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The Remains of the Day
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The Remains of the Day
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The Remains of the Day
Audiobook8 hours

The Remains of the Day

Written by Kazuo Ishiguro

Narrated by Simon Prebble

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

The Remains of the Day is a profoundly compelling portrait of the perfect English butler and of his fading, insular world in post-war 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.

Editor's Note

Quietly affecting…

Ishiguro’s quietly affecting Man Booker Prize-winning novel is consumed with questions of the past. A lifetime of decisions interweaves with philosophical questions about service and dignity, agency and loyalty.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherTantor Audio
Release dateJun 29, 2012
ISBN9781452678351
Unavailable
The Remains of the Day
Author

Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro nació en Nagasaki en 1954, pero se trasladó a Inglaterra en 1960. Es autor de ocho novelas –Pálida luz en las colinas (Premio Winifred Holtby), Un artista del mundo flotante (Premio Whitbread), Los restos del día (Premio Booker), Los inconsolables (Premio Cheltenham), Cuando fuimos huérfanos, Nunca me abandones (Premio Novela Europea Casino de Santiago), El gigante enterrado y Klara y el Sol– y un libro de relatos –Nocturnos–, obras extraordinarias que Anagrama ha publicado en castellano. En 2017 fue galardonado con el Premio Nobel de Literatura.

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Reviews for The Remains of the Day

