Welcome to Litsy!

I didn‘t realise until well into it that this was an abridged version. I enjoyed it. It made the film make more sense to me. Still not entirely sure how I feel about it all. An insight into the world of early - mid 19th century aristocracy and class divisions and identity within the ranks of the working class. I‘d liked to have read the original text, but kinda glad I didn‘t and I don‘t see myself ever doing so now.

Although beautifully written, I found Mr Stevens so aggravating and Miss Kenton‘s love for him so baffling, I can‘t say that I enjoyed this.

I‘ve wanted to read this book for a long time, and listening to it on audio was a wonderful experience. Not surprisingly, Ishiguro expertly crafted this beautiful, devastating story, told with a level of restraint and stoicism that would be so true of the main character. I loved it.

It seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been preoccupying my imagination now for some days.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Honestly, only a 3⭐ for me, but I read only one book in November. 😔 #12booksof2023 @Andrew65

About 70 pages in I was telling my husband I wasn‘t sure about this one, but he said he was sure I would like it. Shortly after that I was completely immersed in the story and even shed a few tears in the final pages. I‘m so glad this was the pick for #authoramonth for November. #aam #myhusbandpickedit

I‘m glad I finally got round to reading this little gem, thanks to #AuthorAMonth . A quiet, subtle piece of work, I love the way Ishiguro unfolds the story little by little. It has many layers, and so much of what is left unsaid is just as important as what is said. Beautiful, skilful writing. As in Never Let Me Go, it leaves me thinking long after I finished it.

Read for #AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
Please don‘t shoot me🙌This is an unpopular opinion. This is an amazing author and I really liked the prose. The topic is also interesting. However, in terms of how the story was developed, it didn‘t work for me. I didn‘t see the novel as a character driven one, the plot? I don‘t have much to say. I saw the novel as a beautiful narrative, description of events, stories, loose Stevens anecdotes⬇️

As my first read by Ishiguro, I was stunned by his subtle and elegant prose. It captured perfectly the restraint of our 1st-person narrator, Stevens, who is not only on a physical journey in the English countryside, but an internal one as well. Now in his advanced years, Steven is searching for the overall meaning to his life and if his sacrifices have all been worth it in the end. This journey of both the mind and soul is worth the read.

I loved this. The author is the absolute master of the unreliable narrator.

#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I‘ve had this on my TBR list for a while, but if not for #authoramonth I might have bailed. I just wanted it to go somewhere! Literally and figuratively. While on a traveling vacation through the English countryside, an aging butler reflects on his career and congratulates himself for maintaining the “dignity required of his profession,” instead of ever recognizing his emotions. BUT the writing is lovely, and ultimately the story is poignant.

This was my first Kazuo Ishiguro. I probably wouldn‘t have read it without #AuthorAMonth. That‘s kinda what I love most about #AAM though. Reading things I normally wouldn‘t. I did love the snarky bits. I think I want to watch the movie now.
@Soubhiville

I read this for #authoramonth for November. I had previously read Never Let Me Go and I absolutely LOVED it. This one I had a little trouble starting- I knew it was wonderful and I was enjoying it in a peaceful kind of way. And then I found out it was Anthony Hopkins in the movie and suddenly I was emotionally invested. So I loved it, but I needed Anthony to make me love it! #AAM #November

What a well-drawn character is Stevens! This is a bit of a somber, reflective story of a man in the twilight of his career who sacrificed everything to serve as butler in the house of a great man. As he takes an unusual vacation to reconnect with a former housekeeper, Stevens reflects on matters of dignity and greatness and wonders if it was worth it. This reads like a classic in the best kind of way. #authoramonth #bookspin

This was so. Good. Surprisingly funny, subtly snarky, and oh so endearing. Absolutely, hands down my favorite Ishiguro. So glad I read this ❤️❤️

#AuthoraMonth @Soubhiville

Yes! I‘ve finally found my Ishiguro! The format is simple. A post-WWII English butler is driving from his estate to visit a former employee. He reflects on his relationship with her, the complicated legacy of his former employer, and gets a little salty that he‘s not in the Halifax Society of great butlers. I liked the reveals. I liked how the butler was oblivious in some ways yet very tuned in in others. Great character! #AuthorAMonth

I was not looking forward to this month‘s #AuthorAMonth because I‘d already read and disliked one of his other novels (“Never Let Me Go). But this one surprised me—in a good way. It was quiet and poignant and nostalgic with dashes of humor and melancholy. Perhaps it did end a bit abruptly, but I‘m not really sure what else could have been said or done to extend the story.

First book finished for #AuthorAMonth for November @Soubhiville

Not read any books by this author previously so wasn‘t sure what to expect from this one. I enjoyed the historical dimension of this one, as well as the personal dimension. Overall very enjoyable but felt it came to quite an abrupt ending that I felt a little let down by, but still a pick for the experience.

#Rushathon @DieAReader @Ghabi4Roses Book 3 for November.

#IdiomInsight @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#CoolAsACucumber

Stevens is cool as a cucumber. Unfortunately, it ends up costing him so much.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 This is beautifully written, but also so quiet that I ended up saving it for something to listen to when I had trouble sleeping. It wasn‘t boring, just quiet. But there were deeper themes around finding worth in duty and service as opposed to living one‘s own life and what kinds of trade offs that entails.

30 Book Recommendations in 30 Days — Day 24 “The Remains of the Day,” by Kazuo Ishiguro.

I have a lot of water 💦 to drink because I‘ve been so engross with this book today! Who knew…

This is the first book by Kazuo Ishiguro that I have read , and he has instantly become my favorite author. There is such simplicity, innocence and delicate human emotions woven in his writing ! The novel is about an ageing Butler who has served his Master with great loyalty and looks back at his life and what remains of his day, while undertaking a journey. There is a movie based on the book starring Anthony Hopkins.

