Finished: The Remains of the Day (Ishiguro) Another subtle, yet very good, book by Ishiguro about the waning years of service of Stevens, the head butler of Darlington Hall in England. Stevens has spent years being the "perfect" butler, like his father before him, at the expense of his own personal life...even putting his job before his dying father at one point. In his years as head butler, he develops the closest thing to a relationship he's ever known with another household employee, Miss Kenton. It becomes obvious that the two develop deep feelings for each other, but when Stevens doesn't take Miss Kenton's hint and proclaim his feelings, she leaves the estate to get married to someone else. The book opens 20 years later with the older and more reflective Stevens heading out on a road trip to find Miss Kenton (who he believes, due to a letter from her, to be unhappily married) and ask her to come back to work at Darlington Hall. Lord Darlington has died and the estate has been sold to an American who Stevens now works for. As Stevens takes his trip, he reflects on his past with not only Miss Kenton, but also with his father and with Lord Darlington. Stevens was always completely loyal to Lord Darlington, but as we hear stories of their past, we come to see that Lord Darlington was dangerously close to being a Nazi sympathizer or supporter, which was very distressing to most of the English people that came and went from Darlington Hall. Stevens never suspected this when he worked for him, but his thoughts lead him in that direction as he remembers different events. We also read many flashbacks of Miss Kenton's and Stevens' interactions and see just how much they cared for each other. As Stevens drives towards finding Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Bent), he daydreams more and more that surely she must be terribly unhappy and that he should be able to get her to come back with him. However, when they finally meet up, Miss Kenton informs Stevens that she's happily married and expecting her first grandchild, so she has no plans go back with him. In all, it's a bit heartbreaking, but kind of in slow motion. I'm really liking these Ishiguro books I've read! Finished this one before our Oregon trip and am just now blogging about it!