Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day: A Reader's Guide

Continuum Contemporaries

by Adam Parkes

Continuum Contemporaries will be a wonderful source of ideas and inspiration for members of book clubs and readings groups, as well as for literature students. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to 30 of the most popular, most acclaimed, and most influential novels of recent years. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question. The books in the series will all follow the same a biography of the novelist, including other works, influences, and, in some cases, an interview; a full-length study of the novel, drawing out the most important themes and ideas; a summary of how the novel was received upon publication; a summary of how the novel has performed since publication, including film or TV adaptations, literary prizes, etc; a wide range of suggestions for further reading, including websites and discussion forums; and a list of questions for reading groups to discuss.

Genres: Literary Criticism, Nonfiction

94 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Adam Parkes' research examines modern British and Irish literature in the context of social, political, and cultural developments in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His most recent book, A Sense of Shock: The Impact of Impressionism on Modern British and Irish Writing (Oxford University Press, 2011), considers a wide range of authors — from John Ruskin, Walter Pater, Henry James, George Moore, and Oscar Wilde to Elizabeth Bowen, Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, Jean Rhys, and Virginia Woolf — to show why literary impressionism needs to be studied in the context of the social and political upheavals of its time. His earlier book, Modernism and the Theater of Censorship, published by Oxford in 1996 and listed by Choice as an Outstanding Academic Book, examined the fiction of James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, and Radclyffe Hall in relation to censorship controversies that shaped British writing in the modernist period.

His current research focuses on modernism and the aristocracy: on representations of elite culture in British and Irish writing during the modern democratic age.

Reviews

[Mimi Wolske · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this a couple of years after it was published and then again sometime last year and it remains on my shelf of books to re-read and re-re-read, etc.

i really don't like "grading" books; however, this is a little better than 4 stars but i wouldn't say it's close to books i consider as the greatest ever written.

A story of greatness / dignity shadowed by loss and regret are realized but only after the butler, Stevens' use of a rhetorical method to make his many points but what we see is that while he (Stevens) knows an incredible amount of detail about all things related to the maintenance of a great household, his knowledge is no longer nearly as important as it once was because there is no longer the demand there once was in England for either silver polish or butlers...they are a part of a bygone era.

An Excellent Read -- and one I think any LEADER should want to read.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is almost universally recognized as a masterpiece. I share that view, but why? It tells a series of complex and subtle stories primarily by what is NOT said. Stevens is an aging butler in a grand British house (now owned by an American, of course). His profession, which he believes to be the very quintessence of English culture, a belief that is possibly true, is the sole purpose of his life. He aspires to the very heights of his profession, which requires attaining "dignity," here defined as an inherent quality that never departs from the man. It also involves great restraint, surely an English trait; and restraint is a sort of permanent denial, a mask that conceals all spontaneous feelings. As Stevens muses in the course of a short motor trip on his service to his former employer, Lord Darlington, and his relationship with his former housekeeper, it becomes clear that he was blind to Darlington's anti-semitism and pro-Nazi tendencies because of a misguided ideal of gallantry in victory. He was equally blind to his own feelings for the housekeeper, who marries another man and moves away. The novel indirectly explores class, human relations, and politics. Stevens' extreme inarticulateness (he can barely say two words to his own father, and he earnestly sets about studying how he might deal with his employer's attempts at banter) amplifies his deliberate and utter lack of spontaneity or empathy. Like political figures who subordinate (debase?) themselves to support a chosen leader, his life's work ends in futility and waste. It was all for nothing, but even that is not permitted to penetrate the invented persona. This is a devastating novel, told in the bland and uncomprehending words of its own victim. A work of fiction that is both unique and subversive. Ishiguro won both the Booker and eventually the Nobel Prize for literature. This book is generally regarded as the primary reason.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is my professor’s book, its pretty good 👍

[Alyona · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was recommended by my daughter, and it was the right choise. It gives a better understanding of who british people, nature, way of life are. Saying nothing of pleasure from reading.

[Mayank Chaturvedi]

A fantastic read.... needless to say.

[Lindsey Bila · Rating 4 out of 5]

i didnt know what to think of at first...the part that sticks out the most is when he is working and working after his dad just died and there are tears running down his face and he didnt even realize he was crying because it was so ingrained in him to be the best butler....im very glad i read this book.

[Nancy Sheys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally I wouldn't choose a book about a butler, but it was on my son's book shelve, I borrowed it from him. I pictured Mr. Carson from Downton Abbey throughout the entire read. I enjoyed this simple and somewhat sad story. It presented a peek into the position of a butler and some of what it takes be a good one.

[Jennifer Davy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had seen the movie before I read this and found the book excellent. The author did a wonderful job , capturing the characters.
I am fascinated by the era when people in service became lost in their position. The butler believed he could not have an oppinion, this would show disrespect. Does anyone think this still goes on today amoung the elite.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked it but felt a strong feeling of melancholy after I finished.

[Maria Weaving-Gómez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better, the second time around.

[Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for book club discussion.

[Shelley Stretton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but no the most engaging of reads.
Main characters not likable people.

[Bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

most wonderful and sad lovestory i read the last years.

[Laurochka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am now teaching Ishiguro's novel to my 1st year students and I found it pretty helpful.