The Remains of the Day
A butler's journey through memory, duty, and lost love.
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The Remains of the Day is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The novel won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1989 and is considered one of the most highly regarded post-war British novels. It was adapted into a 1993 film starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, which was nominated for eight Academy Awards.
Lore & Background
The novel is narrated by Stevens, a butler who has served for decades at Darlington Hall, a fictitious stately home near Oxford. In 1956, after the death of Lord Darlington, the hall is purchased by an American, Mr Farraday, who keeps Stevens on with a reduced staff. Encouraged by his employer to take a holiday, Stevens drives to Cornwall to visit a former colleague, Mrs Benn (née Kenton), the ex-housekeeper, hoping she might return to her old position. The journey triggers memories of his service under Lord Darlington in the 1920s and 1930s, including his unwavering commitment to professional dignity and his pride in serving a gentleman involved in international affairs.
Reader's Guide
The Remains of the Day is significant for its exploration of memory, duty, and self-deception. Stevens's unreliable narration forces readers to interpret events between his self-serving accounts and the implied reality. Critics such as Salman Rushdie have argued that the novel depicts a man destroyed by the ideas upon which he built his life, particularly his obsession with dignified restraint, which cost him relationships with his father and Miss Kenton.
Kathleen Wall noted that the novel challenges scholarly accounts of the unreliable narrator, as the ironic effect depends on readers assuming Stevens describes events reliably while interpreting them in peculiar ways. Steven Connor argued that the novel thematizes English national identity, with Stevens's view of butlerly qualities—restraining personal emotions to keep up appearances—identified as essentially English. The work has been included in numerous lists of essential reading, including the BBC's 100 most inspiring novels and the Big Jubilee Read list for Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.
Did You Know?
- Kazuo Ishiguro was influenced by Tom Waits's song 'Ruby's Arms' when deciding to let Stevens's emotional guard crack at one point in the novel.
- The novel was included on the 'Big Jubilee Read' list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors in 2022 to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
- In 2006, The Observer ranked The Remains of the Day joint-eighth in a poll of the best British, Irish or Commonwealth novels from 1980 to 2005.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Remains of the Day about?
It is a 1989 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro that follows Stevens, an elderly English butler, as he takes a driving trip and reflects on decades of devoted service at Darlington Hall. The story quietly examines how rigid professional duty and suppressed feeling can erode a person's capacity for love and self-knowledge over a lifetime.
Who wrote The Remains of the Day and what major award did it win?
Kazuo Ishiguro, the British author who later received the Nobel Prize in Literature, published the novel in 1989. It won the Booker Prize for Fiction that same year and is frequently cited as one of the finest post-war British novels.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: The Remains of the Day (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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