The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

Written by Kazuo Ishiguro
Read by Dominic West
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

· Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
· Release date: 09-06-12
· Publisher: Faber & Faber

A tragic, spiritual portrait of the perfect English butler and his reaction to his fading insular world in post-war England.

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. In the summer of 1956, Stevens, the ageing butler of Darlington Hall, embarks on a leisurely six-day holiday by car that will take him deep into the countryside - and into his past and maybe to Miss Kenton.

Reviews…” This is one of the most beautifully mannered, subtle books I’ve read in a long, long time. Ishiguro’s command of prose is perfect; there was never a point where I felt that this book wasn’t written by a consummate English gentleman’s gentleman. Remains of the Day is also one of the best examples of first person POV that I’ve read. Stevens’ voice is always clear and distinct, and always used to frame the narrative in such a way that the reader is able to see things and guess things which the protagonist cannot. For all that Stevens himself agonises over ‘banter’ and ‘wit’ and how to be amusing, this book is very funny itself in some places; it’s a fine example of a comedy of manners. The subtlety of it all, and Stevens often painful obliviousness to social cues really lends itself well to that. Highly, highly recommended.”

“Stevens, the repressed and self-denying butler at the center of this audiobook, is in some ways one of the most appalling protagonists in all of literature. Not until close to the end does he allow himself to show, or have, an emotion. The narrator captures the persona that Stevens has constructed without making it completely monochromatic. The novel is the story of a quest for a woman whom Stevens has driven away. Stevens comes across as a fascinating monster, utterly heedless of the consequences of his actions and incapable of authentic human relationships. The narrator brings him to existence, if not exactly life, and brings the listener to understanding, if not quite sympathy”….

The books was adapted into a British movie in 1993 with a large, talented cast headed by Anthony Hophins as James Stevens and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton.