolated, stubborn, and thinks of himself as a perfect gentleman. I liked the way Stevens and Miss Kenton argue, and how Stevens tried to suppress his feelings over his father's death.

Although I find the beginning of the story and how he talks about bantering so lame, the ending was so powerful. It contained a very dramatic setting, a vivid picture of sunset on the pier, an emotional talk with another man, and the realization of emptiness. It talks about aging - how he can't do his job as well as he used to - that we should embrace it, never dwell on the past and keep looking forward. The heart of the story, and the lines I loved the most were:

"Perhaps, then, there is something to his advice that I should cease looking back so much, that I should adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of my day."

Overall, the story was slow and lacking some action, but it was well narrated, has a good plot, setting, an elaborate characterization, and provides a simple and potent moral at the end. It deserves 3½ stars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my favorite books...brilliant
Review: Ishiguro writes/ Novel that works on levels/ Beyond modern man --(A haiku)

We were "forced" to read this novel for Academic Decathlon, but I discovered it to be a great, compelling novel that was unlike any I had ever read. I have read it three times now, and each time I discover a new level of Stevens' character. Ishiguro, in his mellifluous prose, plants subtle hints at the relationship between Stevens and Miss Kenton throughout. Ishiguro stubbornly assumes the style of a butler, never letting up in his tone, even at the end. All in all, a masterful piece of literature that deserved the Booker Prize. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The most influential book in my life
Review: I have read this book a while ago, before I attended a fine university in the U.S. This is definitely an overdue review, but after reading some of the reviews here, I can't help but to write this.

It is true that this book is oozing with so much pain and lament, so if you are reading it for fun, you will probably be thinking of that Jim Carrey movie you could have watched instead of reading this boring book.

But when you are 19 and trying to make a stand in this world, trying to figure out what to do next in your life and you are tired of the 19 years of being a screw up, this book offers a glimpse of to your own future.

It shows you that your life is full of decisions, and when they come knocking at your door, it asks how you will react to it. And later on in your life, as you sit there at the pier, lamenting for the lost opportunities, would you regret a single one of them? And does anyone know if Stevens does? I don't. But I know that at least Stevens gets to do one thing right in his life.

To Mr. Ishiguro, if you ever read this, thanks for the inspiration.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A totally MAGNIFICENT piece of writing.
Review: I found this excellent piece of work some years ago, and have probably read it five times since. I've also given it as gifts, and I have the video, which starred Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.

It dipicts an era in England's history to which we rarely -- if ever -- are exposed. I am sorry those readers who didn't care for it were not able to see that, in it's own way, it's a very exciting story. It was the NATURE and PROFESSIONALISM of "those in service" to make everything run quietly and smoothly. THAT was dedication to one's job, and it was a proud servant to did it well.

I LOVED this book. Try it again, with a differnt attitude. Not every book has to be murder, mystery, and mayhem.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: good literature, annoying story
Review: If you read for fun, don't read it. Really, the man's only talking about himself. bla bla bla. The story is confusing, the butler reminds everything so disordently, ah.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Classic example of the desperation to find a modern classic
Review: This book was abominably boring and pretentious. The protagonist was about as much fun as a roll of sandpaper Charmin. AP English classes every year are being forced to read this mind-numbing drivel. It must stop!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: ExcelleAn Excellent book, Intriguing!
Review: The story of an English Butler Working for an american aristocrat. We get an inside look into the mind, and lifestyle of our character as he begins his journey through the unheard of Time off, An Incredible work as a man struggles to full-fill his fathers ideology, and his own dreams. Really an Excellent Work.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brilliant Novel for School Studies
Review: I chose this book for a 'Review of Personal Reading' that I did for Higher English at school. There is so much to write about that I would recommend it to anybody who is studying English.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good plot, deep characters
Review: I thought this book was good because of the way Mr. Ishiguru developed the story of a self-diluting butler that doesn't want to face the fact that his employer was a really bad guy. I was impressed that he made an otherwise uneventful butlers life into a story epitomizing how people fail to see the truth of what was directly in front of his face.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Parallel Lives and Passion Play
Review: It's been said that a novelist writes in his subconscious and is sometimes unaware of the underlying themes in his/her own works. Well this may be true for The Remains of the Day, which is written on at least four levels I could find.

1. The story of emptiness through life's dedication to cause.

2. The parallels between Asian and English society where so many toil for the spoils, enjoyed by so few and both sides accept it as perfectly normal, until it's too late. Shame on both.

3. The parallel of a poor man, Butler Stevens and a rich man, Lord Darlington being condemned to the same fate -- empty lives ending in obscurity for having scarificed the power and pleasures of the inner self to pursue an empty goal. Rich or poor, we do share the same fate -- we die, and are judged on how we lived.

4. The last level is the Passion Play of, for lack of a better reference, the anti-Christ (Darlington) and his Rock/St. Peter (Stevens). It has all the elements of the Last Supper: the betryal of Judas (Darlington's God son); the washing of the feet (the French Representative); temptation of Mary Magdalen (Miss kenton/Stevens) -- the Nazi Leader/Darlington); the retreat and denial of Stevens; the death of Darlington and Stevens to live on at the Manor. It was two men resisiting every temptation -- not just one man, and not just one temptation. It teaches us that when our goals are more spiritual and gentle in scope, the results are more gratifying.

Will the author, Kazuo Ishiguro please comment? Thank you.


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