Customer Reviews

The Remains of the Day: (Movie Tie-In Edition)

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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.

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.

_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

A voracious reader, I came across Ishiguro only when I read that Saul Bellow was reading this book at the time of an interview. Truly, this is the best novel I've ever read, and I've read plenty! As a practitioner of psychotherapy, I see this text as the best reification of self-deception I've ever encountered; truly prescient in its grasp of the vague layers of life which the novelist can show us. Often, we're best observed (at times) by outsiders to the world we've created phenomenologically. Ishiguro has triumphed in his portrayal of this most delicate of the nuances of life.

The most surprising thing about this book may well be how easily it reads. The 245 pages (or so) seem to fly by and only when you've finished do you (or did I) realize what had passed. The book is somewhat subtle like its main character, but never hides its intentions. While the title character struggles through what he believes to be questions of his occupation, he indeeds, in my opinion, touches on many subjects that are more universal. What is dignity? What is honor? What is that intrinsic quality to which we refer to as character? Through these engaging questions the reader is revealed a quickly changing world and the casualties it takes in its realm. Without giving away much more, I entreat any readers pleased by local "character" and interested in the qualities that not only make us human, but make us good, to read The Remains of the Day for further enjoyment