Remains of the Day

by Kazuo Ishiguro

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In a word: British

In a sentence: Mr. Stevens takes a roadtrip through the English countryside, and reminisces on his career as a butler.

Synopsis: An English butler contemplates his life’s work in the cloud WWII left behind. A Victorian caught in Elizabethan times, he questions the purpose of gentry, the service, and the definitions of greatness and dignity.

Reactions: This novel is delightfully, poignantly British. The protagonist, Mr. Stevens, is delightfully formal, adorably out-of-touch, and frustratingly repressed. He’s exceptionally diligent and decent. And he serves as a highly effective representation of the British Empire and its sense of crisis when forced to come to terms with the full consequences of appeasement policy and WWII. Remains of the Day is a nostalgic love letter to an England which no longer exists. The war ripped brutally away any naivety that remained after WWI, leaving the country at a low point in morale and questioning its fundamental structure.

Remains of the Day is without question a contemporary classic which captures the essence of 2-th century England. Its idyllic countryside scenes make one homesick for places one has never been, and Mr. Stevens’ narrative voice slips the reader in quietly to his expedition as well as his reveries. It is a sad novel, laced with futility for a life filled with hard work toward a seemingly worthless goal, but still made beautiful by the diligence and earnestness with which that same life was lived.

Read if: you miss the UK.