Never Let Me Go

It took me a bit to get into this book, but I'm really glad I gave it some time, because I'm really enjoying it. There is a slight, slight, slight creepy sci-fi back story, which I won't go into, that was surprising, but mostly this is an interesting personal fictional account of looking back at one's younger and adolescent years, and what growing up sometimes means: Seeing things more clearly. Thirty pages in I wasn't sure I'd finish it. Now, with 50 to go, I don't want it to end!
——————
Lived up to my expectations, though the so-called “twist” ending...wasn't twisty to me. It was still a satisfying ending, and I think I'll go read some more of this guy's books...

This novel arose a lot of mixed feelings in me. The tale starts out as a sweet story of a bunch of kids in some kind of a boarding school, but the reality of their lives becomes increasingly harrowing and dreadful with each page. The protagonists were described in great detail, the pictures of their personalities painted very real. I could not help myself rooting for them, but at the same time l kept wondering why none of them ever tried to rebel against such a reality. It felt almost painful to keep reading about these kids bowing to their fates with such devotion and acceptance.

I like the writing style of Kazuo Ishiguro. I have previously read his The Remains of the Day. Both of these books have a troubling aspect to them and both cause the reader to question reality-fictional in case of this book. Never Let Me Go-despite being a work of fiction-felt so realistic that it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. How can such a world exist?

I was totally and completely spoiled about this book (stupid movie previews), but that didn't prevent it from being one of the best books I've ever read.

At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about the narrative voice. Kath, the narrator, relays her story in a roughly chronological order, with many tangents and anecdotes. But over time, it builds on itself and becomes the poignant reflections of someone who is facing her own mortality and has also lost everyone and every place that meant anything to her living through her memories. There are several times that Kath reflects on situations that, despite the sadness or finality, took on a closeness and levity that is only possible in the types of friendships where you can simply have wandering conversations about anything. It is clear that Kath is speaking to a reader who is that kind of friend.

The larger plot is fascinating – Ishiguro has several things to say about mortality, what we are willing to compromise (ethically) to further ourselves, the difference between faith and curiousity, and what it means to be a person and to be a part of the human condition. That, in and of itself was worth reading, but the book truly shines by being about a sincere depiction of one woman's life and personality within this larger world. You end up caring at least as much about Kath, Ruth and Tommy and their arguments, cassette tapes and classes as the big picture.

It is on the relationship level that Ishiguro shines. The friendships are intricate, completely necessary for the characters and extremely complex. Each character has their own flaws and deals (and doesn't deal) with them in various ways as they come of age.

I liked this book well enough as just a story about relationships/popularity/self-confidence growing up and nearing the end of it kept thinking how it was a little strange that the author chose to backdrop this relatively normal high-school-to-adolesence tale with this strange clone organ donor idea.

So when the reveal comes near the end, it really hit me that the whole point was that it was just a normal story. One of the best realizations I've experienced in a book in a long time.

Not an exciting read, yet not a boring one. written in a very conversational style, which suited it nicely. It didn't have any big twists or turns and was paced nicely.
The characters were great and much of the interest i had in the book stemmed from the interpersonal relationships. The overarching story about students, donors and carers was otherwise mildly interesting.

I don't really see why this would be classified as a science-fiction book.

Perhaps it was a bit too flat and too patched up with melancholy. Yet the melancholy was not in a flat but perturbing manner that got through the soul. That is in such way, I found the novel not sufficing my expectation or any kind of sadness that would feed me well.

To be frank, the story itself was fine, and there were obviously layers to the rendition of the world that the novel was based on. The basic settings and social backgrounds were revealed in a natural manner with the utmost simplicity in language, to which throughout the book was the narration of it. Yet it could not be so relatable, this sadness, in itself was in disguise but notable, just as paradoxical as the ugly truth of what the students' lives were set out to be, and how they were “sheltered” to be in Hailsham. It was fine, it really was, perhaps I was all too young to understand the magic of it. But again I could not relate to or feel the emotions as much as the characters did.

I wish I was a bit more attached to the characters, liked the writing style a bit more, maybe just a bit more and I could have found an attachment to this like I have with Ishiguro's other novels. But still, I really liked it. the bits with adult Kathy felt a bit too juvenile at points, but that's alright; they're still young, far too young for what's happened to them. The scene with Miss Emily towards the end is fucking peak.

The perfect companion to Klara and the Sun!

The story stared out very slowly but I was immediately into the characters. But then it never really sped up and the characters, mainly Ruth didn't really grow and stayed the way they were, which wasn't very nice or lovable. I also found most of the side characters quite boring. 

