The Remains of the Day: (Movie Tie-In Edition) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Kazuo Ishiguro (Author), Michael York (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 1990

The Booker Prize-winning novel is now a film from Columbia Pictures starring Academy Award winners Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.

The Remains of the Day is a profoundly compelling portrait of the perfect English butler and of his fading, insular world in postwar England. At the end of his three decades of service at Darlington Hall, Stevens embarks on a country drive, during which he looks back over his career to reassure himself that he has served humanity by serving "a great gentleman." But lurking in his memory are doubts about the true nature of Lord Darlington's "greatness" and graver doubts about his own faith in the man he served.

Michael York has performed with Britain's National Theater as well as on Broadway. His film credits include Cabaret and The Three Musketeers. His television work includes "Jesus of Nazareth" and "Space."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The novel's narrator, Stevens, is a perfect English butler who tries to give his narrow existence form and meaning through the self-effacing, almost mystical practice of his profession. In a career that spans the second World War, Stevens is oblivious of the real life that goes on around him -- oblivious, for instance, of the fact that his aristocrat employer is a Nazi sympathizer. Still, there are even larger matters at stake in this heartbreaking, pitch-perfect novel -- namely, Stevens' own ability to allow some bit of life-affirming love into his tightly repressed existence. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Greeted with high praise in England, where it seems certain to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Ishiguro's third novel (after An Artist of the Floating World ) is a tour de force-- both a compelling psychological study and a portrait of a vanished social order. Stevens, an elderly butler who has spent 30 years in the service of Lord Darlington, ruminates on the past and inadvertently slackens his rigid grip on his emotions to confront the central issues of his life. Glacially reserved, snobbish and humorless, Stevens has devoted his life to his concept of duty and responsibility, hoping to reach the pinnacle of his profession through totally selfless dedication and a ruthless suppression of sentiment. Having made a virtue of stoic dignity, he is proud of his impassive response to his father's death and his "correct" behavior with the spunky former housekeeper, Miss Kenton. Ishiguro builds Stevens's character with precisely controlled details, creating irony as the butler unwittingly reveals his pathetic self-deception. In the poignant denouement, Stevens belatedly realizes that he has wasted his life in blind service to a foolish man and that he has never discovered "the key to human warmth." While it is not likely to provoke the same shocks of recognition as it did in Britain, this insightful, often humorous and moving novel should significantly enhance Ishiguro's reputation here.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (August 29, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394586735
• ISBN-13: 978-0394586731
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,077,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A totally MAGNIFICENT piece of writing., February 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Remains of the Day: (Movie Tie-In Edition) (Audio Cassette)

I found this excellent piece of work some years ago, and have probably read it five times since. I've also given it as gifts, and I have the video, which starred Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.

It dipicts an era in England's history to which we rarely -- if ever -- are exposed. I am sorry those readers who didn't care for it were not able to see that, in it's own way, it's a very exciting story. It was the NATURE and PROFESSIONALISM of "those in service" to make everything run quietly and smoothly. THAT was dedication to one's job, and it was a proud servant to did it well.

I LOVED this book. Try it again, with a differnt attitude. Not every book has to be murder, mystery, and mayhem.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ExcelleAn Excellent book, Intriguing!, January 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Remains of the Day: (Movie Tie-In Edition) (Audio Cassette)

The story of an English Butler Working for an american aristocrat. We get an inside look into the mind, and lifestyle of our character as he begins his journey through the unheard of Time off, An Incredible work as a man struggles to full-fill his fathers ideology, and his own dreams. Really an Excellent Work.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Are we slaves to our professions?, July 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Remains of the Day: (Movie Tie-In Edition) (Audio Cassette)

_The Remains of the Day_ by Kazuo Ishiguro raises an interseting qustion regarding the nature of our professional lives. The main character is the perfect English butler. He has dedicated himself to his life's work, but he does not take time to enjoy life himself. He comes across more as a slave than a master of his profession. The book is very well written and more fascinating than the movie despite Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. It reads fairly quickly