“One is not struck by the truth until prompted quite
accidentally by some external event.”
Have you ever felt the anxiety
(or say temptation) to talk to somebody to share the warmth of the words, the
directions of the story, the flaws of the characters, the complexity of the
situations of the book that you were reading. It has not happened with me many
times earlier but while I was reading the book “The Remains of the Day”, I
distinctly remember that after I had read the chapter where Mr. Stevens stood
gracefully on his duty even after knowing that his father has died, I had this
huge urge to talk to someone who had already read the book and discuss the
flaws (virtues) of Mr. Stevans. And now that I am writing this, I wonder what
an amazing oasis internet is where one can quench his thrust of knowedge and
sharing. If I had searched the internet then, I might have found scores of
discussion-boards on this best-selling book.
“The evening's the best
part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and
enjoy it.”
The story is set in England of
1950s and told in a first-person narrative by Mr. Stevens, the old butler of
Darlington Hall where he shares with us how different and modern his new master
Mr. Faraday is and how is he finding himself incapable of quick repartee when
his master shares some light moments with him. When his master provides him
opportunity to travel to English country in his blue Ford car, he grabs it
after mixing business with the pleasure of the travel. The business of meeting
Miss Kenton, ex-house-keeper of Darlington Hall and pursue her to come and join
the house-keeping staff of the hall once again as he is under-staff and she has
thrown some hints of the breaking of her marriage in her latest letter to Mr.
Stevens.
“After all, what can
we ever gain in forever looking back and blaming ourselves if our lives have
not turned out quite as we might have wished?”
The book then leads us to the magnanimous
sceneries of the country side of England and throughout the journey he kept
reminiscing of the glory days of Darlington Hall, the specific affairs in the
pre-war era which were quite important in his journey of butlery, his personal
trials and his moments of victory and most importantly his relationship with
Miss Kenton. And as one presumes that finally his journey would end up with his
union again with Miss Kenton, the book took the more realistic path.
"The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your
day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it.”
Kazuo Ishigaro is the hero in
this book for creating the character of Mr. Stevens. Incidentally, through Wooster-Jeeves series of P G Wodehouse, I had
already read of the impeccably formal English style of the butlers and language
of the book since it is in first-form narrative form played its part
immaculately. Even if the characterization of Mr. Stevens was very professional
and keeps aloof yet one connects to him. One feels sad on reading the accounts
where Mr. Stevens honours his duty above his personal life and anxious when he
feels uncomfortable and wonders what if…
This book has already been made in the 1993
Anthony-Hopkins starrer movie of the same name. After reading the book I sowanted to see the movie and it didn’t disappoint.
I have saved 2 different lists of “100 Books to
read before you Die” and while classic books are present in both the lists,
both the lists quite differ in the rest of the selection but this book features
in both. Since I have not read many classics in life, finding it among the
ever-gren classics was great.
“What is pertinent is the
calmness of beauty, its sense of restraint. It is as though the land knows of
its own beauty, its own greatness, and feels no need to shout it.”
And the book lives up to its own quote.
No comments:
Post a Comment