THE REMAINS OF THE DAY by Kazuo Ishiguro

Mr. Stevens has been an English butler for all of his adult life.  It is now the 1950s, and he is on his way to visit a former housekeeper, Miss Kenton, who has written to him.  During this road trip in his employer’s car, he reflects on his buttoned-up life and has one particularly uncomfortable encounter.  Stevens is a poignant character in so many ways from the reader’s perspective, but he doesn’t view himself that way.  His first person narration exudes haughtiness and is so indicative of the dignified, unemotional voice of a stereotypical English butler.  However, his version of dignity requires a certain status in life, which he considers himself to have achieved.  He is subservient but proud and has immense respect, along with misplaced loyalty, for his former employer, Lord Darlington, whose reputation was ruined by his consorting with Nazi leaders.  Stevens has stood on the periphery of weighty discussions and considers himself fortunate to have been present, though not an active participant.  However, his relationship with Miss Kenton, at times volatile due to Stevens’s insensitivity, is the heart of the novel.  Ishiguro has created here a character whose life we can inhabit for a moment while at the same time realizing how misguided Stevens really is in establishing his priorities.  Human connection is not one of them.