Rating: 4.205278027697338 out of 5 stars
4/5

4,282 ratings233 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Remains of the Day can only be described as a quiet novel of great, gentle power. It is often humorous, in a comedy of manners sort of way, but ultimately, this is a very sad story told with very beautiful writing. It is touching and thoughtful, and Stevens’s candor—which he shares only with his readers and never with the people he knows in real life—about his life and its meanings make him a very sympathetic character. This was my first encounter with Ishiguro’s writing, and I loved every word of it. Read my full review at The Book Lady's Blog.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of the best books I have listened to in awhile. The perfect butler talks of his profession and incidentally describes world shacking events prior to WWII. The movie does a faithful job of following the book, with only minor plot changes.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a beautifully crafted novel about regret, about the road not taken. Stevens has been the butler at Darlington Hall for several decades. Its current owner, an American, urges Stevens to use his car for a short holiday and Stevens takes him up on the offer. He drives west where he plans to visit Darlington Hall’s former housekeeper, whom he still thinks of as Miss Kenton. As he travels, he reflects on the past and his relations with his father, with Miss Kenton, and with his previous employer, Lord Darlington. The journey to the west keeps the momentum going forward, while Stevens’s reminiscences of the past fill in character and the complex motivations for the journey and for Stevens’s self-reflection. Greatness is one of the novel’s themes. The novel itself is exemplary of literary greatness.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Masterpiece. Taut, fastidious, and crushingly sad, Ishiguro manages to both inhabit and examine British-ness through his highly elided narrator. In the impossible way of things, this is a book about emotions while barely mentioning them, how to reveal by concealing, and human-ness (writ large) expressed by exacting historical and cultural detail. A real heart-breaker. Worth it for the banter.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I took this book slow, a chapter a day, leisurely reading a 'real' book in the evening by lamplight. I had an older, somewhat yellowed copy of the book and stopped to make notes as I read. I had not read Remains of the Day since its publication, for my original, hardbound copy was sacrificed in downsizing with one of our many moves.I recalled I liked the book enough to be eager to see the movie version, which involved obtaining a babysitter and driving a half hour to a city large enough to have 'artsy' films. I had vivid memories of the movie with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.In 1956, Mr. Stevens, butler for Mr. Farraday the new owner of Darlington Hall, takes his one ever vacation, to see the former head maid, Miss Kent, now Mrs. Benn. She is newly single, and nostalgic, had written him a letter. Stevens has been disconcerted by his new American master, who seems to want him to 'banter' in a friendly, lighthearted exchange. He has been thinking too much of the old days and of the changes that WWII brought to Britain.Before many miles have passed he is in Terra Nova, as unfamiliar with the landscape as he is with the denizens of this new land. Mr. Steven's journey brings him in contact with working class folk and farmers, the great democratic populace outside of the rare atmosphere of Darlington Hall's lords and titled men, his 'betters'. Mr. Steven's trip is also a journey into another area as unfamiliar as Salisbury or Cornwall-- his own soul.A butler must have dignity: this has been his core belief and mantra, and those butlers--like his own father--who have stood for dignity have been his role models. To be great comes at a cost. Stevens served Lord Darlington, host to movers and shakers of the British Empire in the days after The Great War. Spotless, perfect silverware could mean the rise or fall of the country, the brokering of a deal or its failure. Stevens' quest for dignity and perfection, believing he is part of something bigger, justified his renouncement of the personal even when his father is dying, even when a woman's heart is there for the asking.Appearances are everything, and yet Darlington Hall is submersed in deception for Lord Darlington is the dupe of political extremists and Nazi sympathizers. Stevens can not condemn his former employer, justifying his essential moral goodness and making apologies for his errors in judgement. And yet--and yet--he also dissembles, unable to admit to strangers his attachment to a man now held in universal disdain.Mr. Farraday's Ford breaks down and Stevens is left wading through muddy fields in the gloaming, remembering Lord Darlington's fall from grace and later admission of wrong doing, and how Miss Kent had admonished Stevens for being unable to face his own feelings. Stevens is welcomed to spend the night with simple farmers and their neighbors, one of whom is an ardent Socialist arguing for more power to the people. Lord Darlington had believed that democracy was "something for a by-gone era" and that strong leadership--like in Italy and Germany--would bring the social changes society needed. It is a rainy day when Mr. Stevens arrives at the rendezvous with Miss Kent. She had not married for love, but Stevens finds his heart is breaking to learn it is too late to turn back the clock.How does we live the remainder of our life after learning we have based our life on a sham? When we realize our choices betrayed our true dignity? For Stevens, it means not looking back but enjoying the waning days. And learning to banter.I marvel at the structure of this novel, the measured language, the complexity of character. I am so glad my book club chose to read Remains of the Day. Posted by Nancy Bekofske at 3:30
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A deeply devoted English butler, Stevens, reminisces about his life in Darlington Hall. He believed, as a butler, it was his duty and responsibility to be selfless in every aspect of his life. Therefore, he devoted himself to giving Lord Darlington his very best. During this reminiscing, Stevens begins to discover himself.This was a very good book. It took me a long time to become interested, but eventually I became attached to Stevens. After that happened, I was eager to hear more about his life. Interestingly enough, last year when I read Never Let Me Go I had the very same reaction. Ishiguro has a great talent for luring me into the depths of his novels and leaving me in a state of thoughtfulness. (4/5)Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..."
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The best thing about "The Remains of the Day" is the way the formal, not to say stilted, style in which it is written corresponds to the shutness, to the rigidity with which Stevens, the main character, closes himself off from others, and thereby from happiness.A moderately long car trip forms the plot background for our protaganist's journey of self-discovery, and an apt background it is. He takes several days to travel (sort of) the breadth of Britain, and meditates on the choices he and his employers have made, the their effects on history. But these contemplations take a back seat to the central point, that of Stevens's sterile life, and his tearful, heart-broken realization of it all.This to me, is a truly stunning achievement. Ishiguro deserves all the accolades he has received for it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Beautifully written and quietly heartbreaking. I adore the way the story is slowly rolled out through Stevens' slightly unreliable memories while he takes a solo car tour late in his life. As a character, he's endearing and maddening. I was caught off guard by tears more than once.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Lovely, lovely, lovely book. But at the same time almost tragic. Stevens the butler, the main character of the tale, has a fatal flaw that makes him a spectacularly good butler, but a very, very flawed human being. That flaw is the total and complete lack of self awareness. He obviously cares for Miss Kenton, but he never ever acknowledges his feelings to her or to himself. He ends up giving his all for his job, to an employer who is also very, very flawed and does not deserve his dedication. Sadly poignant and beautiful.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro was a subtle, gentle slow read. Although starting out slow, I was compelled to read on; although not fully engaged. This tale is told by Stevens, a post war butler in England; a terse man with little humor. His redemption comes at the very end of the book. 258 pages, 3 1/2 stars. 1001 BYMRBYD
