Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Published: 1989
Genre: Fiction
Kazuo Ishiguro's book, The Remains of the Day is told from the point of view of Stevens, an English butler who throughout his professional career served at Darlington Hall, a grand manor in a time of butlers and maids. It is set in 1950s, but fleets back and forth between these years and the those preceding the Second World War. The reader learns of Stevens's past and of the people he worked for and with, though flashbacks. Central to the story is the butler's relationship with the head housekeeper, Miss Kenton. Their relationship was professional and nothing else, but it soon becomes evident that the telling of the story is about reflection and to some extent regret.
Regret in part about Stevens's blind devotion to an employer whose life ended in shame and regret about the manner in which he handled his personal relationships - the awkward stilted one with his father, and the potentially romantic one with Miss Kenton. There is some history about the politics that preceded the War, and the author cleverly weaves into the tale events that point to the butler's moral imperfections; his unwavering support of his former boss , Lord Darlington who was a Nazi pawn, and his admiration for some of the Nazi generals Lord Darlington entertained at the manor.
In the years that Stevens and Miss Kenton work together, theirs is a professional relationship that is tinged with just a hint of something more, but Ishiguro never explores this 'something' any further. What the reader gets is the story of an extremely an efficient and dedicated butler and a gentleman, who was all about duty above all else.There are many opportunities within the book where the author could have changed the course of the relationship between the butler and the housekeeper, but that would have changed the book entirely. Even as Stevens learns of the death of his father, who was also a great butler in his day but is now a diminished shadow of his former self, his reaction is unrealistically calm but fitting for the character. Matters of a personal nature; be it the death of his father; the loss of a much cherished former employer; the new relationship with a new employer, and the very obvious love that he feels for Miss Kenton all never get in the way of his duty.
Towards the end, one gets a sense of the regret he feels for putting his dedicating his entire life to a career that is now coming to an end, and is not as highly respected as it was in its day. Ishiguro is a master of nuanced writing, and the pace of his books is never rushed. He is descriptive, pedantically so, but this is what maintains the pace throughout. From the prologue, one gets an indication of what the pace will be like.
I should point out, from a most kind suggestion put to me by Mr. Farraday himself one afternoon almost a fortnight ago, when I had been dusting the portraits in the library. In fact, as I recall, I was up on the step-ladder dusting the portrait of Viscount Wetherby when my employer had entered...
It is evident from the very beginning that this book is not going anywhere fast. I could learn a lot about not rushing writing from Ishiguro.
In the end, and with the help of hindsight, Stevens' eyes are opened to some of the faults of Lord Darlington. He realises, with some regret, that his unwavering commitment to his work may have cost him a lot more personally - but even with this realisation there is still a reluctance to admit this, reiterating that duty, at the time, came first and foremost.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and similar to his other book, Never let me go, which I also liked, there is a great deal left to the reader's imagination. I suppose the subtlety is what makes Ishiguro such a good writer.
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