The Remains of the Day

Book #6 - The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro

For those who haven't seen the film version (myself included), this book is narrated by an English butler who takes his job VERY seriously. While in the beginning, this comes off as comical - like when Stevens mentions several butlers with the assumption that his reader must know of them - the tone isn't condescending, it's sympathetic. As the story progresses, the reader can see what Stevens is really talking about when he goes on and on about the quality of the silver in the house. And anyway, the details of anyone's job are never as interesting or important to others.

At the time of the World Wars, Stevens is a butler for an English gentleman who seems to have some influence in global affairs. WWII signalled the end of the Aristocratic system in England, and Stevens's story seems to mirror this. His fervent attachment to the past and almost delusional belief in the importance of his position reflects England's refusal to see their true position on the world's stage in the post-War, post-colonial era.

But ignoring all that political and social stuff, The Remains of the Day is a pretty sweet and sad story about a man who cannot allow himself to feel desire or ambition beyond those of his employer - one cannot be the perfect servant if one has wishes for oneself. It's only when he finally takes a break to reflect on his life that he starts to see the cracks and realizes too late that he might have tried for more.

So I finally finished it, only four years after I was supposed to have it read for my Booker Prize Winners course in college (sorry Professor Draine!). It's barely 250 pages, so it shouldn't have taken the past two months to read, but there you are.