Product Description
A tragic, spiritual portrait of a perfect English butler and his reaction to his fading insular world in post-war England. A wonderful, wonderful book.
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Amazon.com Review
The novel's narrator, Stevens, is a perfect English butler who tries to give his narrow existence form and meaning through the self-effacing, almost mystical practice of his profession. In a career that spans the second World War, Stevens is oblivious of the real life that goes on around him -- oblivious, for instance, of the fact that his aristocrat employer is a Nazi sympathizer. Still, there are even larger matters at stake in this heartbreaking, pitch-perfect novel -- namely, Stevens' own ability to allow some bit of life-affirming love into his tightly repressed existence.
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 Who Would Have Thought This Topic Would Prove So Fascinating? ( ccthemovieman )
What qualities are needed to be a perfect butler?
Does that sound interesting? No, frankly it doesn't, but it you saw the movie "The Remains Of The Day," you might change your mind. Then, you might check out this book. Yeah, be warned that it is slow but I enjoyed every page.
Since this book is in the form of a narrative, I think it helped to see the movie first. That way, I can picture Anthony Hopkins telling me the story of himself - "Stevens"- and it makes the book more real. Even though he goes into great detail explaining what makes a perfect butler and how he works to attain that status, I find all of it oddly fascinating. Kudos for author Kazuo Ishiguro for taking what could be a dry subject and making it entertaining.
Of course, there is a lot more story than just the butler's duties, and all of that - politics, romance, etc. - is even more fascinating. You can read the story's details elsewhere here, so I won't bore you with it here. Just believe me when I say that if you loved the movie, and you enjoy a good "character study," you will love the book.
"Stevens" is somebody you won't soon forget.
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Brilliant ... absolutely brilliant ( inkydeadtrees )
Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky have long been touchstones by which I measure how in tune an author is to the human condition. To them I would add Kazuo Ishiguro.
In THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, Mr. Stevens' life, like peeling the cell-thick layers of an onion, is revealed ever so slowly. Mr. Stevens had long ago set aside his humaness, emotions, and even intelligence in his pursuit of becoming 'a great butler.' Variously he's laughable, lamentable, absurd, and downright infuriating. More than once I wanted to shake the guy! But at the end, when I realized that he realized the truth of his life, and how he, aided and abetted by his own, albeit unconscious, manipulation of memory, had sabotaged every chance for happiness, I broke down crying. For Mr. Stevens is the Beatles' 'Nowhere Man': 'a bit like you and me.' We all do the best we can with what we have. No one can ask more of anyone else.
Yet there is a rainbow of consolation. A small one, but what choice is there but to take it.
After I had read the last page, I went back to the beginning, intending only to compare Stevens' manner of speaking -- and ended up reading the entire book again. And it was even better. I couldn't possibly appreciate how brilliant Mr. Ishiguro's novel from one reading; even after the second, I knew that I would be reading 'Remains' many more times, and get more out of it -- and myself -- each time.
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Deepest gratitude to my brother ( fsethd )
When my brother recommended this book to me more than a decade ago, I perversely avoided it because, living in Japan and immersed in Japanese literature, the idea of Mr. Ishiguro's novel of an English butler struck me as too contrived to even deign to read. Living in a complex and ancient foreign culture, I doubted the ability of anyone not born in a country like England or Japan to assume its persona in a novel.
But the name of the book and the author remained, as something of a reproach to my narrowmindedness, and as a kind of reminder that however much I might wish it weren't so, my brilliant brother with a million great books under his belt knew the difference between a fine book and an ordinary one.
When I unwrapped the package that my father had sent, in it was a yellowed copy of Remains of the Day, looking even worse than I had imagined it would be. Slathered with a photo of Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson on the cover, and proudly announcing that it was "now a film from Columbia pictures," all of my old prejudices rose in my throat and I pushed it aside.
In a moment of pique I opened it to the first page, knowing that the first paragraph would reveal the feebleness of the author and the cheap Hollywood veneer of the plot. All I can tell you is that it wrapped me up and enfolded me in a cascade of beauty with which only a handful of books have ever entranced me.
The story has been told a full 194 times in the reviews that precede this one, and I've little to add except the personal testimony that it is a deeply moving and gripping book. The love story here is so deep, and rich, and painful, that when Mr. Stevens says "my heart was breaking," yours will too, if you feel anything at all. The sadness, melancholy, and quiet strength in every line of this book make it a towering monument in English literature. Every line has been chiseled, polished, pondered, and crafted with a beauty matched in modern literature only perhaps by Kawabata Yasunari's "Yukiguni."
You will cherish this book, and feel wiser about and more in love with the world around you for having read it.
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A charming, multi-layered classic
I'd heard of the movie but only decided to read the book after reading a blurb about it in a magazine recently. The start of the book is rather slow, meaning there's not a lot of action drawing you into the story, but once you reach the middle and end of the book there is a wonderfully subtle anticipation created. Only a truly talented author could weave a story with so many layers.
You get a multi-dimensional character portrait of the narrator, Mr. Stevens, as you move through the books various memories and Stevens' inner dialogue. This book leaves you both satisfied and grateful for such a magnificently subtle story. The imagery is great and the dialogue both funny and poignant. I loved it.
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 Like Watching Dust Settle on My Grandmother's Finest China
There is a reason why there are so few books written about the lives of butlers: they're BORING! Indeed, half-way through and I think I shall retire this book in favor of re-organizing my linen closet.
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