The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

I heard from a friend that Ishiguro won the Nobel prize for literature, and won the Man Booker Prize for The Remains of the Day.  My unfamiliarity with Ishiguro made me wonder how a Japanese man could write about an English butler in a compelling and award winning way.  But my mistake was in assuming that he is Japanese.  Rather, moving to England as a 5-year old, his nationality was British while his ethnicity was Japanese (lesson - don't assume one's nationality by his/her name).


The subject matter of this book was interesting, but there weren't any grand or dramatic occurrences.  I think the mark of a memorable book is how the main character is multi-dimensional and develops throughout the book, and the main character in this book, Mr. Stevens, hits that mark, as he contemplates his life in service as a butler to Lord Darlington and later to Mr. Farraday in Darlington Hall.  The story is based in his present time spent on an expedition to see Ms. Kenton, a former maid in Darlington Hall, though much of the book is a recollection of his previous years working with Ms. Kenton.

It's a beautifully written book.  Though I don't read a lot of fiction, I felt that this was the best fiction I've read since 1984, and I totally understand why it won awards and was made into a movie.

On an odd note....  this audiobook was read by Simon Prebble, who also read the audiobook for 1984 that I listened to last year.  These two happen to be my two favorite fiction books.  But since 1984 had a huge impact on me, I associate Prebble's voice with Winston from 1984, a tortured soul.  To heard "Winston's" voice narrating Mr. Stevens was initially unnerving, but I got used to it.