My rating: 4 stars
A book narrated by a butler may not be immediately appealing. However, Kazuo Ishiguro succeeded in making the musings and memories of one for the most part engaging in The Remains of the Day. As the present is permeated by the past, Mr Stevens grows as a character and his life becomes connected somewhat with historical events, thanks to his previous employer, whose fate arouses great curiosity.
It’s July 1956. Stevens, the main character and narrator, is a butler at Darlington Hall, which is currently owned by the American Mr Farraday. Before going back to the US for five weeks, Mr Farraday suggests that Stevens takes some days off during that period and goes see the country. At first, he doesn’t take the offer seriously, but a concern regarding errors that he may have committed leads him to want to go on a trip to the countryside. Stevens believes that having divided the workload between just four members of staff may have been a mistake.
Since receiving a letter from Miss Kenton, whom he believes is interested in working there again, he has started thinking about the possibility of going to find her. Having the approval of his employer, he sets on a journey to pay her a visit. Miss Kenton, who used to be the housekeeper at Darlington Hall, has left the house twenty years beforehand when she got married. Stevens still thinks about her using her maiden’s name, which he doesn’t see as much of a problem, since her marriage may have now come to an end. While on his journey, Stevens recalls moments from the past, including a conference hosted in the house back in March 1923 by Lord Darlington, his previous employer, to discuss the way Germany was being treated after the war and many aspects of the Versailles Treaty.
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