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Rating: 4 stars
Read: February 2015

This is my favorite book of Ishiguro so far. It is the story of an aging butler who looks back upon his life. We see how dedicated he was to his profession, to the point of sacrificing his own personal relationships and happiness. Wonderfully told story.

4 stars for me also. My internet access is limited on vacation so I will have to catch up with review later.

Back in 2010 when I read this I rated it as 3 stars.

From what I can remember of the book this seems like a fair rating. I know I disliked Stevens and felt he could have acted differently instead of being so bound by position and hierarchy.

4 stars from me as well.

Here is a man that has all but effaced himself behind the perfectly calm facade a butler is supposed to present at all times. There is no room for the person inside to express feelings, thoughts or needs of his own. He revisits turning points in his life, where maybe a different path could have opened up. But the opportunities were all set aside in favor of the service to be rendered to a man in whose deserving he trusted. His trip turns into a reflection on his years of service - what they mean and what they cost.

The way the book is written is a perfect representation of the rigid man at the center of the book. Dignified to the point of aloofness, all emotions suppressed, the pride in his own dignity and sharing in the achievements of his Lord, but also the anguish caused by the realization that all efforts may have been wasted on the wrong cause.

This is my review from December 2013, when it was a re-read: I really rate this book. It was a re-read for me, and I am almost going to give it five stars because it is so clever in its unwrapping of a life in such a unique way. Stevens is so uptight, rigid, correct and his telling of the story reflects this with every phrase. yes, I will, five stars!

The Remains of the Day (Kazuo Ishiguro) ***

You got to admire Ishiguro's skill in depicting a butler's extreme devotion to the duties of his role; I could almost smell the leather and the books from the reading room, feel the almost austere yet at times bustling nature of Darlington Hall. But that's also where the subject of the novel fails for me; reading about a butler's painstaking and minute account of certain of his career's salient events was burdensome at times. True, there were lighter moments, but I was relieved to reach the last page and finding out that Stevens would belatedly work on his bantering skills: good luck, he's going to need it.