26. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
What can I say about this book, aside from that it is fabulous? I fell in love with Stevens on page 2, and couldn’t put the book down until I’d finished it. Everyone should read this.
The Remains of the Day is narrated in the first person by Stevens, longtime butler at Darlington Hall, ancestral residence of Lord Darlington, but sold after his death to an American, Mr. Farraday. The book follows the progress of Stevens’s motor tour through the English countryside, during which he looks back on his life, and comes to a new understanding of his relationships with his father, the former housekeeper, Miss Kenton, and with Lord Darlington. The writing is exquisite, and builds a masterful portrait of a man who has spent his life in service to others; a portrait that is by turns both funny and sad, but always touching and entertaining.
I’ll definitely be reading Ishiguro’s other books, probably starting with When We Were Orphans or Never Let Me Go. It’s an odd coincidence that the book I read right before this, Conrad’s Fate by Diana Wynne Jones, happens to be likewise concerned with professional service in a great household.
Books read: 26/50 (52%)
Pages read: 6,517/15,000 (43%)
X-posted here.
