One evening after class, I gave the nearest bookstore in Gongguan a visit. I went straight to the basement floor to stroll around the shelves where the fiction books reside as I’m a big fan of fiction from an early age. Within the number of books in the bookstore, one book drew my attention. It’s The Remains of The Day. "Kazuo Ishiguro", the author, and “Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature” is written on the front cover. I was intrigued by the content of the book and the author himself as this is the first time I found an Asian author has received a Nobel Prize in Literature. Without a doubt, I purchased the book.
The Remains of The Day is a story about Stevens, a butler who has worked for a long time in Darlington Hall, a stately home near Oxford, England. His owner wanted him to go for a break for a few days as he always stays inside the house. At first, he refused. Later on, he changed his mind due to a letter from Miss Kenton.
Reading through the first few pages, Kazuo Ishiguro’s use of words and sentences is very engaging. His way of describing a situation, an environment, a conversation, and the main character’s thoughts or feelings is clear and smooth I should say. For instance, “It seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been preoccupying my imagination now for some days.” While if I write it, it will be “I think I’m going to take a trip.” In my opinion, further flips of the book will give me more inspirations and insights through literature and I’m very much down for it.
Curiosity came and I searched “Kazuo Ishiguro” online. Kazuo Ishiguro is a British novelist. He was born in Japan and moved to Britain when he was five. This explains his word usage such as, ‘thus’, ‘merely’, and ‘foresee’. Kazuo’s unfamiliar vocabularies written in the novel are numerous. “Unduly”, “notion”, “utmost”, and “chaise-longue” are some of the words I looked up online while reading. The Remains of The Day is not easy to digest. Nonetheless, the book’s word usage and sentence structure are the exact reasons why I love British authors’ works which include my previous choice, The Midnight Library. I hope I’ll have more time to read next week as I want to know more about Stevens’ trip.
Hi Nadine. The usage of words and sentences you mentioned in your log is so interesting and it motivates me to find a book written by British author too. Although I know it may be challenging for me to read for the first time, I would like to try it, for I also like to look up some different and various vocabularies. It could probably improve my writing skills as well. Besides, I like you to explain how you found this book in your first log of it. I am looking forward to your next log about Steve's trip.
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