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A review by richardbakare
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
5.0
This book is a surprisingly beautiful story but don’t look for happy endings. I once heard someone say that reading any of Ishiguro’s books is satisfyingly devastating. I find them emotionally jarring and deeply contemplative. Most of the intrigue lies in how Ishiguro’s narrative style draws you in.
His protagonists are not omnipotent but their reflective lens gives their perspective that effect. Additionally, his choice of details in his world building make his books timeless. He gives the reader just enough so they know they are in some alternate reality but not so much that it can become dated. This approach gives his books a “too close to reality” feel.
Ishiguro draws waves of empathy out of you and challenge you not to see yourself as one of the Hailsham kids. What I really wanted to know about them, and it never gets answered, is what took away their sense of agency to act in defiance of what they were made for. I could only assume that what made them incapable of reproducing also limited their independence.
The plight of the Hailsham children is the backdrop for the critical assessment of society. Specifically, its inability to see the humanity in all people when it suits a purpose. The characters in this novel are agents who hope against hope in a cold society. That hope, like in Ishiguro’s other books, is often rooted in a fantasy spun for them that they pursue to its disappointing end.
This book is science fiction in its purest form; wherein a deeply human story takes place against the stage of a society changed by scientific developments. In Ishiguro’s case it is interesting how the natural landscape itself is a key part of the story. As if he is saying that for all our technological advancement and built up environments, we always return to nature.
His protagonists are not omnipotent but their reflective lens gives their perspective that effect. Additionally, his choice of details in his world building make his books timeless. He gives the reader just enough so they know they are in some alternate reality but not so much that it can become dated. This approach gives his books a “too close to reality” feel.
Ishiguro draws waves of empathy out of you and challenge you not to see yourself as one of the Hailsham kids. What I really wanted to know about them, and it never gets answered, is what took away their sense of agency to act in defiance of what they were made for. I could only assume that what made them incapable of reproducing also limited their independence.
The plight of the Hailsham children is the backdrop for the critical assessment of society. Specifically, its inability to see the humanity in all people when it suits a purpose. The characters in this novel are agents who hope against hope in a cold society. That hope, like in Ishiguro’s other books, is often rooted in a fantasy spun for them that they pursue to its disappointing end.
This book is science fiction in its purest form; wherein a deeply human story takes place against the stage of a society changed by scientific developments. In Ishiguro’s case it is interesting how the natural landscape itself is a key part of the story. As if he is saying that for all our technological advancement and built up environments, we always return to nature.