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

Rating:
Summary: A gem of a butler
Review: May I venture to say, and I hope I am not being presumptuous here, that Mr Kazuo Ishiguro has achieved a remarkable feat here in his portrayal of an upper class English servant between the two wars. In spite of his birth language and comparative youth, he was born after WWII, Mr Ishiguro has captured the quiet dignity and tone of a butler whose life task is to provide exemplary service to his betters, anticipating their every whim and supporting their efforts to uphold the honour required of a gentleman.

Whilst his grasp of the English language is undoubtedly attributable to the young age at which Mr Ishiguro moved to Great Britain, his research skills and deep understanding of the human psyche shine as he describes the personal and physical journey of his protagonist, Mr Stevens junior, butler to the late, and in some circles, less than lamented Lord Darlington.

Mr Stevens is a man of the highest ideals, counting as paramount his devotion to his duty to further his employer's aims and his maintenance of his own professional `dignity'. Sadly, it might be said, that this comes at some considerable cost as Mr Stevens represses all personal feelings, including his love for the passionate Miss Kenton and deep affection and respect for his own father, in favour of fulfilling his professional duties. In fact, it could be said, if one could be excused for using the parlance of the inhabitants of the Antipodes, that Mr Stevens would not recognize an emotion if it bit him on the, eh, nether regions.

The bleakness of the ending is palliated by Mr Steven's decision to enjoy the remains of his day. He has hit upon a key for achieving this and resolves to "look at this whole matter of bantering more enthusiastically ... particularly if it is the case that in bantering lies the key to human warmth." With his customary application Mr Sevens resolves to acquire the ability as it is "hardly an unreasonable duty for an employer to expect a professional to perform." (p245, First Vintage International Edition, September 1990)

The beauty of this novel lies in the language; one finds one's self starting to adopt a faint echo of it in one's speech and writing, to the surprise of close family and acquaintances. Mr Ishiguro's mastery is shown in the effortless shifts from present to past; in the tone of Mr Steven's language; and by allowing the reader to understand Mr Stevens long before he is able to even approach understanding either himself or the significance of the events happening around him.

This novel is highly recommended to the discerning reader.



Rating:
Summary: Japanese sensibility in British format
Review: The Japanese always has an objective and incisive view of his conditions and the particular issues realating his life. Clearly Ishiguro has inherited this and has acquired such a mastery over the language of his adopted country that the product of the confluence is of a rare breed in every sense. The butler analyses his job, the criteria that evolve to define excellence, his relationships and the scopes therein and definitely the limitations one inevitably faces in oneself in resolving these issues. But then justification of one's effort and purest intent comes in the form of DIGNITY, the ultimate and only mark of acknowledgement whether from inside or from outside. Ishiguro explores the aspects of its perception, evolution and its role in the context of different individuals and societies. The helpless limitations of life, human communicability at the end gives way to the acceptance of bantering as something legitimate even to an orthodox traditionalist like the butler. That comedy necessarily has its root in tragedy is possibly being uttered once again in this book, but in what a delectably novel manner! This is literature, an endless source of renewal!

Rating:
Summary: love and work which is more important?
Review: "The remains of the day" is one of famous literature books in England, and the book was got England's highest literary honor in 1989. Especially, this is an England's literary work though its author is Japanese, Kazuo Ishiguro. The story tells about a Steven's life who is a butler in Darlington Hall. Steven was very successful in his job, but he bitterly failed in love. Why? Because he only focused on work even to complete his work, he did not care about himself. If Steven early realizes that love plays an important role in our lives and our lives will be meaningless without love, his life will be able to positively change a lot and he will not be alone in the rest of his life. In addition, the professionalism that Steven always follows does not allow him to have any romantic or sexual pleasure. Stevens is too late when he finally realizes he fell in love with Miss Kenton, the former housekeeper in Darlington Hall, but she has gone away to make her own life. That is an expensive price Steven has to pay to get success in work. What a pity for Steven's fate!