The Quiet Tragedy of Duty

• Summary: Stevens, a dedicated butler at Darlington Hall, reflects on his lifelong commitment to his employer, Lord Darlington, during the interwar years. As he takes a motoring trip to visit a former colleague, Miss Kenton, he begins to reconcile the cost of his "dignity" and his unacknowledged loyalty to a man who, he later realizes, was a Nazi sympathizer.

• Review: Ishiguro is the master of the "unreliable narrator." Stevens never explicitly tells us he is unhappy, yet the ache in the book is palpable. It is a slow, melancholy meditation on regret, professional pride, and the wasted potential of a life lived in service to others. It is arguably one of the most perfectly crafted novels of the late 20th century, teaching writers the power of what is left unsaid.