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rnbhargava's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is rightfully considered a modern classic. However, it’s intentionally slow paced, almost monotonous. That said, I mostly quite admire it. The protagonist, Stevens the Butler, is reconciling his past and whether he fully engaged with life, friendships and potential loves, and whether his employer is a good person given who he associated with during war time and whether those he sympathized with were worthy of admiration. The idea of what’s appropriate while working as a Butler. Miss Kenton is quite the character that highlights that grey line between close friendship and romantic love for Stevens. Stephens’ fixation and recollections of her form the core of the plot. There are some comedic bits as well. A lot of this book is about what was said or left unsaid. Though I’m giving this a 3.5, honestly I will probably think about this book for a long time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Classism
A lot of the content about the plot of this book is about what’s unsaid and the biases of Stevens the Butler. It’s told through recollections. It’s possible I’ve missed some triggers so be aware.menagerie_of's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Classism
Moderate: Antisemitism and War
heyimaghost's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Antisemitism
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Racism and War
samshort's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism and War
leonkoenig's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
could have screamed every time he said 'witticism', sobbed at the ending
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism and Death of parent
Moderate: War
maeverose's review
3.0
It took me a long time to get through this because it has an intentionally meandering narration and very long chapters, which is the fastest way to put me in a slump even if I don’t dislike the story. I found some parts very boring but liked it overall. Certain scenes I could picture so vividly like the scene where his dad died and he had to keep doing his job. The way that was described just stuck with me. . I think I liked how it ended, though the conversation with Mrs Kenton at the end was a bit underwhelming, I expected something more since the whole book felt like it was slowly building up to that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Antisemitism, and War
Minor: Suicide
neonskylite's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ishiguro does such a beautiful and skilled job of unwrapping the layers of Stevens' obedient psyche and showing how crushed he is when he realised that he hasn't kept up with the times and wasted his life on blind service when it's too late
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism and War
haaannahr's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
god this book was such a weird experience for me. i find it so boring in terms of reading for pleasure, but interesting in terms of analysing the characters, theme and context of the book
i wouldn’t recommend this to someone who reads purely for pleasure
i wouldn’t recommend this to someone who reads purely for pleasure
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: War
kat_figs's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this book is beautiful and heartbreaking. i picked it up because i’m a fan of Ishiguro’s other books, but i have to say the premise didn’t draw me in and the first 50 pages are a bit slow. i never should have doubted him—once he unfolds what he’s doing with this story, playing with memory, time, and the ways we lie to ourselves, i couldn’t put it down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism