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The Remains of the Day
By Kazuo Ishiguro London: Faber and Faber, 1999 (Winner of the 1989 Booker Prize) |
In 1956, an English butler took a week off to visit an old friend. During the motorcar trip, he recounted the golden years of his career as a butler, which spanned two world wars, and his relationships with various persons, mainly his father, ex-employer and the old friend.
The butler’s dedication to his profession might be considered excessive. His ideal of dignity was the ability to deliver first-class service in the midst of chaos, even when the turmoil was in one’s heart. Dignity he upheld, but at the expense of his private life.
As with most tales that recollected glorious memories, a sense of inevitable loss permeated the butler’s story. The realisation that things could never be the same again was a sad moment. Perhaps of greater sorrow was the loss of a mutual love that could have blossomed under different circumstances.
Nevertheless, the book ended on an optimistic note. Hope, the butler learnt, lies in looking forward, not backward (travel, after all, is a journey of self-discovery). Honest, self-critical, and at times humourous, The Remains of the Day was a delight to read.
3 comments:
Hello TT, not sure if you have read his other books. I love "Never Let me go". The gist of the book can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Let_Me_Go
Cheers!
Thanks for the recommendation - its now on my 2read list :-). The plot summary had me hooked, esp. the cloning-for-organ theme, which reminded me of Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley.
Oh, i have came across the title but have not actually find out more about the book (brave new world)
Will go check it out =)
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