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The Remains of the Day (1989) is the third novel by British-Japanese author Kazuo Ishiguro.
It tells the story of Stevens, an English butler who dedicates his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington, only to be confronted in old age with the thought that he may not have made any choices in his life at all . As he sets out on a motoring trip and meets the long since retired housekeeper, Miss Keaton, he realises the underlying feelings of love for her, a love which was never realised or even ever fully stated, and he is left with a vague feeling of loss.
It is not however a pessimistic novel, but rather ends on a dignified note, with the butler trying to come to terms with how he has spent his life, and trying to make the best of what remains. Dignity and what constitutes it is one of the principal themes of this novel and beautifully explored in Ishiguro's delicate style.
A BBC Radio 4 adaptation in two hour-long episodes starring Ian McDiarmid was broadcast on August 8 and August 15, 2003.
Film version
The novel was the source for a 1993 film by Merchant Ivory, adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and directed by James Ivory. It starred Anthony Hopkins as Stephens and Emma Thompson as Miss Keaton, with support from James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant, Tim Piggott-Smith and Ben Chaplin.
The film was nominated for several Academy Awards:
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