The novel's narrator, Stevens, is a perfect English butler who tries to give his narrow existence form and meaning through the self-effacing, almost mystical practice of his profession. In a career that spans the second World War, Stevens is oblivious of the real life that goes on around him -- oblivious, for instance, of the fact that his aristocrat employer is a Nazi sympathizer. Still, there are even larger matters at stake in this heartbreaking, pitch-perfect novel -- namely, Stevens' own ability to allow some bit of life-affirming love into his tightly repressed existence.


From Publishers Weekly
Greeted with high praise in England, where it seems certain to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Ishiguro's third novel (after An Artist of the Floating World ) is a tour de force-- both a compelling psychological study and a portrait of a vanished social order. Stevens, an elderly butler who has spent 30 years in the service of Lord Darlington, ruminates on the past and inadvertently slackens his rigid grip on his emotions to confront the central issues of his life. Glacially reserved, snobbish and humorless, Stevens has devoted his life to his concept of duty and responsibility, hoping to reach the pinnacle of his profession through totally selfless dedication and a ruthless suppression of sentiment. Having made a virtue of stoic dignity, he is proud of his impassive response to his father's death and his "correct" behavior with the spunky former housekeeper, Miss Kenton. Ishiguro builds Stevens's character with precisely controlled details, creating irony as the butler unwittingly reveals his pathetic self-deception. In the poignant denouement, Stevens belatedly realizes that he has wasted his life in blind service to a foolish man and that he has never discovered "the key to human warmth." While it is not likely to provoke the same shocks of recognition as it did in Britain, this insightful, often humorous and moving novel should significantly enhance Ishiguro's reputation here. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

ANNOTATION

A profoundly compelling portrait of the 'perfect' English butler and of his fading, insular world. In the summer of 1956, Stevens, the aging butler of Darlington Hall, sets out on a motoring trip to England's West Country. En route through the radiant landscape he thinks back to the heyday of Darlington Hall -- now owned by a wealthy American -- when the house had a full staff of servants and Lord Darlington's influential guests discussed the great matters of the day in the rooms and grounds. For Stevens, Darlington represented the perfect gentleman, anxious to heal the wounds of WWI and using his power to improve relations with a ravaged Germany. Gradually Stevens lets slip how this idealism became tainted by history, how Darlington's meetings with Hitler's foreign minister, made him an unwitting pawn in the Nazis' rise to power.

Additionally, he has a strained relationship with the housekeeper, Miss Kenton.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A tragic, spiritual portrait of a perfect English butler and his reaction to his fading insular world in post-war England. A wonderful, wonderful book.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Stevens, an elderly butler who has spent 30 years in the service of Lord Darlington, ruminates on the past and inadvertently slackens his rigid grip on his emotions to confront the central issues of his life. Publishers Weekly called this Booker Prize-winner ``a tour de force--both a compelling psychological study and a portrait of a vanished social order.''

New York Times Books of the Century

...[A] beguiling comedy of manners that imperceptibly becomes a heart-rending study of personality...

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Brilliant￯﾿ﾽA story both beautiful and cruel.
 — Salman Rushdie

The novel rests firmly on the narrative sophistication and flawless control of tone￯﾿ﾽof a most impressive novelist.
 — Julian Barnes