I have literally finished Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day not two minutes ago, but I thought I'd turn out a review of sorts before I forget my initial feelings towards it. I was first drawn towards this novel on the basis of having enjoyed Never Let Me Go so much, and I wasn't disappointed at all. A totally different novel, albeit spent mostly reminiscing over the past as does Kathy in Never Let Me Go, I loved the tone of retrospective-ness intertwined with the journey of Mr Stevens throughout.
Admittedly, I've finished this novel very quickly and spent less time over it than I usually would have- but at the moment I'm between semesters and trying to get as much 'pleasure reading' in as humanely possible (my next book is already sitting on my bed ready to be started!). But that aside, I don't feel like the haste of my reading has impeded on my enjoyment of the book at all. It seems that Ishiguro has a way of just forming amazing characters that one can relate to on different levels, despite the fact that I was reading about an (I assume) sixty-or-so year old man. My favourite part of the novel was the way it wove seamlessly in and out of the present and past, in such a way that is reflective of one's own reflections throughout the day. I also quite liked that the protagonist said "that is to say" quite a lot. Despite the short time spine of six days in which the novel is set, it covers a broadness of times that doesn't allow that to limit the impact of the novel- and I now see why people have recommended it to me in the past!
Next up is Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, something else that I am also very excited to read.
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