A review by cassiejones11
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

3.0

Having mixed feelings on this book. On one side I am moved reading this novel and I don’t think there was a twist as much as there is just glimpses of what is to come for the characters, which to me makes it that much more melancholy. I liked this book because I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite in this writing style, but I also don’t know if I like the book because of the writing style. I’m usually into stories with a bit more plot but this entire book was Kathy’s reminiscing on her life, and at times I liked it but other times I felt it got stale. I think the culmination of Tommy and Kathy (and the reader) finally hearing the truth of their world from Madame and Miss Emily was both heartbreaking and important because their reactions and the aftermath highlight just how innocent and sheltered they are from the realities of their world and also just show how truly human they are. I think it would have been so compelling to see more into Miss Lucy’s perspective or if there had been more of her desire to reveal the truth to the students.

Overall it wasn’t a page-turner even though I read this in a few hours— I think the most interesting thing for me is that Ishiguro didn’t go into detail at all about the way the “outside world” operates until the conversation with Miss Emily. The reader is stuck in the dark and sheltered from the “outside world” in the same way that the students are. I haven’t ever seen a clone/ sci-fi-ish book written in this way and I love that. Mixed feelings but still good!