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Defining Moments
A
RECENT NOVEL,
The Remains of the Day, describes the reflec-
tions of a British butler, Stevens, who is traveling through
the British countryside and struggling to come to peace with
his career and his life.
1
The life of a 60-year-old butler may seem
an odd source of lessons about contemporary life and the difficult
decisions managers must sometimes make. Yet the author, Kazuo
Ishiguro, thought otherwise and once explained his choice of a
main character by saying simply, ‘‘We are all butlers.’’
2
During his travels, Stevens spends much of his time thinking
back on a handful of choices, some made 25 years earlier, that
irrevocably shaped his life and career. As he recalls these decisions,
Stevens sometimes feels pride, more often sorrow. ...