The Remains of the Day

Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day is as beautifully written as English grammar and idiom allows. The charm and elegance of the writing is accompanied by lucidity: one always has a clear understanding of the past and present events in Stevens' epistolary narrative. Yet as Stevens crosses the boundaries of English counties on his way to meet Miss Kenton, the reader senses that the memories he recalls and the motives he professes are more profound than they seem. Romance, appeasement (the British policy prior to World War II), one's duty, and class: these matters and more underscore the suspense that compels the reader to finish the book.