The blurb:

'KAZUO ISHIGURO
The Remains of the Day

It is the summer of 1956. Stevens, an ageing butler, has embarked on a rare holiday - a six-day motoring trip through the West Country. But his travels are disturbed by the memories of a lifetime in service to the late Lord Darlington ...

'The Remains of the Day' is the nostalgic story of lost causes and a lost love.

'Almost unbearably moving.' Listener

'A remarkable, strange and moving book.' Independent

'This brilliant and quietly devastating novel.' Newsweek

''The Remains of the Day' is a dream of a book: a beguiling comedy of manners that evolves almost magically into a profound and heart-rending study of personality, class and culture.' The New York Times Book Review

''The Remains of the Day' is a triumph ... This wholly convincing portraint of a human life unweaving before your eyes is inventive and absorbing, by turns funny, absurd, and ultimately very moving.' Sunday Times'

This is a paperback copy from faber & faber, in excellent condition. I have seen the movie twice and enjoyed it very much ... and I have also heard good things about the book, so I would like to read it. Update will follow. :-)

I got this book at a thrift store called Askeladden in Sandvika (just outside of Oslo) on Thursday, March 1st, 2007.

I've read this book now, March 24th through 31st. It was a lovely read, I enjoyed it very much. And I just wrote a pretty good review of it, which I unfortunately managed to delete before I could post it. >:-( Slip of the finger. Annoyed with myself now and not able to recreate my review exactly, I don't think ... :-(

This book is #190 on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

While reading this book I felt quite strongly that I was reading the story of a wasted life. And the main character seemed to deep down be aware of that, but to be in denial about it. This was confirmed IMO in the scene where he talks to the old man on the pier. A very sad scene.

The book has many sad scenes, but it is also a beautiful story. Beautifully written. The setting is very well described and completely credible, and all the characters very believable. The story is very narrow in scope in many ways, but still a lot is said about the human condition, and about the situations we humans put ourselves in. Ishiguro has done a wonderful job of conveying a great deal while little is actually said ... the main character and narrator is not a man who communicates well, and he tends to obsess over details (rather dull and irrelevant details too, often) but the reader still learns so much about these people and their lives ... between the lines, as it were. An impressive feat by Ishiguro to say so much with so little.

I'm also impressed by Merchant/Ivory - again - for managing to make such a wonderful movie based on this book. It must have been difficult to film. So much is in the turn of phrase, the tone. They did a brilliant job and I'm sure Ishiguro was very happy with the result. I would strongly recommend both the book and the movie. And I will definitely be reading more books by this author.

Reserved for release at the BookCrossing convention here in Oslo next month as one of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

Convention release!

Excellent book. I must be the last person on planet Earth to have read it. Why did it take me so long?

I hope a kind traveller picks up the book and enjoys it as much as I did.