On The Go

Visiting friends & family for Hari Raya is an obligation that can be tough to live up to, especially if things are busy at work, but it's always satisfying - and tonight we begin the Singapore leg of the visits in earnest. We'll be going to the west coast, basically to see Kak Kiah, but spreading out from there. Since we've only just got back from taking the car to be serviced this means that it's not exactly been a day of rest. We're also planning for our own open house for next Saturday. Or rather Noi plans and I do what I'm told under her more than expert leadership.

I finished getting reacquainted with Ishiguro's Remains of the Day this morning. I have the pleasant duty of supervising a student who's doing something on it for his extended essay and thought I'd better brush up on the finer details. Now that's what I call having work that can really be enjoyed. I suppose the novel is one of the best recent examples of the use of an unreliable narrator, with the nice irony that Stevens is so wonderfully reliable. Also a profound exploration of the outmoded, possibly discredited, notion of dignity. Does Stevens keep his? Curiously, I think he does, despite everything.