It's true that compared to some other books, The Remains of the Day is pretty tame: no drag racing, no drunken escapades, no wacky strangers, no one-night stands.

At the same time, the novel begins as a story about a butler on a cross-country trip and turns into a book packed with emotional intensity, political intrigue, and betrayal, and some insanely hard questions about regret and responsibility. It also takes place in the years leading up to WWII, a time that students may not know too much about from the get-go.