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el_tlakwache's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
sophmcgraw's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
fencernick's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
tprineas's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. I thought that Nocturnes was better. I'm reading The Buried Giant now, sooo...
Anyways, this book in particular just was kind of uninteresting. Like... I didn't like the main people.
Anyways, this book in particular just was kind of uninteresting. Like... I didn't like the main people.
kalon88's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crloken's review against another edition
5.0
Never Let Me Go is a beautifully written book told from the perspective of Kathy H., a young woman looking back on her days in a strange english boarding school. Even early on this school seems very odd, the guardians (not teachers) emphasize health, and art, and don't seem to think life skills of any sort are needed. The truth about the school (which is revealed fairly early on) is that they are all clones bred with the sole purpose of having their organs harvested some day.
I find this a hard book to express my opinion towards because there are so many things I want to say and yet I am having a lot of trouble expressing it in words. This is a story about growing up and coming of age, in a world where none of the children will ever get to be adults. Its a love story with impending death hanging over everything. Its also a metaphor for our lives. None of us get more than a life time and we are all slowly progressing toward death. There are little bits of hope and the impending question of what happens after, do we get a release or more torment? But in the end it is the same and we will all die, and so we find some kind of identity and life while we can.
The three central characters (Tommy, Kathy, and Ruth) were all well written and seemed real. In many ways it was Ruth I felt most sorry for in the end, Tommy and Kathy always had each other even though Tommy was dating Ruth for most of the book. But Ruth always seemed alone, and maybe that's why she imitated people around her so much. She didn't want to be as alone as she knew she was, she just wanted someone to care about her. Tommy had in many ways the warmest heart of the three and I think that was the reason for his temper, he could never handle the injustice of this world they lived in. And Kathy always seems to just accept these things as they come. She doesn't want to die but does not seem to think theres any use complaining.
The truth is that none of them really complain about it. They accept their fate and even sometimes seem to think it is good. Kathy is annoyed by the suggestions of conspiracies or that anything even more horrible is going on, since she does not think this is wrong precisely. I think there could be many explanations for this, maybe they've been altered somehow during the cloning process to not want to rebel, or maybe they've been brainwashed. But the real reason is the metaphor, we often just accept our situations in life. We do not fight them, or attempt to change them, and the most we do is gripe. Life is what it is and it would be futile to run, or alter it.
Never Let Me Go is a story about people trying to live their lives while very aware that very soon they will die. Its also about a world that is becoming colder, and crueller, and harsher, and leaving behind those truly important things like love, and compassion, and small quiet moments. I have more to say but I guess this will do for now. I would highly recommend this book, yet with the warning that this is not a happy read. Never Let Me Go is gorgeous, romantic, profound, thought provoking, and very depressing.
I find this a hard book to express my opinion towards because there are so many things I want to say and yet I am having a lot of trouble expressing it in words. This is a story about growing up and coming of age, in a world where none of the children will ever get to be adults. Its a love story with impending death hanging over everything. Its also a metaphor for our lives. None of us get more than a life time and we are all slowly progressing toward death. There are little bits of hope and the impending question of what happens after, do we get a release or more torment? But in the end it is the same and we will all die, and so we find some kind of identity and life while we can.
The three central characters (Tommy, Kathy, and Ruth) were all well written and seemed real. In many ways it was Ruth I felt most sorry for in the end, Tommy and Kathy always had each other even though Tommy was dating Ruth for most of the book. But Ruth always seemed alone, and maybe that's why she imitated people around her so much. She didn't want to be as alone as she knew she was, she just wanted someone to care about her. Tommy had in many ways the warmest heart of the three and I think that was the reason for his temper, he could never handle the injustice of this world they lived in. And Kathy always seems to just accept these things as they come. She doesn't want to die but does not seem to think theres any use complaining.
The truth is that none of them really complain about it. They accept their fate and even sometimes seem to think it is good. Kathy is annoyed by the suggestions of conspiracies or that anything even more horrible is going on, since she does not think this is wrong precisely. I think there could be many explanations for this, maybe they've been altered somehow during the cloning process to not want to rebel, or maybe they've been brainwashed. But the real reason is the metaphor, we often just accept our situations in life. We do not fight them, or attempt to change them, and the most we do is gripe. Life is what it is and it would be futile to run, or alter it.
