From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

The Remains of the Day

Kazuo Ishiguro

Start date: January 15, 2015

Finish date: February 15, 2015

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What Members Thought

Jul 25, 2019 Wes F rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Such a great audiobook--loved the narrator's performance. Takes you back into the days of the great British houses and their professional butlers, valets, housekeepers, etc. I think Downton Abbey's chief butler was modeled on the character of the protagonist. Listened to this on my iPhone; borrowed from the library. ...more

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Sep 27, 2011 Andy Plonka rated it really liked it

This one really gets into thr British psyche and how important class is for this nation. The specifictarget is service people (i.e. butlers and maids, not military) during the period betweeen the two world wars

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Sep 05, 2024 Jen Pratt rated it really liked it

This is a thought provoking book about a butler who has worked most of his life striving for “dignity”. He has valued being consistent and excelling in his career over personal relationships or convictions. He has a new American employer who insists he take a vacation. While on his road trip through the English countryside he reminisces about the past and justifies while he made the decisions he did. He starts to realize that he could have chosen differently for a different life. Is it too late? ...more

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Jul 18, 2008 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: england, modern-lit, 1001

Ishiguro is a master of voice - every word and sentence in the story works towards realizing Stevens as a person in full even as his world is tense and restricted. Like the character himself, the novel is a masterpiece of understatement and telling a story through what's not said. A knockout. ...more

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