This old British classic novel, set largely between WWI and WWII, is narrated entirely in the first person singular voice of the butler of the English country estate, Darlington Hall, owned and run by the controversial real Lord Darlington. Typical British restraint, propriety, dignity, equanimity, class-consciousness, and understatement in a rigidly stratified, very patriarchal, hierarchy, are displayed almost but not quite to the point of stereotyping, and caricature.
Mr. Stevens, the narrator and head butler, and Miss Kenton, the head maid, maintain a stiff and at times contentious relationship, never even addressing the other by first names, while remaining absolutely loyal to Lord Darlington as he entertains senior aristocrats and politicians, including anti-semitic Brits and senior Nazis in ill-conceived, naive, and wrong-headed, but sincere efforts to avert WWII.
This is novel whose appeal is largely based on character development and eloquent prose rather than a complicated and twisted plot. The musings of Mr. Stevens repeatedly revolve around what it takes to be dignified and a great butler.
The 1993 Hollywood adaptation starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson turned it into a story of unrequited love, which is certainly there in the background in the book, but is not a prominent feature. I have not seen the movie and am not sure I want to, but critics have raved about it.
One great quote among many: “….when with the benefit of hindsight one begins to search one’s past for ‘turning points’, one is apt to start seeing them everywhere.” The musings about the remains of the day as an analogy for the remains of ones life after retirement are quite profound.
The latest novel from Ishiguro, who has a habit of switching genres regularly, features a human-like robot and does not seem as interesting to me. But this one is an enjoyable period piece refreshingly devoid of any graphic sex or obscene language. I quite enjoyed it.
The Passionate Reader 