The Booker at the Oscars: The Remains of the Day

The Booker Prize Podcast

It’s the third and final installment in our mini-series where we revisit Booker Prize novels whose cinematic adaptations were nominated at the Academy Awards. In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, which won the 1989 Booker Prize. Ishiguro’s moving portrait of the perfect English butler was adapted four years later by James Ivory, in a film which received eight nominations at the Oscars. Tune in to hear Jo and James discuss the novel – which also happens to be our March Monthly Spotlight – and its silver screen counterpart.

In this episode Jo and James:

1. Share a brief biography of Kazuo Ishiguro
2. Summarise the plot of the book, and share their thoughts on it
3. Explore the character of Stevens and the idea of dignity which he based his life on
4. Discuss the narrative devices Ishiguro uses throughout the novel
5. Delve into James Ivory’s adaptation, and the differences between book and film

Reading list:

1. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-remains-of-the-day
2. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/an-artist-of-the-floating-world

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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