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

Got these for #authoramonth for August and November so I only need Kate Morton‘s new one coming out in April and I‘m set for the year!

Happy November everyone! I hope your month is fabulous! Here are the #Two4Tuesday questions for today.

My answers:
1. The book needs to be set prior to 1950. If it is newer it doesn't feel historical because I remember it. So dating myself here.
2. The Remains of the Day reminds me of fall because it feels like an ending of an era and love. Fall is an ending of warmer weather and the transition to cold. This book is a transition.

It was refreshing to read a book from the butlers POV for a change...not sure how accurate a portrayal it was but thoroughly enjoyable!

#ReadingRetreat #Gladstonerds

@Oryx @CGainor3 @squirrelbrain @TrishB @scripturient @Leniverse @jenniferw88 @Mitch @rockpools

The novel tells, in first-person narration, the story of Stevens, an English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington (who is recently deceased, and whom Stevens describes in increasing detail in 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 at Darlington Hall, Lord Darlington's estate.

This was my second by Ishiguro and I didn‘t like it as much. (First was Never Let Me Go.)
I found the very proper sounding language of the MC quite off putting, and his professional disconnect was actually disturbing.
But I feel like it‘s a classic and I‘m glad I read it. Also it was my #bookspin- fortuitous drawing as I was already halfway through it.

Pictured behind the book: the first plants in my new garden space! #litsycrafters

I am ridiculously excited for these birthday gifts Barbara, especially the tagged book because you recommended it back when I bailed on Klara. Plus you know my love for short stories and I have never read Lucy Barton, which seems like a great quick read. Thank you! I really appreciate you and your friendship!! 💜🥰😘

#ItHadToBeYou @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
Prompt: Unrequited Love

14-20 Feb 2022 (audiobook)
I absolutely loved this story told by a slightly unreliable (or just deluded) narrator who served as a butler in a great English house between the wars. As he recounts his years of service he comes to the realisation that the man he had served may not have deserved such loyalty and devotion.
This book raises the question of what makes a good life. For me, the answer is family and friends - not devotion to work.

These are just the books I have on hand; I also have a copy of the tagged book The Remains of the Day somewhere unknown in my book stacks 😆. Let me know your thoughts! @MaleficentBookDragon @MeganAnn @phantomx

An elegant book with a plot simple enough (an English butler, on a road trip, reminiscing on his past thirty years of “dignified” service to a controversial lord and “gentleman”) but which disguises a deeper undertow of meaning: an interrogation of the idea of one‘s allegiance to something that may not deserve such. It is the butler‘s roundabout attempts to hide these truths from himself, even up to the last page, which makes this story so sad.

Book 152

I listened to The Remains of the Day, a well-done novel with a classical feel, by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is a slow-paced dive into Stevens, a butler in England in the early to mid-1900s. His character is so stiff and...butlery, but you warm up to him. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

https://youtu.be/KZ4gaeWD_RE

A playlist of all episodes in the Bite-sized Book Chat series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU-61cZp1pQdBH5V0Zb9q-2ujl4PY8nhf

Chat #1: with Abhishek from Bangalore

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Chat #2: with with Georgia from York

Nothing Holds Back the Night by Delphine de Vigan (George Miller, translator)

Just read this one, and Klara and the Sun. Both are 5 star. Love the delicate placement of each word. Will seek out and read all of this author!🥰

Oh. My. Word. I LOVED this book! The humor, the emotion, the drama, the relationships! It was so subtle yet so profound. So amazing!! This was my book club pick this month, and I can‘t wait to hear what other people thought! I hope the enjoyed the writing as much as I did! It‘s a bit challenging, but so worth it. This left my in tears! Definitely becoming one of my favorite books.

Yes, the narrator‘s voice in my head was Anthony Hopkins throughout the entirety of this novel. It‘s unavoidable if, like me, you saw the iconic Merchant Ivory adaptation first. Ishiguro is so good - the writing is like a chesterfield sofa with buttery old leather that you just sink into. The story of an English butler who aspires to the very best of his profession while perhaps missing out on his one chance at love is elegant and heartbreaking.

This is a beautifully written book capturing the emotions (or lack thereof) of one man‘s incapacity to live his life for himself because his life is his work and it demands he honorably serve another man. So many beautiful words to slow down and think about.

This year I‘m focusing on backlist titles and this is one that‘s been on “the list” for a long time. Glad to finally crack it open.

I‘m using it as my 1950s book for The Decades Reading Challenge.

#bookspinbingo

A beautifully understated meditation on regret, missed opportunity and misplaced loyalty which also manages to be much funnier than I remembered it.

I feel I may be one of the last people who hadn‘t read this already! What a beautiful book. It is a talented author who can write something that seems so simple and yet tells you something profound. It‘s like the magicians sleight of hand. You‘re busy looking at the wand and meanwhile a rabbit has appeared in his other hand 🤯 ⬇️

𝙸𝚝𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍! 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢.

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚜 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐?

𝚆𝚑𝚘𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛? 𝙵𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚢 𝙲𝙰 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢!

Oh my. What a tour de force! A masterclass in top quality literature! This is nothing less than exquisite. It's hilarious (the birds & bees scene) & it's clever (the slow reveal of truth) & it's poignantly, infuriatingly, heartbreakingly sad. How a thing done with such sublime subtlety can pack such an immense emotional punch is an absolute wonder. There are so many layers here, so much to unpack that ... cont. in comments ⬇️⬇️