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{{short description|Novel by Kazuo Ishiguro}} {{about|the novel}} {{Use British English|date=October 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}} {{Infobox book | name = The Remains of the Day | title_orig = | translator = | image = KazuoIshiguro TheRemainsOfTheDay.jpg | caption = First edition | alt = | author = [[Kazuo Ishiguro]] | cover_artist = | country = United Kingdom | language = English | series = | genre = Historical novel | publisher = [[Faber and Faber]] | release_date = May 1989 | media_type = Print (hardback) | pages = 258 | isbn = 978-0-571-15310-7 | oclc = 59165609 | preceded_by = | followed_by = }} '''''The Remains of the Day''''' is a 1989 novel by the [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize]]-winning British author [[Kazuo Ishiguro]]. The protagonist, Stevens, is a [[butler]] with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a fictitious stately home near [[Oxford, England]]. In 1956, he takes a road trip to visit a former colleague, and reminisces about events at Darlington Hall in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Graver|first=Lawrence|date=1989-10-08|title=What the Butler Saw|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/08/books/what-the-butler-saw.html|access-date=2021-09-25|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The work received the [[Booker Prize|Booker Prize for Fiction]] in 1989. A [[The Remains of the Day (film)|film adaptation of the novel]], made in 1993 and starring [[Anthony Hopkins]] and [[Emma Thompson]], was nominated for eight [[Academy Award]]s. In 2022, it was included on the "[[Big Jubilee Read]]" list of 70 books by [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] authors, selected to celebrate the [[Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2Ynpj933DJ2YG5nsMS6fn8k/a-literary-celebration-of-queen-elizabeth-iis-record-breaking-reign|title=The Big Jubilee Read: A literary celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's record-breaking reign|website=BBC|date=17 April 2022|access-date=18 June 2022}}</ref> ==Plot summary== The novel tells, in [[First-person narrative|first-person narration]], the story of Stevens, an English [[butler]] who has dedicated his life to the loyal [[domestic service|service]] of Lord Darlington (who is recently deceased, and whom Stevens describes in increasing detail in [[Flashback (psychology)|flashbacks]]). As the work progresses, two central themes are revealed: Lord Darlington was a Nazi sympathizer; and Stevens is in love with Miss Kenton, the [[Housekeeper (domestic worker)|housekeeper]] at Darlington Hall, Lord Darlington's estate.{{Sfn|Connor|1996|p=104}} The novel begins in 1956, with Stevens receiving a letter from a former colleague, the housekeeper Miss Kenton, describing her married life, which Stevens believes hints at an unhappy marriage. Furthermore, Darlington Hall is short-staffed and could greatly use a skilled housekeeper like Miss Kenton. Stevens starts to consider paying Miss Kenton a visit. His new employer, a wealthy American named Mr. Farraday, encourages Stevens to borrow his car to take a well-earned vacation—a "motoring trip". Stevens accepts, and sets out for Little Compton, Cornwall, where Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) lives. During his journey, Stevens reflects on his unshakable loyalty to Lord Darlington, who had hosted lavish meetings between German sympathizers and English aristocrats in an effort to influence international affairs in the years leading up to the [[Second World War]]; on the meaning of the term "dignity" and what constitutes a great butler; and on his relationship with his late father, another "no-nonsense" man who dedicated his life to service. Ultimately, Stevens is forced to ponder Lord Darlington's character and reputation, as well as the true nature of his relationship with Miss Kenton. As the book progresses, evidence mounts of Miss Kenton's and Stevens' past mutual attraction and affection. While they worked together during the [[Interwar period|1930s]], Stevens and Miss Kenton failed to admit their true feelings toward each other. Their conversations as recollected by Stevens show a professional friendship which at times came close to blossoming into romance, but this was evidently a line that neither dared cross. Stevens in particular never yielded, even when Miss Kenton tried to draw closer to him. When they finally meet again, Mrs. Benn, having been married now for more than twenty years, admits to wondering if she made a mistake in marrying, but says she has come to love her husband and is looking forward to the birth of their first grandchild. Stevens later muses over lost opportunities, both with Miss Kenton and regarding his decades of selfless service to Lord Darlington, who may not have been worthy of his unquestioning fealty. Stevens even expresses some of these