Reviews

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

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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

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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.

pimoon's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.75

I really engaged with ishuguro's style of writing. caths recollection of her childhood is framed in a factual way rather than being narrated through an emotional lens, suggesting her disassociation with her feelings towards her friends. I also enjoyed the way that the plot was uncovered through Caths memories. It's so poignant how cath is so at piece with her reality which is juxtaposed with Ruth's feeling of resentment.