Never Let Me Go is a story about people trying to live their lives while very aware that very soon they will die. Its also about a world that is becoming colder, and crueller, and harsher, and leaving behind those truly important things like love, and compassion, and small quiet moments. I have more to say but I guess this will do for now. I would highly recommend this book, yet with the warning that this is not a happy read. Never Let Me Go is gorgeous, romantic, profound, thought provoking, and very depressing.
draconic202's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
nataliestorozhenko's review against another edition
4.0
I am not sure if I should write this review now or after giving it some time to settle in, but I want to capture my initial thoughts after finishing this book. What I enjoyed the most about it was that it reminded me of "I Who Have Never Known Men". It gives a perspective on what it would be like to hear from someone who was raised in entirely different conditions, environment, and social norms. Although the point was that the characters were lucky enough to be raised as similarly as possible to regular humans, the underlying understanding of their purpose gave them a fundamentally different outlook on life's meaning. What's left to us that still makes us human? How can you prove that you have a soul? What's worth holding on to when you have no time left?
This book is not without flaws. Until the major plot reveal, there were a lot of hints of what was going on, and it didn't feel like much of a surprise. However, I believe this was intentional, as the characters live with the shadow of understanding their purpose, and they choose to live in denial, putting off their questions until later, half-expecting to be let down. It blows your mind that they never think of escaping, trying to fight, to do something, just because they were raised and taught a vague but specific purpose.
“Because maybe, in a way, we didn't leave it behind nearly as much as we might once have thought. Because somewhere underneath, a part of us stayed like that: fearful of the world around us, and no matter how much we despised ourselves for it--unable quite to let each other go.”
Regardless, this novel heart-achingly describes the beauty of human connection as well as the ugliness of humankind's actions in the name of progress. The writing is unusual but still very familiar, as you can tell it was written by a British author. It was a heartbreaking but beautiful dystopian read, and I look forward to checking out other works by this author.
“What I'm not sure about, is if our lives have been so different from the lives of the people we save. We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.”
This book is not without flaws. Until the major plot reveal, there were a lot of hints of what was going on, and it didn't feel like much of a surprise. However, I believe this was intentional, as the characters live with the shadow of understanding their purpose, and they choose to live in denial, putting off their questions until later, half-expecting to be let down. It blows your mind that they never think of escaping, trying to fight, to do something, just because they were raised and taught a vague but specific purpose.
“Because maybe, in a way, we didn't leave it behind nearly as much as we might once have thought. Because somewhere underneath, a part of us stayed like that: fearful of the world around us, and no matter how much we despised ourselves for it--unable quite to let each other go.”
Regardless, this novel heart-achingly describes the beauty of human connection as well as the ugliness of humankind's actions in the name of progress. The writing is unusual but still very familiar, as you can tell it was written by a British author. It was a heartbreaking but beautiful dystopian read, and I look forward to checking out other works by this author.
“What I'm not sure about, is if our lives have been so different from the lives of the people we save. We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.”
alicemiranda00's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It kept feeding me little bits and getting me excited and then I didn’t get what I wanted. I don’t care about Ruth and Tommy give me more organ harvesting
faintgirl's review against another edition
2.0
Set in a dystopic alternative reality, Never Let Me Go tells of a group of children who grow up in what, by all appearences, is an idyllic Boarding School. Throughout the novel you are struck by a growing sense of unease, as some of the children blithly accept their path, while the two main protagonists, Tommy and Kathy, begin to question their existence. While half of this book portrays childhood as any other - flippant friendships, arguments and tantrums, turning into real companionship and love, the slow revelations of what the future holds for these children, and the attitude of the outside world to their fates, is far more chilling.
While I find the plot of the novel absolutely fascinating, even on a second reading, the very helplessness of the central characters and their childlike attitude to the world outside still seems to drive me a little insane. Ishiguro writes perfectly of the phenomenon of Learned helplessness, but this very fact makes it hard for me to identify with the characters, and by the upsetting end of the novel, all I can feel is a strange detachment. Although this is most likely what the author intended, the feeling that it would be very easy for us to habituate to such horrific outcomes from today's scientific research, it leaves me feeling cold.
While I find the plot of the novel absolutely fascinating, even on a second reading, the very helplessness of the central characters and their childlike attitude to the world outside still seems to drive me a little insane. Ishiguro writes perfectly of the phenomenon of Learned helplessness, but this very fact makes it hard for me to identify with the characters, and by the upsetting end of the novel, all I can feel is a strange detachment. Although this is most likely what the author intended, the feeling that it would be very easy for us to habituate to such horrific outcomes from today's scientific research, it leaves me feeling cold.