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The Remains of the Day: Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Audiobook
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(4.00) - 53,182 listener ratings
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BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, here is “an intricate and dazzling novel” (The New York Times) about the perfect butler and his fading, insular world in post-World War II England.
This is Kazuo Ishiguro's profoundly compelling portrait of a butler named Stevens. Stevens, at the end of three decades of service at Darlington Hall, spending a day on a country drive, embarks as well on a journey through the past in an effort to reassure himself that he has served humanity by serving the "great gentleman," Lord Darlington. But lurking in his memory are doubts about the true nature of Lord Darlington's "greatness," and much graver doubts about the nature of his own life.
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"A beautiful, quiet book. There's a lot of sentimentality in it and it makes you long for something and I cannot say what it is. It's beautiful though. The hinted at, subtle love story between Miss Kenton and Mr. Stevens is of particular beauty to me. If you read it, there isn't anything between them, nothing you could point to and say there, look, they're in love. But there's something between them, a possibility in an impossibility and I love that. The end is therefore just wonderful. The whole reminiscing of Mr. Stevens' life is wonderful and I all I can say is that I thoroghly enjoyed this book."
— Anika (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Brilliant and quietly devastating.”
— Newsweek -
"A virtuoso performance…put on with dazzling daring and aplomb.”
— New York Review of Books -
“Nicholas Guy Smith’s narration captures the persona that Stevens has constructed without making it completely monochromatic…Smith brings him to existence, if not exactly life, and brings the listener to understanding, if not quite sympathy. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile -
The novel rests firmly on the narrative sophistication and flawless control of tone ... of a most impressive novelist.
— Julian Barnes -
A perfect novel. I couldn’t put it down.
— Ann Beattie -
“A virtuoso performance ... put on with dazzling daring and aplomb.
— The New York Review of Books -
Brilliant and quietly devastating.
— Newsweek -
An intricate and dazzling novel.
— The New York Times -
WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE • WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE • A PARADE BEST BOOK OF ALL TIME
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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Winner of Booker Prize, 1989
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Winner of Booker Prize, 1989
The Remains of the Day Listener Reviews
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" It was okay. I'd just like to know: why books recommended by university programme are less interesting than any other by the same author? "
— Sonya, 2/17/2014 -
" Slow story but fun topic and language. "
— Kiersten, 1/30/2014 -
" So hard to pinpoint why I love this book but I do. Excellent narrative voice combined with a little romance and social commentary makes it work. "
— dejah_thoris, 1/22/2014 -
" I'm a big Ishiguro fan, and this novel is probably most famous, so I'm surprised that I didn't like it better than I actually did. I'm used to Ishiguro novels having sweeping prose with excellent character development and plenty of plot twists and turns. While this was beautifully written, and the characters (for the most part) well sketched, the plot of the novel just didn't keep me in its grip. It was extremely slow-moving, full of rambling thoughts and ponderings and lacking in action. The main character, Mr. Stevens, is a butler from an era where large, society houses and their inhabitants reigned supreme in England. After World War Two, that world essentially ended. Mr. Stevens now has to face the prospects of performing his duties in a changing world. While I did sympathize and identify with his character, he also frustrated me to no end. His inability to ever think for himself or let himself be human was really difficult to witness. This novel could have been a great love story or historical portrait of English society during wartime, but it mostly sticks to the musings of a man who is looking back on a life that he is coming to realize was pretty much wasted. If you are going to read an Ishiguro novel, I would recommend instead When We Were Orphans or Never Let Me Go. Both are fantastic novels. This one just left me wanting more....and not in a good way. :-( "
— Anne, 1/15/2014 -
" I really want to post an in-depth and thoughtful review for this book, so I am going to hold out until I have the time to really think about it. "
— Sam, 1/9/2014 -
" This book is reflected in the drama Downton Abbey. "
— Thomas, 12/25/2013 -
" Good ! I've read every single word. Doubts about the depiction of the butler. "
— Maria, 12/14/2013 -
" It was a good book but kind of sad in a way like a life lost "
— Jillian, 11/16/2013 -
" The Remains of the Day had a very similar feel to Jane Eyre somehow. It focused on a butler's life and train of thought. The book was a very well written and thought out book. Although it was about a butler's limited life, I truly enjoyed every single chapter. Great book for those who love classics. "
— Ariana, 11/12/2013 -
" The absolute worst book I ever had to read in English Class... "
— Kitty, 11/7/2013 -
" this book was simply moving, at times ironically humorous "
— Jessiah, 9/8/2013 -
" Very difficult to get through, but ultimately worth it. "
— Joshua, 2/27/2013 -
" This guy's quiet style draws me in every single time. Great insight into the world of British househelp. "
— May, 12/12/2012 -
" Slow, Character driven, literay novel. Bulter, Mr. Stevens reflects on his life. "
— Sarah, 11/19/2012 -
" Welcome to the lost world of the "Dignified" man-servant... of The English Butler! Incredibly convincing characterization of a realm that we have no connect or context to. Worthy of being honored with the "Booker"! Must Read! "
— Abhay, 11/5/2012 -
" The movie was a very faithful adaptation. A nice book to read. "
— Anita, 8/2/2012
About Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro, the author of several acclaimed novels, won the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature in 2017. The Remains of the Day won the Booker Prize and was the basis for a major motion picture. The Buried Giant was a New York Times bestseller, A Pale View of Hills won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize, and An Artist of the Floating World won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award. The Unconsoled won the Cheltenham Prize and Never Let Me Go won the Corine Internationaler Buchpreis, the Serono Literary Prize, the Casino de Santiago European Novel Award, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 1995 Ishiguro received an OBE for Services to Literature and in 1998 the French decoration of Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1954 and moved to Britain at the age of five.
About Nicholas Guy Smith
Nicholas Guy Smith, an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a highly rated and diverse voice-over actor who has been heard in feature films, television commercials, and video games. He has voiced characters for Disney, Warner Brothers, Universal, and the Cartoon Network.