sentiments in casual conversation with a friendly stranger of a similar age and background whom he happens upon near the end of his travels. This man suggests that it is better to enjoy the present time in one's life than to dwell on the past, as "the evening" is, after all, the best part of the day. At the end of the novel, Stevens appears to have taken this to heart as he focuses on the titular "remains of the day", referring to his future service with Mr. Farraday and what is left of his own life. ==Characters== *Mr. Stevens, the narrator, an English butler who serves at Darlington Hall. A man devoted to performing his job to the highest standards, and who is particularly concerned with dignity (exemplified by the fact that the reader never learns his first name). *Miss Kenton, the housekeeper at Darlington Hall, later married as Mrs Benn. A capable and opinionated woman who works closely with Mr Stevens as the two most senior serving staff. Her relationship with Mr Stevens is unstable; they frequently argue, yet it is evident to the reader (but not to Stevens) that she is in love with him. *Lord Darlington, the owner of Darlington Hall, characterised as well-meaning but naïve. His support for [[appeasement]] with Nazi Germany results in public disgrace after WWII. *William Stevens (Mr. Stevens senior), the 72-year-old father of Mr Stevens, serving as under-butler; Stevens senior suffers a severe stroke during the conference at Darlington Hall. His relationship with his son is portrayed as strained. *Senator Lewis, an American senator who criticises Lord Darlington as being an "amateur" in politics. He symbolises the declining power and relevance of the European aristocracy in the face of America's ascendance as a global superpower, and the increasing role of non-aristocratic "experts" in politics. *Young Mr Cardinal, the son of one of Lord Darlington's closest friends and a journalist; he is killed in Belgium during the Second World War. *M. Dupont, a high-ranking French politician who attends Lord Darlington's conference. On his motoring trip, Stevens briefly comes into contact with several other characters, most of them working class. They serve to challenge Stevens' ideals and values, particularly in the changing post-war social context, and contribute towards his epiphany at the end of the novel. For example, Harry Smith, an outspoken left-wing man he meets while the guest of some local villagers, argues that dignity is actually about [[democracy]] and standing up for one's beliefs, in contrast to Stevens' conception of it as being about suppressing one's own feelings in pursuit of professionalism. == Release and publication history == ''Remains'' was first published in the United Kingdom by [[Faber and Faber]] in May 1989,<ref>{{Cite journal|date=April 1989|title=Forthcoming Books May 1989|journal=British Book News|publisher=[[British Council]]|page=[[iarchive:sim_british-book-news_1989-04/page/300/mode/1up|300]]|issn=0007-0343}}</ref> and in the United States by [[Alfred A. Knopf]] on 4 October 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1989-09-15|title=The Remains of the Day|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kazuo-ishiguro/remains-of-day/|access-date=2021-09-26|website=[[Kirkus Reviews]]}}</ref> ==Influence from Tom Waits== [[Kazuo Ishiguro]] recalled how [[Tom Waits]] influenced ''The Remains of the Day'':<blockquote> I thought I’d finished ''Remains'', but then one evening heard Tom Waits singing his song "Ruby’s Arms". It’s a ballad about a soldier leaving his lover sleeping in the early hours to go away on a train. Nothing unusual in that. But the song is sung in the voice of a rough American hobo type utterly unaccustomed to wearing his emotions on his sleeve. And there comes a moment, when the singer declares his heart is breaking, that’s almost unbearably moving because of the tension between the sentiment itself and the huge resistance that’s obviously been overcome to utter it. Waits sings the line with cathartic magnificence, and you feel a lifetime of tough-guy stoicism crumbling in the face of overwhelming sadness. I heard this and reversed a decision I’d made, that Stevens would remain emotionally buttoned up right to the bitter end. I decided that at just one point – which I’d have to choose very carefully – his rigid defence would crack, and a hitherto concealed tragic romanticism would be glimpsed.<ref>{{cite news| last=Ishiguro| first=Kazuo| date=December 6, 2014| title=Kazuo Ishiguro: how I wrote The Remains of the Day in four weeks| work=The Guardian| url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/06/kazuo-ishiguro-the-remains-of-the-day-guardian-book-club}}</ref></blockquote> ==Reception== ''The Remains of the Day'' is one of the most highly regarded post-war British novels. In 1989, the novel won the [[Booker Prize]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021|title=The Booker Prize 1989|url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/1989|access-date=2021-09-26|publisher=[[Booker Prize]]s|language=en}}</ref> It ranks 146th in a composite list, compiled by Brian Kunde of [[Stanford University]], of the best 20th-century English-language fiction.