Comments on: Kazuo Ishiguro: The Remains of the Day

By: The Mookse and the Gripes » September Recommendations

The Mookse and the Gripes » September Recommendations — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:10:20 +0000

[...] Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro (original review July 10, 2008). Here we have Stevens, the quintessential English butler, only the days of the manor house have [...]

By: Trevor

Trevor — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:34:41 +0000

I keep not reading Nocturnes, though I almost bought it the day it came out, so excited was I for more Ishiguro. Now it has almost slipped my mind, so thanks for bringing it back Kevin!

I’m curious for your thoughts about When We Were Orphans. I always feel like I’m the only one who liked it, and I really liked it. I thought the structure fantastic.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:45:56 +0000

Never Let Me Go is my least favorite Ishiguro by a long shot — I like all of his other books. I suspect my personal aversion to dystopias is the main reason and I will be avoiding the movie for just that reason. I also would like to say that my memories of Nocturnes have become consistently more positive — I’d like to see more short fiction from him.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:24:44 +0000

I didn't know this, but I'm sure everyone else does -- or if not, everyone soon will: Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go has been adapted for the big screen. You can see an impressive trailer here. My favorite Ishiguro -- if not my favorite book -- is The Remains of the Day. While reading Never Let Me Go I was consistently distracted by his technique, which I felt to be basically the same he'd used in when creating Steven's consciousness, though in the case of Never Let Me Go not used as well. I enjoyed Never Let Me Go, and in time as my minor complaints against the similarities in structure and technique (it is a great technique) faded, the story itself became stronger. This trailer made me want to revisit the book. Not sure I will. I imagine my old complaints would resurface fairly soon.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:30:32 +0000

Wonderful stuff, isn’t it? I still don’t think the end is too positive, though. I take it that Stevens is trying to talk himself up a bit. I think he has a lot of regrets, and this might be a way of hiding those from himself. Then again, we can hope for him. After all, he did finally chase down the only woman we know of whom he loved. Maybe he will free himself up a bit and enjoy his days, making them the best of his life because he will be more open with his emotions. I kind of take that to be the ending depicted in the Merchant Ivory adaptation (a wonderful film, but not my favorite ending).

Also, it’s been years since I saw Yojimbo, so I can’t comment on that scene. Not sure I would have made the connection, though, so thanks!

By: Ronak M Soni

Ronak M Soni — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:09:37 +0000

There be spoilers below
I finished it yesterday, and I was really puzzled by the end. Almost completely solved, however, by these two sentences of yours:

He holds so much emotion even though he won’t let it out (which is an excellent puzzle for the reader attempting to understand).

and

Stevens is now entering the evening of his life.

This last, however, makes me think of the ending as a rather happy one: he observes that the evening is the happiest part of life. True, he observes that this is so for others, but maybe the commitment to learning bantering is a commitment to fit in. I’ll probably have to reread it, but thanks for the perspective.

There be spoilers for the movie Yojimbo below
Didn’t the book ever remind you of this movie, the scene where Mifune just stays still in front of a gun because he understands that his time is up?
No more spoilers.

Another funny thing: the passages about butlery in the book reminded me of a description of all art. ‘What is a great book?’ is as relevant a question as ‘What is a great butler?’, and very similar to it too.

By: Kazuo Ishiguro: The Remains Of The Day - World Literature Forum

Kazuo Ishiguro: The Remains Of The Day - World Literature Forum — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:16:05 +0000

[...] subtle touches that show just how sad the ending truly is. For example, over on Trevor Barretts’ recent blog posting on the book, the ending is seen as sad enough as it is, but there’s a grammatical tic in there that, almost [...]

By: Trevor Berrett

Trevor Berrett — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:13:53 +0000

Stewart: I never can decide what my favorite novel is, but it is often this one. Nice insight into the split infinitive at the end. I’d never noticed it before, let alone extrapolated meaning from it. Split infinitives are not on my radar, but they definitely would be on Stevens’s. Your insight makes the image of his sitting alone on the pier even more sad, and the title is much more ominous even than before.

Redhead, thanks for the compliment! I have not yet read The Unconsoled, but I look forward to that day. (I also haven’t read An Artist of the Floating World). As for my speed, I fortunately/unfortunately spend 2 1/2 hours of each day on a train for my commute. And if a train is delayed (like yesterday!) I have a surprising amount of time on my hands to read! Still, my reviewing will slow down now that I’ve posted the Best of the Booker shortlist because I’d read those before and therefore had something new to review each day despite the fact that I hadn’t finished a book. But hopefully I won’t slow down too much!

By: redheadrambles

redheadrambles — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:59:47 +0000

Oh – you have such good taste… I love this book as well. It has been a while since I read it and your review makes me want to revisit it. Once were Orphans was my first Ishiguro book and at the time I was very impressed by it. I enjoyed Never let me go as well but I agree that neither book comes close to matching The Remains Of The Day. Have you read The Unconsoled?
You must be a very fast reader, to be reviewing so quickly – I on the other hand am shamefully slow – which is unfortunate for a would-be book blogger!

By: Stewart

Stewart — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:27:42 +0000

This is my favourite novel ever.

A perfect ending which shows that Stevens’s foray into the uncomfortable unknown is about to be shut down.

The split infinitive at the end, after a whole novel of perfect English, is certainly not a mistake and suggests to me that Stevens’ mind is failing, just like his father’s did.