Search - Never Let Me Go

Others have expounded on the plot and the book itself, but here's what I thought of the physical book: This is a trade paperback, 8"x5", with a matte paperback cover which you could probably spill something on, provided that you wipe it off right away. The actual pages are not the best quality, it is that "better than newsprint" paper that the publishers have been moving to in the last few years.

As for what's inside the book, well... people looking for your classic science-fiction novel will be disappointed in this book, and from the reviews, it seems that they are. But this is a classic Ishiguro work instead, emphasizing understatement, beauty, nobility, and that haunting feeling of impossibility.

While it has an intricate plot based on a mystery surrounding the exclusive boarding school of Hailsham, the plot unwinds slowly, piecemeal, and bit-by-bit through the character's thoughts. It takes nearly the entire book to figure out that you're in a a vision of an alternate dystopian world. So for someone who is looking for a "DaVinci Code" type of plot-driven, wham, bam, thank you, ma'am book, this is not it. Instead, you'll be treated to our main character, Kathy. She is quiet, reserved, and mostly passive to what is happening around her, although she is not indifferent; the book is written in her voice. The best way to describe this voice of this book is "controlled." You are really kept wondering through most of the book at what is going on, and what is going to happen to this trio of friends. Though it's no David Lynch movie, it's more like Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. If you're looking for a definite conclusion to an episode, you want to end up laughing, and have everything wrapped up nicely and tied with a bow, this is not your book. But if you want something thought-provoking, solid, moving, and somewhat suspenseful, it's good for that. Plus, it's a quick read at 288 pages, and one that will make you think afterward.

All I can say is this - I could barely speak when I finished this book, and it was a while before I picked up another book to read. Truly haunting, especially as you learn to care so much about the characters.

This was a book that had me from the first sentence. One of those books that I wish had gone on & on so I could keep hearing about the characters. I did NOT expect to love this book so much, to me, it is one of those "hard to give away" books. Those "generic" authors keep writing about silly crime detectives, I think they should keep writing about characters like in this novel!

Well, at least I can say I finished this book.  I guess I get why it is so popular and is considered a "must read" .  The writing style is unique and the premise is thought provoking, but I did not enjoy it. 

Musing over this read I'm trying to decide what messages the author was sending to readers. Should cloning be allowed to harvest essential organs? Would clones have souls? How can others determine the life path of anyone, even clones, who could have a life of his/her own? I loved the story - sad though it was - and recommend it for reading. There is so much to ponder in this read. The friendship of Ruth, Kathy and Tommy is strong and true to life. All of us have friends with problems of communication and understand such as they encounter. Ruth, however, is quite selfish or perhaps she is so insecure that while she understands that Kathy and Tommy were meant to be together she manages to prevent this from happening until they are much older. So much time is lost for these young lovers before they find each other.

Never Let Me Go is a poignant, thought-provoking dystopian work by Japanese-born British writer Kazuo Ishiguro. Like his earlier Remains of the Day, this story is told by a semi-reliable first person narrator. Kathy H. is a young woman reminiscing about her childhood friends Tommy and Ruth and their trajectories since leaving Halisham, an elite boarding school-like institution. Her tone is conversational, with many passages starting with "I don't remember exactly" and "when I think about it now," and slight loops back to provide context. Her grasp of the details of their particular dystopia are hazy, but I think that's the point. Ishiguro wants us readers to focus on what we have in common with the characters: how we find and create meaning in our lives, deal with fate, and care for our friends. It's a shame that this Booker prize finalist was taken off the list of 1001 books you must read before you die.