Never Let Me Go

If someone was not born, but made, does that mean their life is expendable? Does it mean that they are not a 'person' in the way we would usually understand? Can the rule of utilitarianism be applied to a situation where one person dies to potentially save the lives of 3 or 4 others? What bounds should be placed upon science? What can I say? This book blew me away, reminding me of...more

If someone was not born, but made, does that mean their life is expendable? Does it mean that they are not a 'person' in the way we would usually understand? Can the rule of utilitarianism be applied to a situation where one person dies to potentially save the lives of 3 or 4 others? What bounds should be placed upon science? What can I say? This book blew me away, reminding me of another favourite of mine, The Handmaid's Tale. What amazed me is how, despite the seemingly horrific purpose of their lives, the children accepted their fate and concentrated instead on what they could control - their friendships, their relationships, their immediate future. I think one important message in the book is just that...that it doesn't take long for something once considered as horrific to gain widespread acceptance when an apparent benefit can be seen. The questions above are ones all posed by this book, which is at times both painfully, heartwrenchingly dark, and also light, childlike, and somehow innocent. The style of writing is very familiar, told as though the reader is another childhood friend, sharing drinks on a blanket in an upstairs room with Kathy, and the effect is to completely absorb and engage us in this world. Love, love, love it!   hide

I picked up the book on a recomendation. I dont think I liked the story as much as I admired the writing. The story was about self discovery and about the transition from child to adult but I felt that it went to slow. There were absolutely no moments of anticipation. Perhaps you could say the end where they find mrs Emily but even that was a little dissapointing. The ability to pick apart...more

I picked up the book on a recomendation. I dont think I liked the story as much as I admired the writing. The story was about self discovery and about the transition from child to adult but I felt that it went to slow. There were absolutely no moments of anticipation. Perhaps you could say the end where they find mrs Emily but even that was a little dissapointing. The ability to pick apart peoples emotions and put them lyrically onto paper Ishiguro has got that down. He has the main character be ultra observant and that really plays well when she explains her inner struggle to figure out her place and her friends. Ishiguro is a keen observer of emotion. I guess my overall feeling for the book was good but not great for plot. Yes the plot ending was creepy with the organ thing but I still felt even with that it went to slow. I guess I was looking for more from the main character and maybe her lack of color was from the factor of how she was raised partly.   hide

(a little bit of spoiler re: ending) The author kept leading you into the mystery...at the beginning you keep wondering what the role each person plays, but as you get more answers from the author you have more questions. With the secrets revealed I finally realized the big picture and the scheme of things (I was half guessing it but when it was obvious it was still a shock). Once that is clear...more

(a little bit of spoiler re: ending) The author kept leading you into the mystery...at the beginning you keep wondering what the role each person plays, but as you get more answers from the author you have more questions. With the secrets revealed I finally realized the big picture and the scheme of things (I was half guessing it but when it was obvious it was still a shock). Once that is clear it is hard not to go all the way till the end of the book. A wonderful book because the further I went the more hooked into the story I was. Highly recommended - but don't bet on a happy ending.   hide

This one earns a WTF? Universal praise from critics, best book of the year on list after list, yaddah yaddah yaddah. Over what I have no friggin idea. Boring. Uninsightful. Hell, even annoying. Just plain lousy science fiction, which I can forgive (sort of), but not even deeply thematic that I could see. I've read the critic's reviews (which I almost always find sharp on other books, even...more

This one earns a WTF? Universal praise from critics, best book of the year on list after list, yaddah yaddah yaddah. Over what I have no friggin idea. Boring. Uninsightful. Hell, even annoying. Just plain lousy science fiction, which I can forgive (sort of), but not even deeply thematic that I could see. I've read the critic's reviews (which I almost always find sharp on other books, even if I don't always agree) and even within them I can't find a good reason to like the book, much less any realistic assesment of value.   hide

Hmmm- well I both liked & didn't like this book. I found the writing to be what compelled me onward most of the time- it's exceptionally well-written & easy to read. I've heard some people say that there's this great "mystery that unfolds" as you read it & I just didn't find that- maybe because I'd read some reviews ahead of time, but I also felt very early on that even without that, it was...more

