The most striking thing about this novel, I found, was the subtlety of the language. The story is told through the first person reminiscence of an old english butler who is desperately clinging to the Old Order. He is certainly a modernist hero living in the fragmented post-modern world, with a terrible nostalgia for the unity of his former days. He is remembering the past as he journeys across the country to meet with a former colleague in an attempt to rectify some of the staffing problems he is currently experiencing, and the more the man remembers, the most tiny or vague detail confessed, the closer we come to an understanding of the character's complexities.
As I write this entry, I am also watching the film adaptation starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. It's decent, as far as Hollywood goes, but what's lacking is the subtlety and the smallness of the novel. Things are exaggerated in the film, and the moral ambiguities become instead a very strong political statement verging on propaganda. Also, the importance of the butler's solipsism is turned outwards through dialogue. Now, I get that this is the convention of film, but the medium of the written word is so NECESSARY in this case, and I wish that the key ideas could have been conveyed in some other, unconventional way. I am, however, enjoying the chemistry of Ms Thompson and Mr Hopkins and how that relationship is developing. Heh.
At any rate, the book was absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend it. If you find yourself having difficulty getting engaged with the text, put it down for awhile but don't give up on it! It's amazing once you get past the first hundred pages or so.
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