A perfect butler … a brilliant novel

The book “The Remains of the Day”, authored by Kazuo Ishiguro, is one of a series of Nobel Prize winners a friend has kindly gifted me. I feel the urge to write a few lines about it as I have derived immense pleasure from its perusal. But, in all honesty, this is far from being a book review, which is beyond my ability. My intention is simply to recommend a good read to other English book lovers like myself.

As stated in the back cover blurb, the book presents a portrait of Stevens, the perfect English butler who had served for more than thirty years in Darlington Hall in postwar England. The main part of the story is a description of a country drive, during which Stevens embarked on a journey down memory lane. He recalled the remarkable events he partook in and the people he associated with in his long years of service, thus giving a picture of the social and political phenomenon of Europe in that era.

Initially, I found the story a bit monotonous. There is, for example, a prolonged account of the butler’s interpretation of the term “dignity”. I questioned his need for being so careful with details when explaining how his opinion differed from others’. As I proceeded with my reading, however, I gradually got a grasp of his sincerity in providing such explicit details. What he means by “dignity” borders on our understanding of an employee’s “die-hard loyalty” in the current terminology. Stevens’ father, a self-demanding butler before him, made strenuous efforts to maintain his work efficiency even during his last days. Stevens went about his tasks of serving the guests one evening without pausing for a moment to take a look at his father, who was reported to be taking his last breath. Such behaviour may be deemed as cold-blooded in today’s world when so much is talked about employees being treated with respect and empathy. But Stevens saw this as a butler’s dignity. This concept is, in fact, a main focus of the story and appears repeatedly even towards its very end. 

Impressed by the label “Winner of the Nobel Prize – Literature”, I had expected very difficult terms, complicated sentence structures and lengthy paragraphs. To my delight, the story displays the beauty of the English language in its simplicity. It is, nevertheless, not short of beautiful words and phrases, which I appreciate so much that I have made a list of them for keeping just as I did as a school girl ages ago.

Yes, this is a brilliant novel, one I would talk more about if invited to.

Time to curb the masses of tourists

                     picture from "Macau Daily News"

The huge number of tourist arrivals has made headlines these days.

Pictures of tourists packed like sardines in the streets are a terrible sight. They remind me of my own experience some years ago.

I was travelling in a place named 周莊, known for being a collection of beauty of China's water townships. I had seen it in pictures and been craving to be there myself. But that experience was horrible beyond words. What could have been charming sights were all hidden behind the masses of tourists. Instead of admiring the scenery, I was forced to spend most of my time walking along a narrow lane lined with shops thronged with bargaining tourists. What made things worse was that the serenity of the stream, so charming in the pictures, was spoilt by the singing of village women rowing long narrow boats, cheap imitations of the Venetian gondola!

I also recall an incident in Tibet a number of years ago. With the opening of a new railway linking Tibet to 1.3 billion people in other parts of China, the increasing number of tourists was found to be threatening the security of the Potala Palace. It was becoming harder to safeguard the jewel of Tibetan Buddhism, the symbol of Tibet.  Efforts were needed to stem the rising tide of visitors.

What about our own city, where tourism has long been an important sector of the economy?  I wonder whether mass tourism is a blessing or a curse. In fact, while the spending of the tourists may be a welcome boost to Macau’s retail business, there are a lot of complaints about its adverse effects. Imagine its interference in the daily lives of the local citizens. We cannot turn a blind eye to its negative impacts on the local transport, social security, the environment and our cultural heritages. Even if we do not mind the long wait for a taxi and the contaminated environment, it pains us to see the damage done to our treasured heritage sites.

In addition, mass tourism could ruin Macau’s reputation as a tourist destination. What fun is there travelling in jam-packed streets? My unpleasant experience in 周莊 is enough evidence.

It's high time the government took action to curb the masses of tourists descending on us every day.