Enjoy your evening!

"The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro" 

"Register yourself on 'Goodreads' and take part in the 'Reading Challenge' contest" said an old friend. In the retrospect, he was the one who got me introduced into reading. By reading I mean the world of non-reference books. Till that time all I read was books concerned to my subject; what could be easily classified as 'hardcore' biology books. So coming back to the Goodreads reading challenge, I had managed to finish my target of 18 books last year (2012). Buoyed by this success, this year I upped the ante to 20 books. Whether I survive this one or not, one would definitely know by November this year ! :)

While I was wondering what should I start reading for this year's challenge, along came a suggestion - The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. I must say it was an excellent book to start this year's reading list. What potentially seemed to move in a direction of a travelogue, eventually opens up the world of a butler to the reader. The constant yearning to be a 'great' butler is so well captured that you almost feel yourself to be inside the head of Mr. Stevens. The accompanied description of the characters and locations allows a reader born in the late 20th century, the feel of war-era England.

I have often felt that many a great / good books start with great promise but falter in between. But Kazuo Ishiguro deserves special kudos for not letting the character falter even once in the entire narrative. Not only Mr. Stevens exhibits the 'propah' English essence, he also sustains it till the last page. One experiences the despair, the conflict of ethics, the need to uphold professional values at such close quarters that one feels sorry for Mr. Stevens in the end.

The book is all about subtlety. The humor is subtle and so is the sorrow. But make no mistake, the emotions hits the reader at the right amount. Julie, my cousin, described it as 'one of the most devastatingly sad books she has ever read. Brilliant, but tragic'. One just feels that, for once, Mr. Stevens should put aside his professional life and live for himself. Then again, would Mr. Stevens remain Mr. Stevens after that?

So I presume we should let Mr. Stevens be himself and absorb his story. As Ishiguro aptly puts it towards the end of the book: “The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it”, and what better way to enjoy your day than reading 'The Remains of the Day'.

This book truly deserves all the honours that can come in its way, including the coveted Booker prize!