Book Review: Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro is one of those contemporary authors who never ceases to write; it feels like his books are everywhere and that everyone has heard of him. Never Let Me Go is a novel that I have been meaning to read for a long time; many years ago I watched the film but I’ve never managed to find the time to read the book until now. To say that this novel is beautifully written is an understatement; Kathy is a great narrator, appearing to be both reliable and engaging with a fantastic memory for any amount of small details. However, as the novel progresses the reader does begin to question whether Kathy is too easy to accept their fate; too quick to provide excuses and too happy to concentrate on the positive parts of their lives. Kathy rarely discusses her own feelings, often preferring to remember the past and describing how others felt. This book opens up many questions about both morality and mortality and not all of them are pleasant; in fact this novel is hard to read at times as it does hint at some uncomfortable subjects. In ethical terms, you could argue that there are many issues present; raising children to be very intelligent and then suddenly give up their lives, to have no opportunities to have a real future creates a range of questions and I’m not sure that I agree with the notion at all.

Kathy is a ‘carer’ and so we as readers see the worlds from her perspective, including her memories. Many of her memories contain some fond thoughts about her childhood, in particular her friends, acquaintances and guardians (who are fairly similar to teachers and parents in one) at her School, Hailsham which can be compared to a Boarding School except they don’t have holidays or ever leave, in fact. In all honesty, the majority of the memories that Kathy shares are not the happiest, although she seems to treasure them, probably because they are all she has and many of her childhood friends have ‘completed’ which is alternative way of describing death. Kathy explains (via her various recollective memories) that much of their teaching throughout their schooling is based around them being donors. Effectively, all of them are cloned, intended to donate organs for those who need transplants for various illnesses. Donation is something that is often mentioned and often in a way that suggests all of them are afraid of the future as it is so unknown to them. Many of them struggle past the second donation, however Kathy does explain that it does depend on the individual. Tommy seems quite proud of reaching a fourth donation, almost as though it is an honour. I got the impression that Kathy was afraid to be a donor herself, much preferring to be a carer. Being a carer definitely suits her personality, she’s naturally a sensitive soul.

Carers are trained to look after those who are recovering after making donations, which is Kathy’s role; considering that the majority of her childhood friends and acquaintances are guardians (who are fairly similar to teachers and parents in one) at her School, Hailsham which can be compared to a Boarding School except they don’t have holidays or ever leave, in fact. In all honesty, the majority of the memories that Kathy shares are not the happiest, although she seems to treasure them, probably because they are all she has and many of her childhood friends have ‘completed’ which is alternative way of describing death. Kathy explains (via her various recollective memories) that much of their teaching throughout their schooling is based around them being donors. Effectively, all of them are cloned, intended to donate organs for those who need transplants for various illnesses.

Carers are trained to look after those who are recovering after making donations, which is Kathy’s role; considering that the majority of her childhood friends and acquaintances are donors from what she describes. In fact, she even considers herself an excellent carer, having cared for many years. This novel is a sad one; I found it hard to read. It is almost impossible to understand how difficult it must have been for these children to reach adulthood and realise not only what they are, but that they have been lied to. I cant even fathom how it must be to realise that you are so different to the outside world; the characters in this novel are not only complex, but also incredibly really to deal with their difficult lives, they’re so brave in many ways. Many people go through life believing that they are alive for a purpose, although that purpose is usually dependant on choice whereas the characters in this novel are alive for a singular, unavoidable purpose with no choices at all.

Overall, I really loved this book; as much as it was difficult to read due to some of the morality and mortality questions that bothered me, the writing is undeniably beautiful. In general I do love a book that makes me think, that encourages me to question the truth of what I’m reading as well as think more about social issues. One of reasons why I adored this book so much is that the underlying morality issues were carefully described; the subtlety of the prose made the meaning behind the words  even more haunting to me. In terms of length, this book isn’t unreasonably short, but it isn’t long either so in a sense it is an easy read, although one that is very hard going in terms of subject matter. Ishiguro’s characterisation and the narrative voice of Kathy were excellent, particularly as there was a sense of mystery, until the big reveal which turned out not to matter anymore. Naturally many ethical questions arose after reading this novel, but ultimately I do recommend it as I couldn’t stop thinking about it during reading and still after reading it, which is always the sign of a fantastic read.