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As I was reading this book, I had 3 and a half B words in my mind.Beautiful prose – Elegance and beauty flow in the words. The reader is both part of his journey and observing. British – I find myself sounding the words in a British tone in my head. The words feel refined and proper.Butler – I know more about the work of a butler than I thought possible. The butler did it – as in a lot of work!The half B: Boring – Shocking, right? Even with the above 3 B’s, it needs editing to tighten up the story. Mr. Stevens spent 35 years working for Lord Darlington at the Darlington Hall in the years after WWI on through WWII. The reader learns of these years in largely chronological order via Mr. Steven’s reminiscences during a road trip he is taking to visit a former housekeeper. Being that he worked for one of the distinguished houses of the time, he was in charge of a large staff, managing significant events with worldwide leaders and their respective entourage, and most importantly, was given glimpses to these dignitaries and tidbits of their conversations. Even so, Mr. Stevens followed a code of honor that he felt defined what it meant to be a great butler and to have dignity.Ishiguro brilliantly presented to us the historical past of the British minds – stoic and proper, aristocratic leaning/preferred. The light touch of historic events was a convenient addition to showcase his points. But more importantly, the story is not about the contents of a life but about the way in which we choose to live our lives. Mr. Stevens lived by his code of honor, even his memories sounded stubborn to his code. In classic British reserved ways, Mr. Stevens barely scrapes at the notion of rather there is more than one way to live life. I particularly liked his interactions in the small town of Moscombe where a Mr. Smith presented ideals of the average men being aware and involved with national and global events. But in the end, a stranger at the pier gazing upon the sunset presents the notion of looking ahead, metaphorically for a day or for a life.The Man:“…We’ve all got to put your feet up at some point. Look at me. Been happy as a lark since the day I retired. All right, so neither of us are exactly in our first flush of youth, but you’ve got to keep looking forward… You’ve got to enjoy yourself. The evening’s the best part of the day. You’ve done your day’s work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it. That’s how I look at it. Ask anybody, they’ll all tell you. The evening’s the best part of the day.”Mr. Steven’s thoughts:"… For a great many people, the evening is the most enjoyable part of the day. Perhaps, then, there is something to his advice that I should cease looking back so much, that I should adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of my day. After all, what can we ever gain in forever looking back and blaming ourselves if our lives have not turned out quite as we might have wished? The hard reality is, surely, that for the likes of you and I, there is little choice other than to leave our fate, ultimately, in the hands of those great gentlemen at the hub of this world who employ our services. What is the point in worrying oneself too much about what one could or could not have done to control the course one’s life took? Surely it is enough that the likes of you and I at least try to make our small contribution count for something true and worthy. And if some of us are prepared to sacrifice much in life in order to pursue such aspirations, surely that is in itself, whatever the outcome, cause for pride and contentment."
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The poor darling's a dinosaur. Stevens, the quintessential English butler, is caught in the middle of a cultural seismic shift for which he is utterly unprepared. Stevens marches man(servant)fully down a heartrending path of robotic repression, never imagining that there are more important things in life than maintaining one's "dignity" and "professionalism." He misses the death of his father, misses his one shot at romance with Miss Kenton, and even misses the true character of Lord Darlington, a heartless ass and Nazi sympathizer to whom Stevens gave 35 years of loyal service. But Stevens keeps the tea tray perfectly level with the floor at all times, and takes great pride in the minutinae of butlering. Ishiguro's writing is nothing short of exquisite. You rarely encounter craftsmanship of this caliber in a book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is as clean and precise a dissection of a particular society at a particular time manifested in a particular person that one can imagine. Both the good and the bad is immaculately on display with a impeccable craftsmanship. If the author chose to publish a series of such literary portraits, I would pay in advance for the privilege of reading them. Unfortunately, it is the very limit of this book's scope that keeps me from rating it any higher.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I know it's controversial, but I thought this was a masterpiece. The narrator, Stevens - a true gentleman's gentleman - is so deeply in denial that he breaks our heart twice over. His love story is sad enough, but even sadder when you consider that Stevens still doesn't have the courage to admit the truth to himself, all these years on. A wonderful book that invites us to consider what makes a truly good person: in politics, in love and, of course, in dignity.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The is quite a book. It gives a great perspective on the operations of a high-end house in the 1920s-1950s. Written from the perspective of a butler, it is both enjoyable and poignant.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Devastating subtlety.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow. What a beautiful book. Mr. Stevens is one of the greatest narrators of any first-person POV novel I've ever read. Heartbreaking at times, of course, but I don't think I found it as sad overall as so many reviews/analyses have made it out to be. Maybe I have a bit of that ignoring-all-in-the-name-of-whatever that Stevens has in me. So much going on here, father-son relationships and their difficulties, honor, dignity, responsibility, memory. Just one of my favorites I've read in quite a while.******SPOILER******Stevens' end scene on the bench with the stranger when he realizes, or maybe only considers, that his life has been a bit of a waste is pretty crushing, but his ability to turn it right around at the end with his usual resolve s perfectly in line with his character throughout the novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Nowhere man, please listen
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What new thoughts can I express about a Booker Prize winner?

