Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day is a moving story imbued with absurdity and laughter.
Kazuo Ishiguro, Vikram Seth, Murakami, for me have one thing in common — I have heard their names but never actually got on to read their books. So when I saw Ishiguro’s book, “The Remains of the Day’’, on my friend’s bookshelf I immediately borrowed it. I had no idea about Ishiguro’s writing style — should I expect humour, thriller or drama. The backside of the book provided as much information as my prior knowledge — an ageing butler embarks on holiday while reflecting on his past.
The first 20 pages of the book felt slow for my taste. It is exactly the opposite of an article, which aims to start with a hook to capture the audience’s attention. However, the book meandered in all directions before arriving at the destination, around 20 pages too late in the author’s opinion.
The story follows the leisurely holiday of an ageing butler, Stevens, who embarks on a motoring trip across the English countryside at the insistence of his American employer. As Stevens starts his trip, memories from the past start engulfing his thoughts. He ponders over his interactions with his previous employer, his strictly professional relationship with the housekeeper Miss Kenton and his father, and most importantly, his idea of an exemplary butler.
Stevens sole purpose was to provide perfect service to his landlord and perform his duties as the butler to the best of his ability. This meant serving his landlord and his guest even as his father was suffering from severe illness or carrying out tasks instructed by his landlord without any questions, even if they might be considered unethical and immoral.
The dispassionate attitude of Stevens was unsettling sometimes. At these times, I missed (and my favourite butler) good old Jeeves. Stevens was no Jeeves in humour but his thoughts and actions were so ridiculous that I couldn’t stop laughing. For example, Stevens notices that his new American landlord likes to banter. Upon realizing his ineptitude at banter, he promptly starts listening to a radio programme called ‘Twice a Week or More’ to improve his witticism and practices it on unwitting strangers during his trip. His poor attempts at banter and resolution to try harder makes up for his failure at least for the reader.
The story explores relationships between different societies of people — butler and landlord, landlord’s friends. Since a part of the story is set at the backdrop of WW1 and WW2, it presents viewpoints of aristocrats, especially English, who were sympathetic to Hitler’s ideology. Further, the book captures the tension between Stevens and Miss Keaton — while attracted to one another at a personal level, their professional arrangement makes it hard for their love to blossom. It reminded me of Faiz’s sher, “Kuch Ishq kiya, Kuch Kaam Kiya / Loved at bit, worked a bit.” Stevens, a professional butler, would agree only with the latter.
As I read the book further, I felt slowly drawn towards Stevens and his reflections. After some time, I couldn’t stop reading the book. The book felt like a composition by an accomplished classical musician. At first, one doesn’t want to listen to it but once you start listening, it is impossible to stop it. Ishiguro’s writing is the same — it is evocative, reflective, humorous and beautiful.
If you are like me who always wanted to read Ishiguro in the past, The Remains of the Day is a great start.
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