Kazuo Isighuro

Fiction 1989/ 245 pages

The Remains of the Day is a 1989 novel by the Nobel-Prize winning British author Ishiguro. (See my blog post on another Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun.) The protagonist in Remains of the Day, Stevens, is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a fictitious stately home near Oxford, England.  In 1956, he takes a road trip to visit a former colleague and reminisces about events at Darlington Hall in the 1920s and 1930s.

Told in first person, the novel tells the story of Stevens, an English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington, who is recently deceased. Two important contexts present themselves: Lord Darlington was a Nazi sympathizer; and Stevens perhaps is in love with Miss Kenton, the housekeeper at Darlington Hall.

I love the way our Mr. Stevens attempts to teach himself "bantering" and "witticisms" and usually falls flat on his face.  And his mind is occupied with the ongoing questions, "What is a truly GREAT butler?" And "What is dignity?"   I appreciate the way he keeps exploring and learning and discovering.  "Dignity" might be an apt title! He expresses, however, no emotional depth.  I am not saying he has none .... it is simply outside the scope of his "professionalism" to express either emotion or opinion.  Whether the death of his father, Miss Kenton's announcement to leave Darlington, or being mocked for not having politic opinions, he remains stolid and sober.

There is no plot.  Stevens just travels and reminisces.  And there is no actual ending either.  An old man remembers back and sometimes become confused and regretful, and sometimes joyful and appreciative.

Do I recommend it?  Yes, it is such a turn from what I usually read; it is entertaining in its own right

July 2024