The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

I have realised that after reading a book and formulating my review, the highest accolade I seem to be able to award, is whether I would want to re-read it at some future date.  I must say that I’m not much one for re-reading books for as I’ve said before, I always feel that I could be discovering some new amazing story out there.  Still, of course there are books that I return to time and time again and this is usually the deciding factor as to whether I buy a book to treasure forever.  In my ongoing quest to read all these Booker-winning novels and the challenge of getting hold of them from the library I have also started looking for secondhand versions.  ‘The True History of the Kelly Gang’ was one of these purchases which unfortunately may well be returned to the ongoing literary cycle of secondhand bookshops.  However, the subject of this review will not share this fate as I fully intend to hang on to it to peruse at some future time.

This is another book where I had actually seen the film first, a few years ago but it failed to make any particularly lasting impression on me.  However, the book I found to be delightful and a treat to read.  The formulation of the story-telling was well crafted with the plot following Stevens, the butler at Darlington Hall on an infrequent holiday where he travels from Oxfordshire to the South West and while he considers the trip and as he travels he recalls past events over his career. 

It was such an interesting, multi-layered story interwoven with reflections about a plethora of topics wide-ranging from honour, dignity, loyalty, what it means to be British, to be alive, to serve and how values have changed.  I can’t even describe all the themes that this book skillfully touches on without even really seeming to.  Its scope was incredibly far-reaching while actually focusing on smaller, seemingly more trivial aspects of life.  Stevens as the narrator is an inspired perspective on all the events and characters that occur at Darlington Hall during the inter-war years and his over-riding restrained demeanor is conveyed magnificently by the tone of the writing.  This is definitely one to savour. And I fully intend to read other books by Ishiguro and I am interested to research more about the historical context in which this book is set.