Sometimes the most important lessons are learnt too late in life and all one can do is make the best of it after realization dawns. This novel is set in Darlington Hall, a manor house in Oxford, England. The story revolves around the happenings in the Hall where Stevens, the narrator of the story, is the absolutely-dedicated-to-his-job butler. So engrossed is he to be the ultimate professional butler that sadly, he quite forgets to be human.
This book takes one to a different world. With absolutely beautiful, gently flowing, subtle writing Ishiguro points out the desperation and emptiness that follows if your entire identity is so derived from your profession that you hold back and let go of what truly matters when it’s within your grasp – in this case, the love of a fine woman.
The characterization is superb and we get to know the players through Stevens’ eyes. This world is slow, calm, and peaceful, with people who are apparently elegant and mature with ‘oh so dignified restraint’. Stevens takes a break to visit Miss Kenton, the woman whose feelings for him remained coldly unreciprocated much to her distress. The journey and the people he meets enroute makes him realise just how much has passed him by.
Our choice of the causes we pursue and what we neglect as a result of that choice determines our happiness. A misspent life with wrong choices can only make one nostalgic and teary when it is too late to tread a better track.
This book is a brilliant take on wrong priorities and false standards that thwart life… leaving one to contemplate on the remains. A great fiction book that makes one think! Also a highly acclaimed movie. Definitely a must-read!
