Comments | oath_to_order: The Remains of the Day discussion

oath_to_order

The Remains of the Day discussion

Jun 03, 2012 19:16

We're starting with Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day.

I kind of want to make a pretty banner for the club, but I am not a graphic design major. Oh, well.

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remains of the day, the book club

Comments 9

superplatypus57 June 5 2012, 00:56:46 UTC

So I've never read any Ishiguro nor heard much about him. Is it safe to assume you have? Anything I should know about him or his writing (which I can't get off Wikipedia) as I start this book?

oath_to_order June 5 2012, 01:57:58 UTC

I've read Never Let Me Go, but that's it. He likes to work with situational irony (is that the right one?), where we know but the characters don't. It makes for some very tense moments.

Current Questions - Prologue oath_to_order June 5 2012, 06:55:21 UTC

Here are some questions I am thinking about.

> How did Mr. Farraday come to own Darlington Hall?
> How did Lord Darlington come to lose it?
> What year is this taking place in? Clearly post WWII, but when?
> Was there another reason besides marriage that Miss Kenton left?

superplatypus57 June 5 2012, 09:56:35 UTC

Good questions: I was wondering about these points as I read the prologue as well (especially the transfer-of-ownership ones). Though, the first page of my kindle version says this book takes place in 1955 (I only mean to elucidate the matter here). That might have been otherwise hidden in some throwaway tedious sentence or mentioning.

Prologue oath_to_order June 5 2012, 07:01:05 UTC

Stevens certainly likes to pontificate, doesn't he? I am curious as to whether his apparent emotional...ineptitude?... is due to his status/position or if he is being written as a non-neurotypical person. So far there seem to be far more questions than there are answers.

I find myself dismissing Mr. Farraday as a character of little importance, though he has been one of the major characters so far. I am not sure if this is due to the way Stevens himself views him or due to my own reading of the text.

I am also detecting a dynamic between Stevens and the as of yet unmet Miss Kenton. Interesting that he still refers to her by her maiden name. I wonder if he is in a bit of denial about her marriage. He seems to have some sort of feelings for her, judging by his embarrassment around Mr. Farraday.

It seems his world is collapsing around him in the face of encroaching modern sensibilities. I imagine that is what the remains of "the day" refers to.

Re: Prologue superplatypus57 June 5 2012, 16:46:40 UTC

Pontificate is the right word. I thought it was interesting how tangential the narration was getting in the prologue. Perhaps it was an expository method of revealing Stevens' job and how seriously he takes it, i.e. his duties are an intrinsic part of his identity. Perhaps it was a way to reveal Stevens' self-identity with being upper-class. The idea of being in a high socioeconomic station (without actually having any more money than other people) due to culture, self-conception, and connections (the non-economic was certainly revealed in the section on "costumes" (AWESOME word), most especially when he says, "... it is just that one never knows when one might be obliged to give out that one is from Darlington Hall, and it is important that one be attired at such times in a manner worthy of one's position" (around Kindle position 125). I expect themes of uppitiness (that's a word now) to crop up throughout the book. Honestly, with the sentence construction how it is and how many layers of topics Stevens get him in, Otto kept ( ... )

Poor news/Portland superplatypus57 June 5 2012, 16:52:52 UTC

Alas! My grandma in Portland needs her front steps rebuilt and I know just the man for the job! Unfortunately, that man happens to me and my dad. We're driving up to Portland today (MY GOD, 12 hours with my dad; neither of us are very talkative). I'd really like my 80-year-old grandma Joan to be able to walk to her front door without falling through the floor, so I'm not complaining actually.

Why am I telling you this on the book forum? Fantastic question! I'll likely have little time to read today and I'm not so sure about the next couple days. My posts will certainly slow and I'll (definitely, but more so now) be behind you in the book. This is more of a warning than a instruction or anything of that nature. Keep posting as you will and I'll read around sections with headings I want to ignore/haven't gotten to yet. I'll get in the discussion as soon as I am able.

Re: Poor news/Portland oath_to_order June 5 2012, 20:41:28 UTC

Hey, no worries! Make sure your granny has the best set of front steps ever made in the history of ever.

I'm in no particular hurry to read this. Honestly, I have my own duties to see to.

Have a safe drive!

Day One superplatypus57 June 9 2012, 20:00:30 UTC

OK, the big thing on Day One is obviously Stevens' discussion of 'dignity' and what it means to be a damn good butler. That said, I'm going to begin with something else. Why? Because I can. That's why ( ... )