The Parliament Act of 1911, which undid many of the privileges of the aristocracy, only hastened the decline, one that proved definitive after World War II, when many aristocrats still retained their titles but were financially ruined-and, like Darlington’s family, forced to sell off their grand estates. Also implicit, though, is the decline of the English aristocracy, a process that began in the nineteenth century with the rise of a new moneyed class whose status was based not on land possession and noble titles, but on the acquisition of commercial wealth. (Oct.The Remains of the Day is, in some ways, a historical novel that is “about” the effects of Nazism and World War II on England, even if it is more concerned with the ways these significant historical events pressed on individual circumstances. In the poignant denouement, Stevens belatedly realizes that he has wasted his life in blind service to a foolish man and that he has never discovered ``the key to human warmth.'' While it is not likely to provoke the same shocks of recognition as it did in Britain, this insightful, often humorous and moving novel should significantly enhance Ishiguro's reputation here.

Ishiguro builds Stevens's character with precisely controlled details, creating irony as the butler unwittingly reveals his pathetic self-deception. Having made a virtue of stoic dignity, he is proud of his impassive response to his father's death and his ``correct'' behavior with the spunky former housekeeper, Miss Kenton.

Glacially reserved, snobbish and humorless, Stevens has devoted his life to his concept of duty and responsibility, hoping to reach the pinnacle of his profession through totally selfless dedication and a ruthless suppression of sentiment.

Stevens, an elderly butler who has spent 30 years in the service of Lord Darlington, ruminates on the past and inadvertently slackens his rigid grip on his emotions to confront the central issues of his life.

Greeted with high praise in England, where it seems certain to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Ishiguro's third novel (after An Artist of the Floating World ) is a tour de force- both a compelling psychological study and a portrait of a vanished social order.

The remains of the day book