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.stanford.edu/~bkunde/best/bl-crank.htm | publisher=[[Stanford University]] | title=The Best English-Language Fiction of the Twentieth Century: A Composite List and Ranking | author=Brian Kunde | date=24 June 2005 | access-date=29 June 2010}}</ref> In 2006, ''[[The Observer]]'' asked 150 literary writers and critics to vote for the best British, Irish or Commonwealth novel from 1980 to 2005; ''The Remains of the Day'' placed joint-eighth.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/oct/08/fiction.features1 | newspaper=[[The Observer]] | title=What's the best novel in the past 25 years? | author=Robert McCrum | author-link=Robert McCrum | date=8 October 2006 | access-date=29 June 2010 | location=London}}</ref> In 2007, ''The Remains of the Day'' was included in a ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' list of "Books you can't live without"<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/mar/01/news | newspaper=The Guardian | title=Books you can't live without: the top 100 | date=1 March 2007 | access-date=29 June 2010 | location=London}}</ref> and also in a 2009 "1000 novels everyone must read" list.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fiction | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=1000 Novels Everyone Must Read: The Definitive List | date=23 January 2009}}</ref> ''[[The Economist]]'' has described the novel as Ishiguro's "most famous book".<ref name="veconomist">{{cite news|title=Kazuo Ishiguro, a Nobel laureate for these muddled times|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2017/10/uncovering-abyss|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=5 October 2017}}</ref> On 5 November 2019, the ''[[BBC News]]'' listed ''The Remains of the Day'' on its list of the [[BBC list of 100 'most inspiring' novels|100 most influential novels]].<ref name=Bbc2019-11-05/> In a retrospective review published in ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 2012, [[Salman Rushdie]] argues that "the real story … is that of a man destroyed by the ideas upon which he has built his life".<ref name=rushdie2012>{{Cite web|last=Rushdie|first=Salman|author-link=Salman Rushdie|date=2012-08-17|title=Salman Rushdie: rereading The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/17/rereading-remains-day-salman-rushdie|access-date=2021-09-26|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref> In Rushdie's view, Stevens's obsession with dignified restraint has cost him loving relationships with his father and with Miss Kenton.<ref name="rushdie2012" /> Kathleen Wall argues that ''The Remains of the Day'' "may be seen to be ''about'' Stevens's attempts to grapple with his unreliable memories and interpretations and the havoc that his dishonesty has played on his life" (emphasis in original).{{sfn|Wall|1994|p=23}} In particular, she suggests that ''The Remains of the Day'' challenges scholarly accounts of the [[unreliable narrator]]. Wall notes that the ironic effect of Mr Stevens's narration depends on the reader's assuming that he describes ''events'' reliably, while ''interpreting'' those events in self-serving or peculiar ways.{{sfn|Wall|1994|p=25}} According to [[Steven Connor]], ''The Remains of the Day'' thematises the idea of [[English national identity]]. In Mr Stevens's view, the qualities of the best butlers, which involve restraining personal emotions in favour of keeping up appearances, are "identified as essentially English".{{Sfn|Connor|1996|pp=104–105}} Connor argues that early critics of ''The Remains of the Day'', who saw it as a novel about Japanese national identity, were mistaken: "there seems to be no doubt that it is Englishness that is at stake or under analysis in this novel".{{Sfn|Connor|1996|p=107}} ==Adaptations== *The novel was adapted into a [[The Remains of the Day (film)|film of the same name]] in 1993. Directed by [[James Ivory]] and produced by [[Ismail Merchant]], [[Mike Nichols]] and [[John Calley]] (i.e., [[Merchant Ivory Productions]]), the film starred [[Anthony Hopkins]] as Stevens, [[Emma Thompson]] as Miss Kenton. The supporting cast included [[Christopher Reeve]] as Congressman Lewis, [[James Fox]] as Lord Darlington, [[Hugh Grant]] as Reginald Cardinal and [[Peter Vaughan]] as Mr Stevens, Sr. The film adaptation was nominated for eight [[Academy Award]]s. In the film, the man who has bought Darlington Hall is Congressman Lewis after he has retired from politics. *A [[radio play]] adaptation in two-hour-long episodes starring [[Ian McDiarmid]] was first broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]] on 8 and 15 August 2003.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.jmu.ac.uk/MCA/93915.htm | publisher=[[Liverpool John Moores University]] | title= Programme Leader of the MA in Writing |author=Jim Friel |date=19 May 2008 | access-date=29 June 2010}}</ref> *A [[The Remains of the Day (musical)|musical adaptation]] of the novel by Alex Loveless<ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gcgW0kmpHAzpv3aGYQTwoN8TRngg | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100908122856/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gcgW0kmpHAzpv3aGYQTwoN8TRngg | url-status = dead | archive-date = 8 September 2010 | title=Remains of the Day musical opens in London|author = AFP | type = news article }}</ref> was staged in 2010 in London's [[Union Theatre (London)|Union Theatre]],<ref>{{Citation | title = The Stage | place = UK | url = http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/26878/musical-of-the-remains-of-the-day-to-premiere | contribution = Musical of The Remains of the Day to première | type = news story}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | title = The Telegraph | contribution-url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/5401693/Its-Remains-of-the-Day-the-musical-for-Kazuo-Ishiguro.html | type = news | contribution = It's Remains of the Day the musical for Kazuo Ishiguro | location=London | series=The Daily Telegraph | first=Tim | last=Walker | date=28 May 2009}}</ref> and received positive reviews.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/29425/the-remains-of-the-day | title = The Stage | place = UK | type = review | contribution = The Remains of the Day}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | type = review | url = http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/review-23873858-songs-for-english-reserve-in-the-remains-of-the-day.do | title = This is London | place = UK | contribution = Songs for English reserve in The Remains of the Day | access-date = 3 September 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100909004431/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/review-23873858-songs-for-english-reserve-in-the-remains-of-the-day.do | archive-date = 9 September 2010 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/699272fa-b6a9-11df-b3dd-00144feabdc0.html | title = The Financial Times | date = 2 September 2010 | place = UK}}.</ref> ==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=Bbc2019-11-05> {{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50302788 | title = 100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts | work = [[BBC News]] | date = 5 November 2019 | quote = The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature. }} </ref> }} == Sources == * {{Cite book|last=Connor|first=Steven|url=https://archive.org/details/englishnovelinhi0000conn|url-access=registration|title=The English Novel in History, 1950–1995|year=1996|isbn=978-0-203-15813-5|publisher=[[Routledge]]|oclc=179111717|author-link=Steven Connor}} * {{Cite journal|last=Wall|first=Kathleen|date=1994|title=''The Remains of the Day'' and Its Challenges to Theories of Unreliable Narration|journal=[[Journal of Narrative Theory|The Journal of Narrative Technique]]|volume=24|issue=1|pages=18–42|issn=0022-2925|jstor=30225397|id={{ProQuest|1291917995}}}} ==Further reading== * {{Cite news|last=Kakutani|first=Michiko|author-link=Michiko Kakutani|date=1989-09-22|title=An Era Revealed in a Perfect Butler's Imperfections|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/22/books/books-of-the-times-an-era-revealed-in-a-perfect-butler-s-imperfections.html|issn=0362-4331}} * {{Citation | contribution-url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b007674y | contribution = Kazuo Ishiguro discusses ''The Remains of the Day'' | publisher = BBC | title = [[World Book Club]] | place = UK}} * {{Citation | url = http://www.faber.co.uk/site-media/reading-guides/10015.pdf | title = Book guide | publisher = Faber | place = UK | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100327002549/http://www.faber.co.uk/site-media/reading-guides/10015.pdf | archive-date = 27 March 2010}} * Freienstein, Peter and Paul W. Maloney, ''Imagining Mr Stevens. Approaches to Ishiguro's'' The Remains of the Day. Tredition Verlag Hamburg, 2022. {{Kazuo Ishiguro}} {{Booker Prize}} {{Authority control}} {{Portal bar|Literature|Books}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Remains of the Day, The}} [[Category:Novels by Kazuo Ishiguro]] [[Category:Booker Prize–winning works]] [[Category:1989 British novels]] [[Category:British novels adapted into films]] [[Category:Fiction with unreliable narrators]] [[Category:Historical novels]] [[Category:Fiction set in 1956]] [[Category:Novels set in Wiltshire]] [[Category:Faber & Faber books]] [[Category:Postmodern novels]] [[Category:First-person narrative novels]] [[Category:Novels set in mansions and country houses]]
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