Book Review - The Remains of the Day

For a book that I loved, it sure took me long enough to read it.   While it's not a large book, or even difficult to read, the meandering thoughts of an old English butler reminiscing wistfully about scenes from his past service, while traveling on his first holiday, didn't have the glue to keep my attention for long periods of time.

Still, once I got away from the distractions of my life and could focus on Stevens, and his marvelously flawed perspective of things, I chastised myself for any criticism or name calling (I think I used the term "boring") because this is a beautiful story.  It is the story of a man who devotes his life to service, dignity and honor, and in the process, misses out on quite a lot.  When hindsight makes him wonder if those priorities were worth the sacrifices required to maintain the standard he expected from himself, his own limited awareness of his life and the life of those around him is written with achingly stiff perspective.  The title is perfect for such a poignant novel.