I liked the mystery of why things happened that way at Hailsham but then the ending was a little underwhelming. Although I did think it make a big impact. Because the carers they spoke to were so very wrong. They felt so right but they were still scared of them. They sort of felt like they should feel a certain way and fought for that but they didn't see them as fully fledged people with souls. It felt so wrong and icky when reading it but it was so well done. Miss Lucy was right in the end and they got to know that. 

So I had a hard time getting through this book and didn't really love it but I think the ending is really well done, although it makes the whole story feel a bit pointless. But then maybe that's the point, I don't know

I picked up this book having absolutely no idea what it was about, not even the genre. I only knew it was “good” as I'd seen it on several recommendation lists. I guess my not knowing what it was about is what made me somehow enjoy the first third of it. But the last two? It was just... Mehhh. The writing is beautiful, and I liked how it all sounded like a conversation you'd have with the protagonist, like she's telling you about what happened to her and then she'd remember something and would go back in time to tell you a different story etc. But you get quickly bored of this writing style and I'd say even annoyed. The story was good, but not that good. Even the plot twist wasn't a plot twist, once you get there you kind of already know. The rest of the story is very monotonous. I just didn't care for it.

Very character-driven, and with little to no action going on, I can kind of see why someone would find Never Let Me Go a boring novel, but I absolutely adored it. At some point, I considered rating it 4 stars, if only because I didn't quite understand how Kathy and Tommy still managed to stay friends with Ruth, but what the hell? It's a 5/5 for me. Ishiguro did a brilliant job.

Besides being a great novel, it's also great sci-fi disguised as “literary fiction,” which is bullshit. Saying it's not science fiction just because it's not about science itself is, well, bullshit. Reinterpreting as nothing but a love story is utter. bullshit. It is. Sorry ‘bout it.

For many reasons, it kept reminding me of Ian McEwan's Atonement. I didn't love Atonement, but some of the same sentiments can be found here: melancholy helplessness, resignation, Keira Knightley. The prose is also similarly beautiful, but while McEwan's book took its toll on me, I couldn't put Ishiguro's down.

Nobel Prize? One of the best books of the 21st century? I must be missing something. It was still enjoyable, great premise, eerie setting, often entertaining socially critiquing writing style and some great moral questions. However the writing style could also lend itself to be somewhat pedantic (one of the final exchanges, that touch on the title of the novel, while having a nice final thrust to the message of the book, I also found it feeling like fan fiction...) This made some exchanges in the book a bit laborious and kind of broke the immersion for me a bit.
However I think it's also possible that the popularity of this book has worked against it, since the main plot point isn't necessarily meant to be known before going in. The back sleeve mentions nothing about it, and it's not properly revealed until well into the novel. Unfortunately best of lists will readily say this plot point, and I think it ruins part of what Ishiguro was trying to do here. He has a nice way of controlling the provision of information, but knowing this plot point before hand meant I was waiting awhile for it to be revealed in the book. I'm not going to say what it is of course, and I hope in the unlikely scenario someone happens to read this, and they've not read any reviews or blurbs about the book outside of it, they'll simply pick it up and start with no other knowledge about it.

If you're into coming-of-age stories, sci-fi, and arts and crafts, this is your jam!

Kathy is “carer” telling the story of her childhood. She was raised at a special school where everything's a bit different, and the students are prepared for the specific future that's laid out for them. It isn't exactly a mystery; students are told what will happen to them, and we readers figure it out early in the story. But even so, there's a lot hidden in the shadows.

Ishiguro is a master storyteller with prose and character development that makes me envious. It's a simple story about innocence, whether the ends justify the means, and what it means to live a fulfilling life, but despite its simplicity, the writing draws you in.

One of the best novels I've read in recent years.

Ishiguro's Never Let me Go is an intensely touching story that poses so many interesting questions to the reader. A closely related book to his recent ‘Klara in the sun' Ishiguro explores what it truly means to be human, and what defines the undefinable human soul. Ishiguro is a master of drip feeding the reader with information so that they are always engaged in the book and does an excellent job guiding them through this immensely complex subject matter. The interactions and love shared between Kathy, Tommy and Ruth is truly an expert representation of human relationships and their complexity. I loved this book and it left me feeling deeply sad and deeply happy at times. Would definitely recommend as an entry to Ishiguro.

This book had some really interesting questions, I'm just on the fence about how it brought those questions across. The premise was very interesting, the storytelling was engaging, and I was never really bored throughout it all. The beginning started off really strong and sinister but I found it meandered somewhat as it went on. This is a 3 to 3.5 stars for me.

Now an adult with a job caring for patients, Kathy reminisces about her times in Hailsham, a prestigious boarding school that she had attended in her childhood until she was sixteen. Prominent in her memories and amongst her Hailsham friends are Ruth and Tommy, with whom Kathy grows up and subsequently leaves Hailsham. In the outside world, the three of them seek to find out the reason for Hailsham's existence.

