The Remains of the Day 1989
- Man Booker Prize Winner, Literature, Household employees, Butlers
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.
Man Booker Prize WinnerLiteratureHousehold employeesButlersCountry homesDomesticsFictionCountry homes -- FictionMan-woman relationshipsHistoryHistorical fictionMan-woman relationships, fiction
- Bleak ending
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Where do you stand?
Three questions people argue about. Answer first, then see how your circle and the community split.
Is this Kazuo Ishiguro's best work?
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Would The Remains of the Day hit harder if it came out today rather than in 1989?
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Is it the best man booker prize winner book of its decade?
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Answered from the reviews and content notes on file, never made up. If nothing on file settles it, it says so.
Character
Contemplative, prestige, grave and earnest.
- contemplativerelentless
- unpretentiousprestige
- gravecomic
- earnestironic
- character-ledplot-driven
Who loves it, who doesn't
10 profiled raters. Loved most by The Empaths.
Reviews
We read them all: the case for is mara_k's. Marked below.
- mara_kThe case forThe Empath★★★★★
A whole life spent misreading the room, told by the man who did the misreading. Ishiguro's cruelty is that Stevens is likeable. I finished it on a train and could not look at anyone.
- amara.readsThe Empath★★★★★
Perfect. There is no other word. A man tells you about his life and never once notices what he is telling you.
Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Curator Co. Other media included when they land close.
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Both contemplative, character-led, earnest; this one is more contemporary.
The Remains of the Day 199385% alikeFilm · Both contemplative, earnest, prestige.
Past Lives 202376% alikeFilm · Both contemplative, earnest, grave.
