Product Description

Key Features:

• Study methods
• Introduction to the text
• Summaries with critical notes
• Themes and techniques
• Textual analysis of key passages
• Author biography
• Historical and literary background
• Modern and historical critical approaches
• Chronology
• Glossary of literary terms

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2924 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-03
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Customer Reviews

Touching and beautiful
It was an impulse read after seeing the movie. What a dear book! It's been a long time since I really enjoyed reading and I read a lot but what I mean is deriving almost physical pleasure from beautiful and eloquent language, and taking time over a book unfolding the characters. One cannot fail to be moved by the story and it certainly made me want to re-assess the certain priorities. My favourite scene is towards the end when Miss Kenton confesses that the reason she was unhappy with her marriage is because she often wondered what kind of a life she might have had with him, Stevens, it's absolutely breathtaking. Why or why do we waste opportunities.....

A compelling read
I read this book as part of my university course and really enjoyed it. the main character, Stevens, is flawed and he does not even realise it. most of the time he seems completely detached from his emotions but that is part of his appeal. by the end of the novel you really are rooting for him, hoping that his journey, both physically and retrospectively, have made a difference to him and his life. some people in my class did not like this but i found it really enjoyable, one of those books that just flew by, definitely worth a look.

Quiet, economical but excellent
Told in the first person by Stevens, the butler of Darlington Hall, this is a very quiet, economically written book that's a thoroughly absorbing read.

The story itself revolves around a journey - Stevens has been lent a car by his employer, the American Mr Farraday, and told to take a vacation. He is travelling to the West Country to visit his friend, Miss Kenton (now Mrs Benn) who used to work as a housekeeper at Darlington Hall. His purpose in the visit is to ask her to consider returning to the Hall to take up a position there, as the staff levels at the Hall are so reduced that he's taken on too many duties himself and is painfully aware that he is not meeting his usual standards. As the journey progresses, Stevens starts to tell the reader about some of the background to his relationship with Miss Kenton and also hints at the events that took place in the Hall and which led to the downfall of his employer, Lord Darlington.

Despite being very reserved, Stevens is a fascinating character, driven by his duty to his employer and his desire to be the best butler that he can be. He spends sections of the book musing about what makes a good butler and is devoted to his employer, but at the same time Ishiguro shows us the effect that his desire to be dignified has on the relationships he has with the people around him. For me, one of the most moving scenes in the book is the one between him and his father, after his father has had a stroke - his father is trying to give him a farewell message, but Stevens is unwilling to betray any emotion in front of him. Even when his father dies and the doctor comes to certify his death, Stevens makes a point of asking the doctor to see to one of Lord Darlington's guests afterwards.

For me, the only time where Stevens is a little too reserved is in his relationship with Miss Kenton. For me, Ishiguro's technique of keeping things hidden and trying to show you what's going on doesn't quite come off as there's too little on the page for me to understand why Miss Kenton is drawn to a man who continually rebuffs her and holds her at a professional distance. When Stevens undergoes his inner revelation at the end, it was too little too late. Nevertheless, Ishiguro does give Stevens a sense of vulnerability, for example the way he frets about his inability to banter with Mr Farraday and his small attempts to improve his bantering technique. There is also an amusing scene where Stevens attempts to explain the birds and the bees to Mr Cardinal (at Lord Darlington's request), only to find his words misunderstood.

Ishiguro really captures the political feel of the 1920s and 1930s through the Lord Darlington scenes and you can perfectly understand why this man, who felt so deeply for the treatment of Germany under the Treaty of Versaille, should fall prey to Fascist thinking. I felt that Lord Darlington's descent into Fascist sympathy was perfectly understandable within the confines of the character - this is a man desperate to undo the indignities and injustices that were heaped on Germany after World War I and who sees the rise of the Nazis as a means for Germany to get its confidence back. When he does the unpalatable and sacks two maids purely for being Jewish, you can understand his weakness even whilst disliking him for it because it's set up in the context of a man who does not do his own dirty work, relying on men such as Stevens to do it for him. Described by Senator Lewis as an "amateur", this is a good summary of his character - well meaning, but ultimately out of his depth.

All in all, I thought that it was an excellent read and one that captures the reserved English spirit and an excellent feel for the period and as such would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone.