Jeff Bezos advices you to read “The Remains of the Day”

“The Remains of the Day”

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos lists Kazuo Ishiguro’s “The Remains of the Day” among his favorite books, citing its ability to teach readers about life and regret.

From Publishers Weekly

Greeted with high praise in England, where it seems certain to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Ishiguro’s third novel (after An Artist of the Floating World ) is a tour de force– both a compelling psychological study and a portrait of a vanished social order. Stevens, an elderly butler who has spent 30 years in the service of Lord Darlington, ruminates on the past and inadvertently slackens his rigid grip on his emotions to confront the central issues of his life. Glacially reserved, snobbish and humorless, Stevens has devoted his life to his concept of duty and responsibility, hoping to reach the pinnacle of his profession through totally selfless dedication and a ruthless suppression of sentiment. Having made a virtue of stoic dignity, he is proud of his impassive response to his father’s death and his “correct” behavior with the spunky former housekeeper, Miss Kenton. Ishiguro builds Stevens’s character with precisely controlled details, creating irony as the butler unwittingly reveals his pathetic self-deception. In the poignant denouement, Stevens belatedly realizes that he has wasted his life in blind service to a foolish man and that he has never discovered “the key to human warmth.” While it is not likely to provoke the same shocks of recognition as it did in Britain, this insightful, often humorous and moving novel should significantly enhance Ishiguro’s reputation here.

Characters and Themes, Motifs, and Symbols and more about the book.- a comprehesive link to have a look at.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/remains/summary.html

Authors interview/talk (general)
http://the-talks.com/interviews/kazuo-ishiguro/

Reviews

http://the-talks.com/interviews/kazuo-ishiguro/
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/17/rereading-remains-day-salman-rushdie
http://www.slywy.com/the-remains-of-the-day/

Useful related link:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/04/the-buried-giant-review-kazuo-ishiguro-tolkien-britain-mythical-past

Editorial & Customer Reviews & Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Amazon
http://amzn.to/1kcWHDX
(also have a look at “See all Editorial Reviews” page please)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Remains-Day-Kazuo-Ishiguro/dp/0571258247

Community Reviews

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28921.The_Remains_of_the_Day

 

Support this site and buy it from here : http://amzn.to/1kcWHDX

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