Book Review: THE REMAINS OF THE DAY by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"When with the benefit of hindsight one begins to search one's past for such 'turning points,' one is apt to start seeing them everywhere."

It was a rainy Saturday. My boss had asked me to do guard duty at the school, and I happily complied because it meant a few hours of peaceful reading with MY VERY FIRST KAZUO ISHIGURO! He comes highly recommended by bookish friends and The Establishment, hehe, so I had great expectations.

I haven't seen the movie, and was wondering why an actor of Anthony Hopkins' caliber would take on the not-so-glamorous role of an English butler in the years before World War II.

But now, having read the book, I think I'm beginning to understand.

This is about a working man's life, and the dangers of throwing one's self at a cause so completely, that one leaves little room for other joys.

I also think THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is better seen acted out on film, with so many things left unsaid in the book that it takes a very observant reader to fill in the blanks of motivation, of subtlety.

This is the kind of book that older readers will appreciate more. One needs to have suffered through the pain of past passions, the loss of "almost" lovers.

It is a warning for workaholics everywhere. Of what use is dignity if one is, at the end of the day, lonely?

It does what good books do: makes one reflect on the decisions that seem so little at the time, but mean entirely different lives had we made the opposite choice.

(After I finished the novel, I felt compelled to go out and practice bantering, inspired by our butler-hero, but unfortunately the sleepy guard-cat on campus would have none of it. Oh well.)

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