Hmmm- well I both liked & didn't like this book. I found the writing to be what compelled me onward most of the time- it's exceptionally well-written & easy to read. I've heard some people say that there's this great "mystery that unfolds" as you read it & I just didn't find that- maybe because I'd read some reviews ahead of time, but I also felt very early on that even without that, it was quite easy to figure out where the book itself was heading. If you don't already know the premise of the book, I won't spoil it for you here. What I didn't like about the book was the lack of emotion regarding the events in the book- I kept waiting for one of the main characters to actually seem to care what was happening to them & that really never seemed to happen. Perhaps that was entirely the point, but it disappointed me. Still- it was an interesting perspective science gone askew.   hide

It's not often that I read a book that reminds me why I like to read so much. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is one of those books. I can't give you a synopsis without completely ruining it for you, but trust me when I say that it is everything that it seems, but more importantly, it is nothing that you'd expect. It follows the life of the narrator, Kath, through her memories of...more

It's not often that I read a book that reminds me why I like to read so much. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is one of those books. I can't give you a synopsis without completely ruining it for you, but trust me when I say that it is everything that it seems, but more importantly, it is nothing that you'd expect. It follows the life of the narrator, Kath, through her memories of her friends in boarding school and beyond, yet there is a dark secret that the author only let's you in on gradually. It is a secret that really makes you think about science, morality, and what it means to be human. It is a story that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same. This is officially in my top 5 list of favorite novels! Let me know if you want to borrow it.   hide

On the surface, Never Let Me Go is a work of speculative fiction, creating an alternative world where systematic human cloning has been a means of providing much needed access to organ donation and other advances in medical science. This isn't a spoiler for the book, rather it's laid out as matter-of-fact in the first pages. You might expect then some apocalyptic thriller of science fiction...more

On the surface, Never Let Me Go is a work of speculative fiction, creating an alternative world where systematic human cloning has been a means of providing much needed access to organ donation and other advances in medical science. This isn't a spoiler for the book, rather it's laid out as matter-of-fact in the first pages. You might expect then some apocalyptic thriller of science fiction where characters are racing against time and society in order to emerge triumphant and expose truth with a capital T. Instead, the author who gave us "Remains of the Day" delivers another masterpiece of subtlety, a deft psychological work which skillfully turns the mirror back to our own workings of society, and our own views of life and civilization.   hide

i loved this book for its complicated and actual topic and the tender, soft and at the same time desparate way of exposing it. it never gets cynic nor pathetic, probably thanks to the detailed describing of the (apparenty banal) details of the daily life of the students. if the first part appears to be a little long, a little too obsessed in details, the second part is the strongest part of the...more

i loved this book for its complicated and actual topic and the tender, soft and at the same time desparate way of exposing it. it never gets cynic nor pathetic, probably thanks to the detailed describing of the (apparenty banal) details of the daily life of the students. if the first part appears to be a little long, a little too obsessed in details, the second part is the strongest part of the book. there are some intense and melancholical scenes, which reveal the whole cynism and the cruelty behind the lifes of the protagonists. at the same time there is nobody blamed in the book, so maybe you find out that the actually tragedy lies in the fact that there´s no guilt at all.   hide

I found this book disturbing but also gripping. Once I started it I could hardly put it down even though I knew there would be no happy ending or even a satisfying conclusion. Like other readers have stated I am puzzled by why none of the “students” try to run away. After all, they seem to have a great deal of freedom. Kathy, better than all of them, knows what fate waits for them but...more

I found this book disturbing but also gripping. Once I started it I could hardly put it down even though I knew there would be no happy ending or even a satisfying conclusion. Like other readers have stated I am puzzled by why none of the “students” try to run away. After all, they seem to have a great deal of freedom. Kathy, better than all of them, knows what fate waits for them but for all her introspection she never questions being part of it. I found this quote at the end of a review by M. John Harrison in the Guardian website: It's about why we don't explode, why we don't just wake up one day and go sobbing and crying down the street, kicking everything to pieces out of the raw, infuriating, completely personal sense of our lives never having been what they could have been.   hide