_Remains of the Day_
Ishiguro Kazuo’s _Remains of the Day_ was a slow but compelling read. I am fine with Kazuo tending to the tedious for his narrators. I read aloud through the more arduous patches. I don’t mind the theme of irresolution. I like to wonder where things could have gone or are going - so not having a bow at the end is okay by me. I will say though that I think the ending for this novel is quite a bit less interesting than that of _Never Let Me Go_. Even though RotD is filled with wonderful, rich and highly informative personal portraits of the political climate between WWI and WWII, it doesn’t offer the same caliber of intrigue as does NLMG.
One aspect of this novel that had me amused is the narrator’s emphasis on “bantering.” In his grave attention to this phenomenon, there is so much of the innocence/ignorance I see in Kathy H. working in our man Stevens. I think it is a thought provoking novel. I think it took more dedication than I’m used to having to devote as the language and tone really are rather demanding. The vocabulary isn’t challenging; neither is the word structure. What makes the book complicated is having to stay on track in one person’s maze of very focused but unfamiliar terrain of thoughts.
It struck me when Bill said every time he heard me reading it aloud, he felt like he didn’t miss anything. The overarching story is actually quite confined but it’s the details in the little stories that create a truly unusual, complex and at times droning take of one butler’s perspective for nearly 300 pages.
There are several interesting issues initiated in this book. Some are related to Nazi ideals, Marxism, human interaction, presentation of self, perspective, context and matters of dignity & loyalty. None of these is resolved by the author for the narrator so in this regard the book works well as a trigger piece for further thought or discussion. I like that.
One aspect of this novel that had me amused is the narrator’s emphasis on “bantering.” In his grave attention to this phenomenon, there is so much of the innocence/ignorance I see in Kathy H. working in our man Stevens. I think it is a thought provoking novel. I think it took more dedication than I’m used to having to devote as the language and tone really are rather demanding. The vocabulary isn’t challenging; neither is the word structure. What makes the book complicated is having to stay on track in one person’s maze of very focused but unfamiliar terrain of thoughts.
It struck me when Bill said every time he heard me reading it aloud, he felt like he didn’t miss anything. The overarching story is actually quite confined but it’s the details in the little stories that create a truly unusual, complex and at times droning take of one butler’s perspective for nearly 300 pages.
There are several interesting issues initiated in this book. Some are related to Nazi ideals, Marxism, human interaction, presentation of self, perspective, context and matters of dignity & loyalty. None of these is resolved by the author for the narrator so in this regard the book works well as a trigger piece for further thought or discussion. I like that.