    I don't know whether to admonish or admire Ishiguro for what he has done here. Stevens is a very sympathetic character who breaks my heart. His simplicity and intelligence, if representative of all of England, might be hurtful in a way that lets you know that this is a raw, honest metaphor. There are no unnecessary words, and I don't believe I've read a more masterful novel. Every expression, every idea, even of Harry Smith, contributes to the end result. Somehow the five-stars seem too easy.

    For meditation: the themes are repression, betrayal and collusion.

    Dignity is merely a vehicle.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A masterpiece.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Remains of the Day is Kazuo Ishiguro's most beloved novel, according to LibraryThing ratings stats it ranks highest of his oeuvre. Having just won the Nobel I gave it a try, nearly 30 years after publication it's becoming something of a classic. Ishiguro's prose is precise and dignified like the character he portrays. There are multiple layers of meaning behind "remains of the day". I think what will stick with me is Stevens' voice and demeanor because Ishiguro found a way to make a wooden butler into a real person. Ishiguro owns the butler space.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The book is narrated by a man who served as a butler at an English country home for over 35 years. His employer was Lord who hosted important people and parties over the years. He served from the 1920s through the mid 1950s and maintained a full staff of household help. His former employer passed away a few years earlier and Stevens is now employed by the new owner of the house, a wealthy American. Times have changed and the American is not the host that the former owner was
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A very readable, entertaining, thoughtful book, which slowly reveals its narrator. I am left sad for him, but cognizant of his enduring spirit. A beautiful homage.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a book I had to persevere with, but it was well worth the effort. The life of a butler is a very curious thing indeed, comical, often boring, sometimes ridiculous, it was hard at first to relate to Mr Stevens, but the bigger picture dawned on me eventually. In the end I was left to ponder whether he was a dedicated hard working man, a naive fool, an idealist, or simply a product of a past era, or maybe all of these things. And of course the story is there to warn us against the sad consequences of such blind faith.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved this book, even though it broke my heart. I've never wanted to reach into a book and hug a character more than I did for this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautiful narrative about a butler in England when the butler profession is startting to die out.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book definitely lived up to my expectations. I could hardly take a break from reading it that's how engrossing I found the story. Mr. Stevens is an English butler, currently working for an "American gentleman" who has bought the English manor house, Darlington Hall. Previously Darlington Hall was owned by Lord Darlington and Stevens was the butler for many years. During the years between World War I and World War II, Lord Darlington was involved with trying to ease the relationship between Germany and its former enemies. In fact, for a time Lord Darlington was involved with Sir Oswald Mosley who headed a right-wing pro-fascist organization referred to as the 'blackshirts'. Although he later regretted it Lord Darlington insisted that two housemaids be dismissed because they were Jewish. Stevens, as butler, had to carry out this command. The head housekeeper, Miss Kenton, threatened to resign as well if this was allowed to happen. In the end, Miss Kenton stayed until she got married but she felt she had been very weak to do so. We learn all about life at Darlington Hall as Stevens takes a driving vacation (a singular event in his life) to see Miss Kenton who now lives in Cornwall. Stevens reminisces about the events and considers what constitutes a great butler. He feels that 'dignity' is the hallmark of a great butler and that in stressful situations a great butler will continue to show dignity. He applies this to his own life and never lets his guard down. Even as Stevens' father lay dying Stevens continued to serve refreshments to the guests assembled for an important meeting. The doctor who was called for his father arrived too late but Stevens was able to placate a guest with painful feet by having the doctor tend to them. Although Stevens knew Miss Kenton was attracted to him and even though he felt something for her he never allowed his emotions to show. Thus Miss Kenton married a man she did not love and had quite a rocky relationship. In fact, Miss Kenton had written to Stevens that she had left her husband and Stevens thought that perhaps she might be looking for a position at Darlington Hall again. That was the impetus for him taking this unusual step of driving from Oxfordshire to Cornwall. Perhaps Stevens is finally allowing his emotions to gain the upperhand over his 'dignity'. Or perhaps not. I recommend this book highly.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I didn't expect to enjoy this book add much add I did. Stevens is frustrating but strangely likeable. It's an interesting portrait of life in service and unrealised dreams. I found it profoundly sad.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A tragic, spiritual portrait of a perfect English butler and his reaction to his fading insular world in post-war England. This was a very well written book with interesting characters. It was a very easy audio to listen to and held my attention all the way through. I would highly recommend this book to those who love great literature.4.5 stars
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lots of big issues related to both life, society and politics taken up through a seemingly simple portrait of a butler, his bosses, and his staff.