Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro has written eight novels, all of which are outside the genre about which we at MRB typically review. But my wife commented that Remains of the Day was one of her favorite books ever, and then a couple other women friends said the same thing, so I gave it a go, much to my delight. The book was adapted into a movie in 1993. Both the book and the movie have been highly regarded. In 2017, the author was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the only current living author to have received that award. 

 

Ishiguro’s protagonist was a butler, Stevens, at the fictional Darlington Hall in England, the country the author had come to live in after his birth in Japan. The books is about Stevens growing into his role as butler, a job he began when his aging father was unable to continue with the demands of the position, at one of the most prestigious and important estates in the country during the eras of WWI and WWII. As a result, Stevens encountered world leaders who came to Darlington Hall to confer with the Earl of Darlington about world affairs, particularly the notorious decision by England to attempt the appeasement treaty with Germany that led to the outbreak of WWII. Darlington, who was duped by the Germans, had pushed for that treaty, thus losing much of his status with English society. But, Stevens thought it was his job to remain true to his master.

This was not a fast-paced book as the books which MRB typically reviews. Rather, it was very slow and deliberate story as Stevens explored his own thoughts about his life and the events happening about him, both in the world and in the estate where he worked. The story followed Stevens into old age as he thought about life and how to respond to the purchase of the estate by an American entrepreneur. I found this novel to be as captivating as I was told it would. Be. Now, I’m being encouraged to read his other books, and I’m inclined to do so, although not right away since my reading queue is rather long at this moment. How could one turn down a Nobel Prize winning novel? I could not and I’m glad I read it.

WCD