結尾的時候，Stevens坐在碼頭，一名男子對他說：
"You've got to enjoy yourself. The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it. That's how I look at it. Ask anybody, they'll all tell you. The evening's the best part of the day."
所以我想，即使只是陌生人的善意哄慰，the remains of the day，依然有機會成為the best part of the day。
我讀過四本石黑一雄（Kazuo Ishiguro）的作品，依閱讀順序分別是：群山淡景、別讓我走、我輩孤雛跟長日將盡。
群山淡景（A Pale View of Hills, 1982）很有我慣熟的日本作家感覺，薄薄一本，很快就翻完了，故事輕描淡寫又模糊斷裂，留白的地方多，詮釋的空間也大。
別讓我走（Never let me go, 2005）跟我輩孤雛（When We Were Orphans, 2000）部頭大一點，劇情也都非常簡單，三言兩語就能把大綱帶過，篇幅大多用來讓第一人稱主人翁回憶那些不厭其煩的瑣事。
長日將盡（The Remains of the day, 1989）也是差不多的筆法：第一人稱，回憶式的絮聒倒敘，口氣倒也都是安靜理性鉅細靡遺的，開始或許會有些無聊，覺得這個管家怎麼老在煩惱自己無法回應主人所謂的戲謔談話呢，但之後一頁頁揭開了，得到全貌了，一股不可抑的憂懷感傷瞬時讓回首這個開頭都心酸。
小說的過去跟現在分別發生在二戰前後二十年的英國，主角是Darlington Hall的管家Stevens，他見證了戰前戰後的滄海桑田。在Stevens之外，書中有三個角色也是重要的：父親、Lord Darlington、Miss Kenton。
Stevens的父親也是一名稱職的總管，年高之後來到Darlington Hall，只是老邁讓他的工作逐漸變得吃力，女管家Miss Kenton多次提醒作為總管的Stevens，對父親的信賴跟尊敬讓他總是不以為意。一次送糕點到庭院，他絆住石階跌倒，Stevens才驚覺父親已不復當年精力。在主人的吩咐下，他重新分配了父親的工作，父親儘管倔強認真，對此安排也只能接受。
Stevens跟Miss Kenton之後看著父親在他跌倒的那處石階邁著步子徘徊：
No doubt, she was feeling a certain sense of guilt as the two of us watched from our window my father's figure down below. The shadows of the poplar trees had fallen across much of the lawn, but the sun was still lighting up the far corner where the grass sloped up to the Summerhouse. My father could be seen standing by those four stone steps, deep in thought. A breeze was slightly disturbing his hair. Then, as we watched, he walked very slowly up the steps. At the top, he turned and came back down, a little faster. Turning once more, my father became still again for several seconds, contemplating the steps before him. Eventually, he climbed them a second time, very deliberately. This time he continued on across the grass until he had almost reached the summerhouse, then turned and came walking slowly back, his eyes never leaving the ground. In fact, I can describe his manner at that moment no better than the way Miss Kenton puts it in her letter; it was indeed 'as though he hoped to find some precious jewel he had dropped there.'
這段鋪陳為Stevens的掙扎添了許多說服跟張力。
二戰前，英德法美諸強權關係敏感的時候，Darlington Hall的主人Lord Darlington是其中的重要人物，Darlington Hall自然成許多重要人物的出入場所。1923年的三月，Darlington Hall開始了一場重要的國際會議，Stevens正忙得不可開交的時候，父親再次跌倒並中風了，分身乏術的他吩咐人找來醫生，探了一眼父親，就要回到工作崗位上，其實他的心裡明白，父親已是沉屙難起。
樓上死生交關，樓下的會議，辯論亦如火如荼的展開，美國參議員Lewis認為與會的歐洲人士是"a bunch of naive dreamers"，並稱Lord Darlington對國際事務只是略懂皮毛，而今時今日的複雜局勢已不容業餘者置喙，需要專業人士的介入。
Lord Darlington的回應氣度高尚，
"I have no wish," his lordship said, "to enter into a quarrel on this our last evening together which we all deserve to enjoy as a happy and triumphant occasion. But it is out of respect for your views, Mr Lewis, that I feel one should not simply cast them to one side as though they were uttered by some soap-box eccentric. Let me say this. What you describe as 'amateurism', sir, is what I think most of us here still prefer to call 'honour'."
This brought a loud murmur of assent with several 'hear, hear's' and some applause.
"What is more, sir," his lordship went on, "I believe I have a good idea of what you mean by 'professionalism'. It appears to mean getting one's way by cheating and manipulating. It means ordering one's priorities according to greed and advantage rather than the desire to see goodness and justice prevail in the world. If that is the 'professionalism' you refer to, sir, I don't much care for it and have no wish to acquire it."
Lord Darlington是一名得體的英國紳士，這段淋漓盡致的發言更透露出他對某些美德不可動搖的價值觀。戰爭結束後，這名勞心勞力的紳士下場卻很是慘澹。因著與德使的友誼，他多次居中牽線安排與英外相的會面，英國戰時大吃納粹苦頭，戰後輿論自是將他批評的一文不值，狀告報紙敗訴之後，他自盡於Darlington Hall。
他錯判了世界潮流，他誤認民主是過時產物，他信仰的正面價值遭有心敵國操弄利用，他在自己的國家留了一身臭名，他或許正如美國參議員所指，太天真業餘不明局勢。但對Stevens而言，Lord Darlington正如父親之外第二個人生楷模。因為服侍Lord Darlington，Stevens擁有最接近世界權力核心的時刻，Darlington Hall的閃亮銀器差差取悅了Lord Halifax，間接影響了會議結果。這點歷史不屑記載的小處，卻是他一生追尋的「總管的尊嚴」的發揚。
Stevens接連遭遇兩次公私相悖的情感考驗，一是父親的病危，二是Miss Kenton的表白。只是他選擇前往服侍每個踏入Darlington Hall的客人，並且離去了就再不回頭。Stevens的一生幾乎踏著與父親一般的步伐，父親是他職業上始終的模範跟借鏡，Stevens對管家這份職業的認同更來自父親在談話間提供的原始雛形。
Lord Darlington死後，宅邸被新興的美國實業家買下，Stevens換了主人，也到了當年父親的年紀。他收到了Miss Kenton寄來的信，見面卻也只是聊復安慰，作為一個愛情故事永遠不夠完美。
我一向對大歷史裡的小人物故事深深著迷，尹縣長，川島芳子，一個德國人的故事，越戰獵鹿人，竊聽風暴。長日將盡則很容易跟「我曾侍候過英國國王」（I Served the King of England, 2006）作聯想，只是黑色幽默的荒誕手法，就不如Stevens的含蓄沉默那樣讓人動容了。
這本書是石黑一雄的傑作，竊以為在我讀過之前之後的作品裡幾乎沒有一本能夠超越。其中的象徵沉浮充滿了不得不然的喟嘆，卻也留下一點溫柔餘地。
眼看他起高樓，眼看他宴賓客，一生幾乎踏著與父親一般步伐的Stevens，終究也離開了那個石階。跌倒無損於尊嚴，我真的以為。
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