Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day follows Stevens, an English butler reflecting on his life of service during a road trip through the countryside. Through Stevens' memories of his employer Lord Darlington, his relationship with housekeeper Miss Kenton, and his devotion to duty, Ishiguro explores repression, dignity, and what is lost in a life of service. The novel becomes both character study and meditation on English identity, proving that Ishiguro writes about emotional repression with devastating subtlety and that some butlers sacrifice everything for dignity.

WHY WE PICKED IT: Because Ishiguro created one of literature's most unreliable narrators, a butler whose devotion to duty blinds him to his own life passing by. This Nobel Prize-winning work reminds us that Stevens' "dignity" is really emotional repression, that his missed chance with Miss Kenton is heartbreaking, and that Ishiguro's restraint makes the tragedy more powerful.

DETAILS: • Author: Kazuo Ishiguro • Publisher: Vintage • Format: Paperback • Publication Date: September 12, 1990 • ISBN: 9780679731726 • Award: Author won Nobel Prize in Literature • Ships direct from distributor in 3–7 business days