The Book Lady’s Blog

I read this book for the Book Awards Challenge.

The story in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Book Prize-winning novel The Remains of the Day is told by Mr. Stevens, the long-time butler of Darlington Hall, a traditional old English manor. When we meet Stevens, he is preparing to take a short vacation, during which he will drive (or “motor,” in the British parlance) through the countryside, enjoying some time off and reflecting on his life and his service. Stevens’s new boss, an American gentleman named Mr. Farraday, has given him time off, but being the consummate professional that he is, Stevens decides to make the trip work-related by visiting Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn), who served as the housekeeper of Darlington Hall for several years and who he believes may be interested in returning.

As he travels through the country, stopping along the way in quaint inns and small villages, Stevens looks back over his life and performs what we today would refer to his a life review. He is borderline obsessed with the question of what makes one a “great” butler, a topic he returns to over and over throughout the book, and he spends a great deal of time thinking about the quality of dignity and examining his life and his service at Darlington Hall for the signs of greatness he hopes to have achieved. He also spends some time ruminating on the nature of bantering, a skill he believes he needs to learn and which he attempts to practice—to great humorous effect—throughout the book. Though he begins each chapter with a short discussion of where he is on his trip, Stevens reliably digresses into reflection, telling us stories of both his moments of glory and the mistakes he wishes he could take back and do over, and this fills the book with a sense of nostalgia and longing.

As he travels to meet with Miss Kenton, Stevens looks back on his time working with her and fills us in on the details of a relationship he insists was purely platonic and professional…but it always seems that there is something else lying just beneath the surface. We get the impression that throughout his career, Stevens has been so focused on being—not just pretending to be or acting as—a butler at all times that he has never allowed himself to let down his guard, form meaningful relationships, or express his true thoughts and feelings.

Stevens’s encounters along the way are interesting and provide him with nice segues into his stories about butlering and life at Darlington Hall, which upon reflection, may not seem to be quite as grand or honorable as he once thought, but their real purpose is to build toward the moment when Stevens will meet with Miss Kenton to discuss her recent letter. Stevens makes much of this letter throughout the book and spends several pages explaining to us exactly which phrases gave him to think Miss Kenton might be interested in returning, but he is never quite convincing enough, and we begin to understand that he is engaged in some pretty powerful wishful thinking. When the two are reunited, we hold our breath waiting to see what will happen.

The Remains of the Day can only be described as a quiet novel of great, gentle power. It is often humorous, in a comedy of manners sort of way, but ultimately, this is a very sad story told with very beautiful writing. It is touching and thoughtful, and Stevens’s candor—which he shares only with his readers and never with the people he knows in real life—about his life and its meanings make him a very sympathetic character. This was my first encounter with Ishiguro’s writing, and I loved every word of it. 4.5 out of 5.