While there are some sci-fi elements to this story, it's extremely subtle and really only serves as a backdrop. A lot of good questions are raised (all of them too spoilery to list here), and you can't help thinking about the whole premise of it even after the book is done. The climax and reveal of the story never hit that hard though, and I'm not sure if this was intentional since Ishiguro freely gives out pretty large hints from the very beginning. It was easy to have a good idea what premise of the story was from the first few chapters if you paid enough attention. I also felt that Kathy's perspective felt oddly sterile and detached at some points, even during moments that we as readers have been looking forward to for several chapters before. It makes climactic moments feel a bit like a let-down, but again I'm not sure if this is deliberate on Ishiguro's part, considering the context of the whole plot.

About the themes, plot, and ending:

I liked the premise of questioning medical ethics, especially when it comes to entities created by science for the sole purpose of serving "real" human beings. It's just come to a blur in this book because the clones being manufactured for their organs to be havested seem to be every bit as real as regular people. Cloning has been a hot topic in medical science for ages now, so the premise of this book honestly doesn't sound absurdly far-fetched. The idea that a more "superior" version of yourself is being essentially groomed and then farmed is terrifying and sounds inhumane, but at the same time what happens if these clones are let loose upon the world?A particular interesting thought that struck me was how the clones are not able to have children. As clones, they would have an identical DNA to someone else who was their "model", but being manufactured they had had no say in where their DNA comes from. Whether they had previously been sterilised or genetically modified before birth, the clones do not have the choice to pass on this DNA by having children. It's implied that their DNA is not their own to pass on as they will, since their entire existence is a mirror of someone else's and the society they're in demands that they therefore serve the needs of "regular" humans. It certainly poses a really interesting conundrum that I hadn't previously thought about, regarding this whole thing about whether an entity should be allowed to pass on DNA if it had been copied wholesale from someone else's for specific purposes.Halfway through though, I didn't quite like how the book devolved into a bit of teenage drama with the whole love triangle between Ruth, Kathy, and Tommy, and how Ruth and Kathy just went on catfighting for most of their lives. I wasn't really sure what that accomplished in the larger scheme of things, and plus I just didn't understand why the two girls went on being so toxic and mean to each other but still being super reliant on the other. It was a whole lot of teenage drama that I didn't sign up for.The ending felt a little anticlimactic. I was really looking forward to the whole big denouement with Miss Emily and Madame, but they didn't really say a lot of things that I hadn't already figured out by that point. There wasn't a big secret sinister plot at the back of it. After that, Tommy and Kathy just went on with the rest of their predestined lives, donating until they completed. It felt like nothing much was discovered (especially since Tommy and Kathy had already somewhat known the truth of their beings all along anyway) and nothing much was changed.

Random stuff for the first three paragraphs.

I watched the film made after this book and all I could think after watching it was 'the book has to be so much better' and I had this impulse to put the book I am currently reading on hold and read this one. So I logged into my online library account and started listening to it. And I was right, the book is so much better.

Now, I listened to it at something like 1.75x speed because I both wanted to get back to my other book and also just wanted the confirmation that Never Let Me Go is as good as I guessed it would be. And, well, third, because when I already know what's going to happen in a book I can't read it like I would without knowing anything at all (I am the type of reader who doesn't even check out the synopsis, I go by author and genre alone, sometimes only genre).

I previously only read two other books by Kazuo Ishiguro and I liked both of them. I had also planned to read some more of his books so this was a perfect opportunity.

I enjoyed the book, I think it's amazing how one can come up with an idea like this, but also how unsurprising it feels. Would humans do something like this? Definitely, I have no doubt that if they could, some of them would jump at the chance.

Kathy's story is both heartbreaking and not. What happens is unfair, certainly, but she's resigned. Maybe resigned is not the right word, she simply doesn't know anything else. She was brought up into a certain reality, it's been ingrained into her, and the others, that this is what they are supposed to do. Which is not incorrect, technically, but it is also not right.

I understand why none of them rise any serious questions, why they don't try and escape, but at the same time I'm wondering why not a single one of them tried to escape, out of all the students. There sure should have been someone to at least try it. But if someone did, would Kathy hear of it? And the truth is we don't know how well thought and controlled the whole programme is.

I'm not surprised at the lack of 'is it ethical or not' discussion. Again, Kathy, and the others, simply don't know enough to ask these questions. And since they don't know, who was in the right here? Miss Emily or Miss Lucy? Which way would have been better?

There are so many questions left after reading the book, and it also made such an impression on me, it sneaked into my dreams at night. Never Let Me Go sure is a thought provoking book and that makes it a great book to me.