 |  |
Source: http://jacquesdemys.tumblr.com/ Movie: Waiting For Guffman (1996)
Yesterday was book club day and we met to discuss "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro. I think most people are familiar with the title because of the movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
The general premise of the book is that James Stevens has been the head butler of Darlington estate for a very long time. After encouragement from his new (very American) boss, Stevens goes on a short road trip to visit an old colleague. As he travels, he reflects back on his time at the estate and tries to figure out what his role is in the rapidly changing world. Basically, it's a grown man's diary.
This is one of those books where I think we were all on the same page as to how we viewed it. Technically, Ishiguro is a very good writer. His writing really did evoke a certain tone and feeling of melancholy. That being said, not much happened. Many commented that we kept waiting for something to change, but nothing ever did. Despite it being a relatively short book, several people mentioned that the lack of action made the reading go very slow.
Despite our desires to see more action in the story, many of us gave the book 3 stars. We didn't dislike it, but it wasn't a great book either. If you want to read a Kazuo Ishiguro book, several members said that they thought his book "Never Let Me Go" was much better read.
The general premise of the book is that James Stevens has been the head butler of Darlington estate for a very long time. After encouragement from his new (very American) boss, Stevens goes on a short road trip to visit an old colleague. As he travels, he reflects back on his time at the estate and tries to figure out what his role is in the rapidly changing world. Basically, it's a grown man's diary.
This is one of those books where I think we were all on the same page as to how we viewed it. Technically, Ishiguro is a very good writer. His writing really did evoke a certain tone and feeling of melancholy. That being said, not much happened. Many commented that we kept waiting for something to change, but nothing ever did. Despite it being a relatively short book, several people mentioned that the lack of action made the reading go very slow.
Despite our desires to see more action in the story, many of us gave the book 3 stars. We didn't dislike it, but it wasn't a great book either. If you want to read a Kazuo Ishiguro book, several members said that they thought his book "Never Let Me Go" was much better read.
RSS Feed