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The Remains of the Day (1993): Film vs Book
Film · 1993 · Directed by James Ivory · Starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson
About the film
A butler recalls his years of service in a great house and begins to question the choices he made.
How close is it to the book?
Close to the bookThe film keeps the book's restraint and its slow revelation, though it replaces the narrator's voice with images and silences.
Read or watch first?
The novel lets you hear the butler's own self-deceiving voice, which is the secret of its power.
What the book gives you
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
A graceful, deeply moving portrait that stays with you, told in a voice you will remember.
Who will like it: Readers who like quiet, elegant stories about duty and the roads not taken.