The Remains of the Day

I loved this book! It's intellectually stimulating, relaxing, and interesting. The characters had unique voices (Ishiguro conveyed Stevens's voice with spot-on consistency throughout the novel), and they were well-drawn. The book was enjoyable, though the plot was not exactly exciting. It was a leisurely read, encouraging interaction and interpretation, given its indeterminacies, while not requiring the mental efforts to read the complicated prose of, say, Jane Austen. I looked forward to reading the book as one would look forward to sitting in front of a crackling fire. Good book to read with a cup of tea or coffee on a cold winter morning.

The main character, the butler Mr Stevens, was fascinating in his rigidity and self-denial. I liked the fact that he was an unreliable narrator and pretty much knew it. The way he told the memories of his life were realistic and honest, yet his extraordinary self-denial prevented him from really understanding the emotions he was relating. His relationship with Miss Kenton was marvelous: she obviously loved him and tried many times to get past his outer shell, but to little avail. Stevens's love for her was obvious in the numerous memories he related about her and the fact that he read and re-read her letter to him so many times throughout the book, which only spans a week or so, and in his obvious disappointment in finding that she was staying with her husband. Most poignant moments: The tears Mr Stevens sheds as he serves drinks to guests only moments after the death of his father; Mr Stevens waiting outside Miss Kenton's door, certain that she is crying on the other side of it, yet unable to allow himself to go to her because of his duty to his Nazi-sympathizing pawn of an employer; Mr Stevens, crying again, as he speaks with the other butler at the end of the novel. Ultimately, Mr Stevens allows the love of his life to leave and marry someone else because she simply can't wait for him to come around. She knows she would always be second to his professional obligations. By the way, I love the way her emotions play out, crossing the boundary from her world of passion to Mr Stevens's world of rigid professionalism.

The book is about duty and dignity, about living one's life in the best way possible. Mr Stevens's realization at the end is poignant. He knows in the back of his mind that although he fulfilled his professional goal of being a "great" butler, his desire cost him dearly in the personal sphere. And even the attainment of his ambition was tainted by the fact that he worked for an employer who was not as "noble" as he thought.