What struck me most about this book is the first person narration of Mr Stevens, a butler who, while encouraged to take a holiday in the form of a road trip, realises how inept he is in social situations.
He then reflects on his commitment to his job, and as the reader, we see how his sense of duty has kept him from leading a full and satisfying life.
This is a beautiful character study, and a book I couldn't put down.
*Kazuo Ishiguro's new novel Klara and the Sun is now available to preorder*
The Remains of the Day won the 1989 Booker Prize and cemented Kazuo Ishiguro's place as one of the world's greatest writers. David Lodge, chairman of the judges in 1989, said, it's "a cunningly structured and beautifully paced performance". This is a haunting evocation of lost causes and lost love, and an elegy for England at a time of acute change. Ishiguro's work has been translated into more than forty languages and has sold millions of copies worldwide.
Stevens, the long-serving butler of Darlington Hall, embarks on…
They say, write what you know. The author became a widow early in her life, and so has her main character. Kate is in her thirties and is married to her soul mate, Cam, a young English professor who is suffering from Alzheimer’s.
This story begins several years after Cam has passed, then flits back and forth, giving us glimpses of a happy marriage, Cam’s diagnosis, and a Romance which is unfolding in the present.
But there's also humour as we see in the first chapter. Kate's young son is playing with a grenade which invites all sorts of delicious chaos.
A December 2023 Book of the Month Selection and Book of the Year Nominee
A Washington Post Noteworthy Book
A National Bestseller
You may never stop loving the one you lost. But you can still find love again.
Two years after losing her husband, Cameron, Kate is a bit of a mess. Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she does her best to navigate work, friendships, and parenting a five-year-old without Cam's support.
When a flight diversion on a business trip unexpectedly leaves her stranded in a beach town in Australia, Kate…
I fell deeply in love with the author's prose. He delves deep into his characters, and even though there's not much plot, there's a lot going on emotionally.
Yates will take a whole paragraph explaining the feelings of a boy experiencing New York city for the first time, or a drummer's solo performance at a night club. These deep observations provide the reader with relatable moments. We become equally connected with the minor players as much as we do the main cast.
This was Yates' impressive debut novel, one where his individual writing style shines.
Hailed as a masterpiece from its first publication, Revolutionary Road is the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a bright young couple who are bored by the banalities of suburban life and long to be extraordinary. With heartbreaking compassion and clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April's decision to change their lives for the better leads to betrayal and tragedy.
Stanley is almost fifty. He hates his job, has an overbearing mother, and is in a failed relationship.
Then he meets Asher, the man of his dreams, literally in his dreams.
Asher is young, captivating, and confident about his future – everything Stanley is not. So, Asher gives Stan a gift. The chance to be an extra five years younger each time they meet.
Some of their adventures are whimsical. A few are challenging. Others are totally surreal. All are designed to bring Stan closer to the moment his joyful childhood turned to tears.
But when they fall in love, Stan knows he can’t live in Asher’s dreamworld. Yet Stan is haunted by Asher’s invitation to “Slip into eternal sleep.”
* WINNER in the Fantasy category of the 2021 Gay Scribe Awards * WINNER in the LGBT fiction category of the 2021 Paranormal Romance Guild’s Reviewer’s Choice Awards
