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  • The Remains of the Day

  • Written by: Kazuo Ishiguro
  • Narrated by: Dominic West
  • Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (300 ratings)

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The Remains of the Day

Written by: Kazuo Ishiguro
Narrated by: Dominic West
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Publisher's Summary

Kazuo Ishiguro's Booker Prize-winning masterpiece became an international bestseller on publication, was adapted into an award-winning film and has since come to be regarded as a modern classic.

The Remains of the Day is a spellbinding portrayal of a vanished way of life and a haunting meditation on the high cost of duty. It is also one of the most subtle, sad and humorous love stories ever written. It is the summer of 1956, when Stevens, a man who has dedicated himself to his career as a perfect butler in the one-time great house of Darlington Hall, sets off on a holiday that will take him deep into the English countryside and, unexpectedly, into his own past, especially his friendship with the housekeeper, Miss Kenton. As memories surface of his lifetime "in service" to Lord Darlington, and of his life between the wars, when the fate of the continent seemed to lie in the hands of a few men, he finds himself confronting the dark undercurrent beneath the carefully run world of his employer.

©1989 Kazuo Ishiguro (P)2018 Vintage Canada
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What the critics say

“This is a work that goes to the heart of a lost life. Beautifully composed, totally unsentimental, immeasurably tender.” (Harold Pinter, The Observer)

“Apart from being suspenseful, intriguing, elegiac and politically astute, this is also the funniest novel I've read in ages.... Both subtle and humane.... Simply read it for pleasure, and be richly rewarded.” (Jonathan Coe, The Guardian)

“A perfect novel. I couldn't put it down.” (Ann Beattie)

“Marvellous.... Superb.” (The Globe and Mail)

“Brilliant.... A story both beautiful and cruel.” (Salman Rushdie, The Observer)

What listeners say about The Remains of the Day

Average Customer Ratings
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An enjoyable experience

In light of the writing and the brilliant narration by Dominic West, one wishes this book could have gone on even longer. One easily loses themselves in the character and it really makes for a brilliant listening experience.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great performance

The actor takes the character and the story to a whole other level. We’ll done!

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Really love it

I read books twice and I really enjoyed it. So glad that I finally listened to the audible version. I tried not to finish it too soon so that I could savour it more.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Gobsmacking

Dominic West is note-perfect in his reading of Ishiguro’s letter-perfect story about a self-deluded butler’s journey across the country to regain what he hopes will be something he thinks might be love. As usual, he’s wrong. About himself, his place, his master, his life, his system. Is the story brilliant? Who cares? A savage critique dressed in the finest attire.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Indeed, Mr. Stevens


First off narration is awesome! Really amazing performance by West.
Secondly, this is as good as the reviews suggest, but you have to get into it a bit and go beyond the surface. On the surface it is literally numerous boring discussions about minutiae like the placement of a dustpan (how I would imagine Downton Abbey to be).
But once you stick with it a bit and start to doubt the narrator, you see that this book it about everything that they are not actually discussing. Probably best to have a bit of knowledge about inter war period in Britain as well.

Overall really a specItacular book from Ishiguro and superb narration from West (McNulty).

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A Beautiful and Poignant Read

The Remains of the Day is absolutely brilliant. A masterpiece. This is the kind of book that you feel sad when it ends. It is the kind of book you are happy to share but kind of jealous that you can’t read it again for the first time. Bravo Kazuo Ishiguro. Bravo Dominic West.

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Masterpiece

The book is rich and deep with memory and meaning. A look back on a life lived. Dominic West does a superb job narrating. So happy to have this audio version.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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A Life In Servitude

January 2022 | 4/5
Stevens, an English butler reminisces on his life at Darlington Hall in this Kazuo Ishiguro novel.

After the death of Lord Darlington, and a pruning of the staff, Stevens is in need of a skilled housekeeper and sets out to recruit Miss Kenton to her former role. During his travels to her home in the country, we learn progressively more about Lord Darlington, and Miss Kenton through a series of flashbacks, and it becomes obvious there's more to the stories as pieces come together.

This was a warm and cuddly mystery that I couldn't put down. And it turns out it was adapted to film in the 90s, so I can spend a little more time with Stevens and the English countryside.

If you enjoy slice-of-life historical fiction, this could be your next read.

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Excellent Book

A beautiful piece of writing. I loved the book and the narration was fantastic! I plan to read more of Mister Ishiguro’s work.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Perfect narrator for a perfect book

It’s been 24 hours since I finished this audiobook and I am still absorbing it. It is absolutely wonderful. I have read Never Let Me Go and I am astonished it is the same author as each is brilliant but the genres could not be more different. The narration is perfect. I’m struggling with what to write because words do not do this novel and narration justice. It is exceptional and worth every accolade it has been given.

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