The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
"What is the point of worrying oneself too much about what one could or could not have done to control the course one's life took?"
How Very true!
When Mr. James Stevens the Butler of Darlington Hall takes a Six day motoring trip on his current employer Mr. Farraday insistence, he not only takes a short trip to the West country but also revisits his past, walks down the memory lane. Through which he unveils to us readers what a loyal, honest and ethically committed Butler he was. Though he never says anything directly but we would know eventually how he missed so many simple things in his life being a committed butler, how his life changed drastically which affected him in many ways.
I think thats the beauty of the writing, saying things between the lines!
Another thing which caught my attention was that, Stevens never regrets his past and i found that was the best part of the book. Though he loses so many things being a loyal Butler to his employer, be it not living a normal life, his own restriction to himself, not being there for his father when necessary, not understanding Miss Kenton when he should have, yet he never ever regrets of being what he was/is. That was a bit heart breaking to read though.
I would be lying if i say i never got bored of listing to Stevens’ reminisces, i did. But then i was also curious to know how his and Miss Kenton’s meeting would go and how it would all end. Well, all i can say is a Butler’s life is not as simple as it seems to be, not anybodies life for that matter!
P.S. I don’t know why but i kept picturing Carson of Downton Abbey as Mr Stevens of Darlington Hall throughout.
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