The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

In the summer of 1956, Stevens, the ageing butler of Darlington Hall, embarks on a leisurely holiday that will take him deep into the countryside and into his past . . .A contemporary classic, The Remains of the Day is Kazuo Ishiguro's beautiful and haunting evocation of life between the wars in a Great English House, of lost causes and lost love.

I admit it was not what I expected. But it was a relaxing read, and I enjoyed Stevens' trip and reminisces. It is a book you have to take as a whole to see what it is really about. It's about thoughts, not actions.

essentially downton abbey, but a deeper look into the house staff's life in an estate owned by a politically involved lord. i hadn't expected there to be such “controversy” over lord darlington, so it was a pleasant surprise and an interesting read. i'm not much of a history buff, but i found the historical references to be nuanced and subtle enough to be rather believable. also explores the stiff house staff culture, the utter lack of emotion in some, and the devotion to the master in few. really recommended for fans of downton abbey who cared more for the house staff than the family itself.

No one on their death bed professes to wishing they'd worked more, eh, Stevens?

Beautifully written and contemplative, this book suffers from perhaps being a tad too much in the head of the protagonist. While we're given a bittersweet plot payoff, the entire book built to that and it was to be expected.

The giant blocks of text that serve as flashbacks or detailed explanations of objects or settings tend to be more grating than beautiful the longer the book goes on. At times these reprieves can be useful to get into the mind of Stevens and how he views the world. Other times? It's belaboring a point that's loud and clear already.

I enjoyed this well enough, though.