The Remains of the Day: Rapid Reaction

I remember back in 1993, when the trailer for the film version of The Remains of the Day came out, I instinctively found the title to be overdramatic (even though I didn’t understand what it meant), and my 10-year-old self made fun of it, saying the title aloud in a poorly done faux-British accent, pronounced with as much sappiness as I could muster. I could not have had less interest in actually viewing the movie.

Nearly thirty years later, I finally sat down and read the book, and needless to say, my 10-year-old self had a lot to learn. Kazuo Ishiguro’s 1989 novel is a masterpiece.

Stevens the butler, the protagonist and narrator of the story, is perhaps the most uptight character I’ve encountered in literature. His life is dominated by adherence to propriety and absolute control of his surroundings. There is no room whatsoever in his life for disorder or frivolity. Efficiency is king, and even small talk, when it is occasionally indulged in, must be couched in discussions that are “professional in nature.”

This obsession with order is done in service of Stevens’ master, Lord Darlington, an English nobleman who is eventually revealed to be a Nazi sympathizer. Stevens’ himself is not a sympathizer, but he also steadfastly avoids confronting the truth of his influential master’s beliefs (and the actions he takes based on those beliefs). To say Stevens’ is complicit in his master’s sins would be too strong, as Stevens’ possesses no real power to alter the course of things, but his refusal to acknowledge what is occurring in the house he serves reflects a larger inability to be honest with himself about anything he feels.

This self-delusion can be seen most clearly in Stevens’ affections for the housekeeper Miss Kenton. Miss Kenton, unlike Stevens, is not afraid to show a little passion, nor is she unwilling to speak her mind when something upsets her. Essentially, she is simply far more willing to reveal that she is human, something Stevens’ struggles mightily to do. While their relationship begins icily, the two grow fond of each other over the years, and it eventually becomes clear that Miss Kenton wants something beyond a professional friendship. For his part, Stevens’ wants one too. In fact, he wants it desperately. But he cannot admit this to her because he cannot admit it to himself. Instead, he considers his duty to Lord Darlington to be paramount, and will not allow personal feelings to interfere with his responsibilities. 

It is on a drive across the English countryside, some 20 years after Miss Kenton left Darlington Hall to marry another man, that Stevens finally reckons with the grave mistakes he has made. He finally sees that his obsession with things like duty, loyalty, and dignity closed off any chance of a happy life, one he could have spent with Miss Kenton, the only person who seemed to care for him.

The Remains of the Day is a sad book. The story it tells, of a man who essentially wastes his life in the service of misplaced priorities, will not leave readers in a joyful place. But it is a remarkable character study, and a warning to anyone inclined to sacrifice their own personal happiness for the sake of obligation or allegiance.

The Overstory: A Brief Review & My Favorite Lines

I have never particularly cared about trees, and I don’t think I’m alone in that. Obviously, they’re important. We use them to construct buildings, furniture and other things. We need need them to print books and paper. They’re also useful as fuel and a source of heat. And surely they’re used for many other purposes I’m forgetting. But still, I’ve never much cared or even thought about them. They’re just kind of…there.

However, after reading this book, I care about trees. Not a ton. I’m not going to join Greenpeace. But I certainly a feel greater respect and appreciation for what trees are and what they do, and how integral they are to not only supporting our lives on this planet, but also to enriching them.

Richard Powers does an incredible job evoking a sense of reverence and wonder for a vital part of the earth’s ecosystem without coming across as preachy or scornful. The nine characters he follows through his epic story are impacted by trees in various ways. Some incur tragedies. Others find salvation. All of their respective tales are told through an ingeniously structured tale that mirrors the architecture of a tree. In part 1, Roots, we meet our heroes. In the following section, Trunk, the cast collides and the central conflict occurs. Following that is the Crown, in which we discover the fallout of the preceding events. And finally there is part four, Seeds, which provides resolution (and, perhaps, a path forward).

When I finished reading this book I felt both enormously fulfilled and also somewhat haunted. It is a truly spectacular story.

I will leave those interested in reading the book to uncover the plot for themselves, but I do want to stress that this book is both accessible and engrossing. I was quite hesitant to read the book myself, as the subject matter did not appear interesting and any book that wins the Pulitzer prize can feel intimidating. But allay your fears, as within 20 pages I was completely caught in the grip of the narrative and it never let me go.

It’s probably fair to label this book a “call to action,” as there’s no doubt that conservation and protecting the planet are overriding themes in the story. I’m not sure how much this book has compelled me to do anything, necessarily, with regard to deforestation. But at the very least, it has helped me gain new and important perspective on one of earth’s most vital lifeforms, and for that, I am grateful to have read it.

My Five Favorite Lines from the Book:

1. “A seed that lands upside down in the ground will wheel—-root and stem—-in great U-turns until it rights itself. But a human child can know it’s pointed wrong and still consider the direction well worth a try.”

2. “Watching this man, Patty learns that real joy consists of knowing that human wisdom counts less than the shimmer of beeches in a breeze. As certain as weather coming from the west, the things people know for sure will change. There is no looking for a fact. The only dependable things are humility and looking.”

3. “She makes almost nothing, but life requires little. Her budget is blessedly free of those two core expenses, entertainment and status.”

4. “Time alters what can be owned, and who may do the owning.”

5. “Once there was a little girl, bristly, a bully, even, trying to preserve herself across a great divide. Not yellow, not white, not anything Wheaton had ever seen. Only that fisherman ever knew her, motionless by her side on long slow days in untamed places, when they both stared and cast into the same running stream. She feels it again, worse for the unthinkable time and distance—-rage at his leaving. Then rage at the world for cutting down the harmless grove where his ghost liked to walk, where she liked to sit and ask him why, where she once almost even got an answer.”

Finally, on a related note, I visited South Carolina recently for a wedding, and came upon the single greatest tree I’ve yet encountered in my lifetime. It’s about eight stories high and 500 years old: