Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

91 reviews

resolving2read's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual content

rensreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

that hurted

i’m honestly not sure at all what i should say. i hated the narration style with a passion but the story really had me. i almost cried at the end. it’s the worst to be the last one in the end and i hate feeling lonely more than anything so that almost got me.

still, i’m glad kath and tommy got a chance, no matter how small it was.

i hate ruth though. she’s awful. tommy may have been in love with someone else the entire time he was with ruth but he never cheated — unlike her. ugh, that made me officially hate her. she was awful before but that was downright disgusting of her.

i also think kath is an unreliable narrator to be honest. im not sure but the way she kept explaining her memories made me think she was misremembering them for some reason. she was a little likable but i didn’t really like any of the characters if im going to be honest.

despite all of that, i’d rate this 3.75 stars (:

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Toxic friendship, Infertility, and Medical content

Moderate: Medical trauma

Minor: Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Child abuse

be wary of ruth and kath’s telling of her memories

jennino's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Trafficking, Slavery, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Torture

ryster's review against another edition

emotional reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

I liked this book. It's very bittersweet, tender and nostalgic, in a way that you wouldn't expect from a sci-fi book. There were some things about the narrative voice that sort of irked me, but nothing major, and nothing that majorly detracted from the experience. The book in itself is lovely, especially the first and last part I really enjoyed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Homophobia

bootsmom3's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Medical trauma, Medical content, and Sexual content

elefantino's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood, Infidelity, Terminal illness, and Vomit

alexpullen02's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Homophobia

chezler24's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

4.5

 Haven't read this book since high school and it held up so well. Even though I knew the secret behind the Hailsham students, watching the main trio of characters slowly discover their purpose and path in life was all the more heartbreaking. To me, this book reads very nostalgic and longing. It feels like something that happened long ago even though the reality in the book is something one could only speculate about. This is an emotional read that will find yourself invested in the character's futures and hoping for a different outcome that you know doesn't exist.

Question to ponder: What makes a human a human? How does one quantify a soul? 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Medical trauma, Sexual content, and Infertility

quinn24's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Terminal illness, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Infertility

Minor: Sexual content

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

This book is unlike anything I have read before, and I definitely want to read more of Ishiguro’s work in the future.
Never Let Me Go follows Kath as past relationships are rekindled, leading her to remember the significant events of Halisham, her old school. Through these memories Kath begins to learn more about the dark truths hidden throughout adolescence, but also truths about herself.
For me, the writing style and formatting are what made the book so unique. Told in 2nd person and non-linearly, readers are only given surface level information until the resolution. Ultimately, this helps cultivate a mysterious mood and makes the payoff more worthwhile.
Still, some elements of the confusion made it difficult for me to follow, which is why I rated it 4.75. The ending was phenomenal and quite a tearjerker, but in a few cases I wasn’t as invested as I would have liked to be.
No shame on the author however, as writing a book is incredible on its own, especially one creative as Never Let Me Go
If you like gradual sad books with character driven elements, this is for you:)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Infertility, Confinement, Medical trauma, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Ableism and Sexual content