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Journal Entry 1 by beaulivre from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, August 05, 2007
 I loved this book for its gentleness and sadness and narrator's voice. I'm a big Ishiguro fan.
This is the second copy I've registered after picking it up 2nd-Hand today at a library book sale.
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Journal Entry 3 by tqd from Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, September 02, 2007
Omigodponies.
First book out of the bookbag, and it's one that's been on my mind for years. (Mr TQD loves the movie, but I shan't be watching it until I've finished the book.)
This so rocks. Thanks heaps beaulivre!! And thanks to RockDg9 for organising the bookbag, it's been a whole heap of fun.
Oh, and the opening line? (all typos mine)
It seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been preoccupying my imagination now for some days.
I got suckered in, it sounded like such a classic. (I was actually more expecting something from the 19th century, it must be said!)
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Journal Entry 4 by tqd at Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
One summer, in the middle of the 1950s, Mr Stephens, a butler in a grand old home in the English countryside takes a journey. The purpose of his journey is to visit an old friend, the former housekeeper Miss Kenton, and to see if she is interested in returning to her post as housekeeper for the new owner of the house, a wealthy American. Throughout his jaunting around the countryside, we get occasional glimpses of the beauty of an English summer, but mostly he's lost in his reminisces of his time at Darlington Hall with Miss Kenton, at the apex of his employment as butler, with a large staff and important international negotiations going on under its roof.
But never directly said, just in asides and readings-between-the-lines, what is most revealed to us is Mr Stephens and Miss Kenton's relationship. Matter of fact, I don't think Mr Stephens is at all aware of the depth of feeling between the two of them, preferring to see everything on a distinctly professional level only.
Ishiguro has done a wonderful job of creating this fascinating character, a man so buttoned-up and in denial that he hardly lives his own life, but spends it all in the service of someone else, who, sadly, ends up being equally misguided. At first I found Mr Stephens so pompous that he was irritating me, but after a while I got into the swing of it all and started really enjoying his pompous take on life. And the stories of the "downstairs" life were equally fascinating, a glimpse into another world and place.
There's also some very amusing reflections on this serious gentleman's gentleman trying to adapt to a new, much more informal master. I particularly liked him practicing his witticisms.
I'm not sure what I've got planned for this book now, but it'll be resuming its journey (finally!) sooner rather than later. Thanks for the book, beaulivre, it was a great read!
UPDATE 15 September 2011: I've offered this up on the Oz VBB, hopefully it'll be winging its way to a new reader soon.
UPDATE 9 January 2012: And chosen by KLL. I'll get it in the post asap!
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Journal Entry 5 by tqd at Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Released 3 mos ago (2/15/2012 UTC) at Sydney, New South Wales Australia CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Finally in the mail to KLL, sorry for the delay!
Happy reading!
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The Remains of the Day (Copy 2)
