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Quick answer: If you loved The Remains of the Day, try Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun, An Artist of the Floating World, Atonement, Stoner and The Sense of an Ending. Each one is a quiet, beautifully written novel about memory, regret and unspoken feelings.
Kazuo Ishiguro's 1989 Booker Prize winner follows Stevens, an English butler who takes a motoring trip through the West Country in 1956. As he drives to visit the former housekeeper Miss Kenton, he looks back on his years serving Lord Darlington, whose sympathy for the Nazis he chose not to question. Slowly, the reader sees what Stevens cannot admit, including his love for Miss Kenton. Readers love its restraint. These books share its regret and its subtlety.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Style | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro | Quiet | readers who want more Ishiguro |
| Klara and the Sun | Kazuo Ishiguro | Gentle | readers who want Ishiguro's latest |
| An Artist of the Floating World | Kazuo Ishiguro | Regret | readers who like looking back |
| Atonement | Ian McEwan | Regret | readers who like lies with long shadows |
| Stoner | John Williams | Quiet | readers who like modest lives |
| The Sense of an Ending | Julian Barnes | Memory | readers who like unreliable memory |
| Howards End | E.M. Forster | English | readers who like country houses |
| Brideshead Revisited | Evelyn Waugh | Nostalgia | readers who like lost aristocrats |
| The Children Act | Ian McEwan | Duty | readers who like restraint |
| The Go-Between | L.P. Hartley | Memory | readers who like childhood secrets |
| Mrs Dalloway | Virginia Woolf | Inner life | readers who like a single day |
| The Age of Innocence | Edith Wharton | Restraint | readers who like unspoken love |
| Persuasion | Jane Austen | Second chance | readers who like quiet longing |
| Olive Kitteridge | Elizabeth Strout | Quiet | readers who like linked stories |
| Old Filth | Jane Gardam | Memory | readers who like old men looking back |
1. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Students learn their terrible purpose.
Best for: readers who want more Ishiguro.
2. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
An artificial friend watches over a girl.
Best for: readers who want Ishiguro's latest.
3. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
A Japanese painter reflects on his wartime choices.
Best for: readers who like looking back.
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan
A girl's lie ruins two lives.
Best for: readers who like lies with long shadows.
5. Stoner by John Williams
A farm boy becomes a professor.
Best for: readers who like modest lives.
6. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
A man revisits his past.
Best for: readers who like unreliable memory.
7. Howards End by E.M. Forster
Families are bound by a house.
Best for: readers who like country houses.
8. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
A man remembers an aristocratic family.
Best for: readers who like lost aristocrats.
9. The Children Act by Ian McEwan
A judge's decision changes a teen's life.
Best for: readers who like restraint.
10. The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley
An old man recalls a summer as a go-between.
Best for: readers who like childhood secrets.
11. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
A woman prepares for a party.
Best for: readers who like a single day.
12. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
A lawyer is torn between two women.
Best for: readers who like unspoken love.
13. Persuasion by Jane Austen
A woman meets the man she rejected.
Best for: readers who like quiet longing.
14. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
A prickly teacher in Maine.
Best for: readers who like linked stories.
15. Old Filth by Jane Gardam
A retired judge remembers his life.
Best for: readers who like old men looking back.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with The Remains of the Day: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to The Remains of the Day. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most. If a pick is part of a longer series, read the first book before you commit, and check the age or content notes in the table before passing a book to a younger reader.
How to Choose
For more Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World is the closest companion, and Never Let Me Go is his most famous. If you loved the regret and restraint, Stoner, The Go-Between and The Sense of an Ending are perfect. The Age of Innocence and Persuasion offer quiet, unspoken love.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Remains of the Day about?
An English butler reflects on his years of service and his unspoken love for a housekeeper.
Did it win the Booker Prize?
Yes, in 1989.
Who is Lord Darlington?
Stevens's former employer, who sympathized with the Nazis.
Is there a movie?
Yes. The 1993 film starred Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
Who is Kazuo Ishiguro?
A British author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017.
Is it sad?
It is quietly heartbreaking.
What should I read next?
Never Let Me Go.