Reviews

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

erinmaddie's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

marcellamedema's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book really confused me at first. It seems a bit dystopian, even though there’s not really any allusion to it being not normal or set in current world. I’m not sure if it’s a twist on reality or just straight up reality. It is about Kathy, tommy and Ruth, who are carers and then donors. They are in a special school where they are raised from and undisclosed age and their purpose is to donate organs to people. It’s revealed later in the book that their sole purpose of creation was for these donations and the way they were raised was very ethical in comparison to how other students at other establishments were raised. It started to pick up after like 130 pages and I found it really enjoyable, and the whole donations bit was explained in the last third of the book when they meet their teacher who exposes everything about their upbringing and how controversial it was with the public. Like I said, it was difficult to tell just how dystopian this setting was. The book describes the intricacies of having two of your friends date, but you are actually in love with one of them. Ruth and Tommy were dating but Kathy was lowkey interested in Tommy. After they had grown up and the three of them had reconnected after being separated, Ruth gave them her blessing and told them they should be together. Each individual friendship and relationship was unique and layered, but with the understanding that history between two people can mean a lot more than proximity to that person. I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would. In the beginning, I was very bored but it all came together and I’m glad I powered through. 

definitelynotdylan's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? Yes

5.0

caseydarko's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

5.0

axz14's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

mbenzz's review against another edition

5.0

I took the advice of another reviewer here and after reading only the book description, I didn't read anything else about it. No other reviews after that first one that said this book should be read without any knowledge of what it's about. I really think that decision helped make this story that much more powerful for me.

I'm not going to summarize the plot since it's already been done a gazillion times here, but I loved this book. There's no real 'big bang' moments in this story. No exciting climax that's been built up. This a quiet story that's horrifying and sad.

I was expecting/hoping someone (ANYONE!) would fight back against the injustice of their lives, but no one ever did, and that made it all the heartbreaking. The quiet acceptance of their purpose in the world and their ultimate fate.

Immediately after finishing the book, I watched the movie (I didn't know there was a movie when I started the book...my sister told me about it). It does the book VERY little justice. So much is left out, and the feeling of intimacy between Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy is absent. I definitely recommend the book over the movie.

Overall, I'm so glad I finally read this. I wish I had read it years ago when I first added it to my list.

ariannaray's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

4.5

elwood's review against another edition

5.0

I’m so uncomfortable, sad, angry and hopeless.

What a freaking masterful piece of literature. I don’t have the words to explain this book and how it made me feel. I’m having an existential crisis.

cdrescher's review against another edition

2.0

This book was so boring until the last 30 pages.

blairynice's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0