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A review by chrissie_whitley
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
5.0
Ishiguro is astoundingly talented. The level of subtlety and nuance in The Remains of the Day, pinned in by every page, practically vibrates at times. To take such a simple idea (an aging English butler on the road) and to expand it into this sleeping dragon, revealing and concealing the story at once, is a true showcase for the skills and depth of the author.
Told through flashbacks and recollections against what is the present day of 1956, Ishiguro has begun his tale just before its ending. [James] Stevens, long-time butler at Darlington Hall, is embarking on a road trip to visit an old colleague who was housekeeper at Darlington before World War II. Only through Stevens's memories can the reader truly appreciate the interactions as he traverses the English countryside in anticipation of seeing Mrs. Benn (née Kenton).
Through his own admission, Stevens's memories aren't completely reliable (as is true for humans, in general) and he does, at times, struggle to right a faulty memory...some he recalls incorrectly with who said what to whom and so on. However it is not only his inconstant memory recall that presents him as an unreliable narrator, but his incredibly underdeveloped and repressed emotional state that has, from before the book's events, caused his interpretation and perspective to misconstrue his own emotions as well as those of the people in his life. What is often so clear to the reader is either never clear to Stevens or is pushed away before he allows his mind to recognize what is obvious.
Stevens has structured his life and his ambition to become a "great butler" by defining and refining what the word dignity means to him and how he can ascend to this level of greatness. There is no question for the reader that he learned from his father, also a butler and whom he views as the pinnacle definition of a "great butler", to constantly seek out this aspect of character. No doubt, Mr. Stevens senior raised him with this mantra running through his formative years. As Stevens understands the word and applies it to himself, dignity is on par with and further defined by control (especially in regard to emotional control), and a certain level of invisibility. The great butlers blend in unnoticeable while always being available to their employers. While it's never fully expressed outright in the novel, picturing Stevens as a young boy, being told how unimportant his own needs and wants were and how his best self is an invisible person, is utterly heartbreaking.
This is especially true in regard to his relationships with his employer, Lord Darlington; the housekeeper, Miss Kenton; and his father, Mr. Stevens senior. But this emotionless state in which he tries to reside, also prevents many interactions to maintain a human-level balance between his current employer, Mr. Farraday and his former employer's godson, Mr. Cardinal—both of whom try to speak to Stevens on many occasions as a person and not simply a servant. But Stevens is unable (or unwilling) to return any human warmth—which remains an untapped reservoir within.
Such an emotionally taut novel, subtle and tragic. Stevens is so stunted and repressed, all his feelings are tangled beneath the surface, clamped down by a drumhead and ever-threatening to break free. Ishiguro further explores the class divisions and the social constraints of that time through many facets of the novel, along with aspects directly involving Lord Darlington and the Nazi Party. An utterly fascinating story, I'll be picking it up again and again over the years.
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Simon Prebble|329957|Simon Prebble|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: Simon Prebble perfectly encapsulated every role he voiced, especially Stevens. He maintained a sublime subtlety suitable for The Remains of the Day and for all the characters created by Ishiguro. I would absolutely listen to another book narrated by Prebble.
Told through flashbacks and recollections against what is the present day of 1956, Ishiguro has begun his tale just before its ending. [James] Stevens, long-time butler at Darlington Hall, is embarking on a road trip to visit an old colleague who was housekeeper at Darlington before World War II. Only through Stevens's memories can the reader truly appreciate the interactions as he traverses the English countryside in anticipation of seeing Mrs. Benn (née Kenton).
Through his own admission, Stevens's memories aren't completely reliable (as is true for humans, in general) and he does, at times, struggle to right a faulty memory...some he recalls incorrectly with who said what to whom and so on. However it is not only his inconstant memory recall that presents him as an unreliable narrator, but his incredibly underdeveloped and repressed emotional state that has, from before the book's events, caused his interpretation and perspective to misconstrue his own emotions as well as those of the people in his life. What is often so clear to the reader is either never clear to Stevens or is pushed away before he allows his mind to recognize what is obvious.
Stevens has structured his life and his ambition to become a "great butler" by defining and refining what the word dignity means to him and how he can ascend to this level of greatness. There is no question for the reader that he learned from his father, also a butler and whom he views as the pinnacle definition of a "great butler", to constantly seek out this aspect of character. No doubt, Mr. Stevens senior raised him with this mantra running through his formative years. As Stevens understands the word and applies it to himself, dignity is on par with and further defined by control (especially in regard to emotional control), and a certain level of invisibility. The great butlers blend in unnoticeable while always being available to their employers. While it's never fully expressed outright in the novel, picturing Stevens as a young boy, being told how unimportant his own needs and wants were and how his best self is an invisible person, is utterly heartbreaking.
This is especially true in regard to his relationships with his employer, Lord Darlington; the housekeeper, Miss Kenton; and his father, Mr. Stevens senior. But this emotionless state in which he tries to reside, also prevents many interactions to maintain a human-level balance between his current employer, Mr. Farraday and his former employer's godson, Mr. Cardinal—both of whom try to speak to Stevens on many occasions as a person and not simply a servant. But Stevens is unable (or unwilling) to return any human warmth—which remains an untapped reservoir within.
Such an emotionally taut novel, subtle and tragic. Stevens is so stunted and repressed, all his feelings are tangled beneath the surface, clamped down by a drumhead and ever-threatening to break free. Ishiguro further explores the class divisions and the social constraints of that time through many facets of the novel, along with aspects directly involving Lord Darlington and the Nazi Party. An utterly fascinating story, I'll be picking it up again and again over the years.
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Simon Prebble|329957|Simon Prebble|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]: Simon Prebble perfectly encapsulated every role he voiced, especially Stevens. He maintained a sublime subtlety suitable for The Remains of the Day and for all the characters created by Ishiguro. I would absolutely listen to another book narrated by Prebble.