A review by reubenlouw
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Never Let Me Go…wow. Sorry, just give me a minute…

[5 hours later]

Okay, I think I’m ready. 
This book….THIS BOOK!! I seriously can’t say how much I absolutely love this book! This is my first Ishiguro novel and boy…has he set the bar high for himself and basically any other book in the universe. Phew, before I get ahead of myself, let me explain what the books about.

The novel follows Kathy H. in the late 90’s as she thinks back and reflects on her early childhood years at the school Hailsham. We see Kathy grow up, experiencing friendships, heartbreak, and a future that was set for her and her friends since birth. 

Everything about this book is just chefs kiss. Ishiguro’s writing style is simple, but beautiful at the same time, and has put some of the most amazing quotes on page!
I also loved how we slowly got revealed the things of Hailsham, and how things aren’t fully explained, making the reader have to come up with some of the answers themselves.

The next thing I just loved are the characters. 
Ishiguro has crafted these extremely realistic characters, and it feels like you would actually meet one of them in the real world. He does this by making the characters likeable and unlikeable at the same time. The best example I can give is the character of Ruth, who - at times - is this extremely sweet and caring person who would do anything for Kathy, but she can also be extremely mean, spiteful, and just overall annoying. BUT THATS HOW PEOPLE ARE! People aren’t just sweet and kind and gentle and a little muffin, they can also be annoying and irritating no matter how much you care about them, and Ishiguro perfectly captured both sides of humans. 

If I haven’t convinced you yet, then I’ll also mention the plot. The plot is really interesting, and keeps you at the edge of your seat thanks to Ishiguro withholding some information, creating this mystery around some events. It’s also super sad, but I don’t wanna get into it ‘cause I’ve cried about it enough already…

Never let you go? Babes, I don’t think I could!

Basically what I’m getting at is that this is the easiest 5 starts I’ve ever given anything, and you should definitely read it!