Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Never Let Me Go

What I love about this book is the beautiful execution of the plot. Kathy, the narrator, looks back on her life in the seemingly idyllic “Hailsham”, where students are taught art and literature. As she grows up, she realises the purpose of her existence and why her and others at Hailsham grew up so secluded from the outside world. Kathy recalls her life through anecdotes of her time spent with her dearest friends Ruth and Tommy. The book is advertised as science fiction/dystopia, but to me it’s so much more than that.

It’s about the value of human life, the “right” and “wrong” time for love, the beauty of friendship and how one deals with the inevitable fate of death. The plot is written in such a subtle way, that you almost forget you’re reading a dystopian novel. I love the way Ishiguro writes. The way he “tells” you something without telling you, the way he foreshadows throughout and the way he can create such a horrifying plot that’s difficult to come to terms with, in the simplest of prose. It’s beautiful storytelling, I felt like I was taking a journey through Kathy’s memories with her.

There is no shock factor or grotesque writing, and yet it still feels like you’re trapped in this ongoing nightmare with the characters, and it’s really quite sad.

What stuck with me most was Kathy’s quiet and painful abdication to what was going on around her. Her story is heartbreaking, and the ending sort of left me reflective and sombre. I recommend this book a lot, I really enjoyed it. It’s subtle, it’s chilling, it’s horrific, it’s beautiful. Just a great piece of writing, with poignant messages.

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greatu's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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lizzyrai's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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alenert's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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glitchkitsch's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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skudiklier's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book was really interesting, and for once I kind of guessed some of the twists/reveals ahead of time. I kept expecting the book to get suddenly more intense or sad, and though of course it was sad, I never came close to crying. It's almost like the mystery distracted me from how sad it was. But! Overall it was written well and it's a powerful book. Not sure I'd recommend it, but I definitely don't regret reading it.

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tarynlannister's review against another edition

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It was difficult to get into the style at times. It was told in a very conversational, memoir style, with lots of time skipping and references to things which may or may not have been explained yet. It was a bit jarring that it was so interpersonal relationship/drama focused when it was apparently a kind of light dystopia, and having the details of the messed up world trickled in between stories of young romance and friend schisms and silly school anecdotes was frustrating.

I also just found it rather bleak, so when I started getting bored I decided I would rather read something that was either more entertaining or at least less depressing.

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marcellajoa's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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